If you are like me & still have summer blend diesel on hand, don't forget to add some Power Service white label as needed to reduce the likelihood of gelling if your area gets colder temps... (& also treat current fuel tank contents)

I use the Ford Anti-gel w/ Cetane boost.  It's always done a great job for me.

I always use white bottle Power Service. Even in the summer. That way, if I forget and have summer diesel in the tank when winter gets here, I don't have to worry about it.

You forgot to drain the water separater or replace the fuel filter. Yeah you’re only about a month late in addition of fuel additive.

Saw a diesel truck on the side of the road with flashers on this morning... I bet he forgot... Truck appeared to be on its way to the high-school so likely a student that hasn't learned that lesson the hard way until today.

Back in the blizzards of the 1970s my dad’s bulldozer gelled up and you could spoon the diesel fuel out. He took hay bales and built a shelter around the dozer and put heat under it.  It still took 3 days to get it started.

We plowed county roads with it. The county engineer paid us for that work.  We just let it idle all night in the hay bale shelter with a plywood roof.

That sucked as the dozer has no cab and no heater. Dad bought a canvas tube that attached to the radiator and sent some feeble heat back to you.

First year diesel owner here....

Is the fuel I buy now 'ok' or do I need to put additive in new diesel throughout the winter?

The equipment is in north eastern MO.

Just put the stuff in to be safe.  White bottle power service treats 100gal for around $10.  Much easier/cheaper than fighting tooth and nail after you have it gelled.

Your fuel might be blended to such and such temperature and if you get an extra cold snap... surprise.

That caught a bunch of farmers a few years ago.  Fuel truck guys didn't have many friends there for awhile.

I agree with this answer.

Does off road diesel also have seasonal blends?

Yeah depending on where you are. We buy in bulk so you add the additive of your choice as the weather gets colder.

Off-road and on road are the exact same.  Off road is just dyed red at the loading rack.  Otherwise, same tank, same pipeline, same everything.

Getting ready to get some and want to make sure I get the right amount.

From what I read in the interweb:

Add 32 oz to 100 gallons of diesel if temp above 30*

Add 32 oz to 50 gallons of if Temp below 30*

So for 5 gallon jugs would require about 3 oz each?

Correct?

Sounds about right.

I personally also add some 2 cycle oil to my diesel as well.

I'm not too scientific about it so probably add more than absolutely required.

Yeah don't do add 2 cycle to a truck that has an egr and a DPF.  Emissions shit does not like it.

All my diesel engines are older.  Don't own anything with EGR and DPF.

Brings up an interesting topic...

Ever since buying the tractor and having the barn spray foamed, I have bought summer diesel before they switch the blend at the local station. Ive never had any winter issues with it, but usually its a) not that cold here and b) my outside tractor usage is limited in the winter anyway. Today is a notable exception given the 8+ inches of global warming outside.

Part of the reason I do this is because my tractor hates winter diesel. So Ive always made it a point to keep summer blend on hand until they switch back in the spring.

Out of curiosity, are you referring to #1 diesel as "winter diesel" or post turnaround #2 diesel?

The worse, worse diesel I've seen tested, which is a super high cetane, 2% bio blend, has a cloud point of 5F and a CFPP (cold filter plug point) of -3F.

To translate, you'd start having issues at 5F.  Your engine would shut down or not start at between -3f and 5f.

This one specific refiners fuel also doesn't accept additive well at all. It's a fantastic summer fuel because it has a high wax content.  That wax increases the cetane and it's lubrication properties. Down side is you're fucked in the winter.

Best out of the refinery fuel I've seen is a cloud point of -27f. With a CFPP of -36f.  With 1:1500 treat of additive, -52 cloud point, -56 cfpp.  Pretty amazing. But poor cetane.

To loop this around, I ask because alot of places refer to winter diesel as #1 fuel, which is actually kerosene.  Or they'll do an 80/20 mix of #2 blended with #1.

This, you'd be able to tell a big difference on. Because kerosene has a lower BTU value.  139000ish for diesel, 134000ish for kerosene.  Not alot, but kerosene also burns hotter and has other detonation effects, etc. Etc.

You should be able to run winter, or summer #2 15ppm ULSD, and realistically not tell the difference at all unless you tracked your fuel economy to the second decimal point. There is a difference, but minor is the way I'd describe it.

*Unless* what they call winter fuel in that area is a #1 blend. Then yes, you'd tell a big difference.

Buying my diesel from MFA.

They tell me it is 'winterized'.

Is that good enough or should I still be adding an additive?

Thanks

Can you add too much?  I have probably 5 gallons in my tractor and I only use it about 30-50 hours a year.  I know some of that Diesel has the additive but some newer probably doesn't.   Can I just throw a few ounces in there?

Probably.  But, I always add some white bottle Power Service.

Too much fuel additive is a bad thing.

It depends on the concentration of additive, but for example my wholesale fuel additive is normally 1 gallon to every 1500 gallons of fuel. At 1:1000 we get slightly better results, but not worth the cost.

At 1:750, results have stopped.

At 1:500, results have reversed, we're now worse than 1:1500 gallons.

So yeah, too much will actually lead to you freezing up faster.  Do not over treat your fuel. Less is better alot of times.

Excellent to know, that is why I asked.

Thanks

MFA told me that from Oct - March the Diesel is;

80% #2

20% #1.

Is that sufficient or does that require additional additive?  The location is in northern MO.

Thanks

I'd add a little bit of additive for lubricity. Not so much for cold flow performance, as the #1 will take care of that.  If you want to use an additive with cold flow, such as power service, that's fine. Won't hurt. Might help a bit.

Agreed.

On the way home from buying a diesel vehicle/implement, I'd recommend buying a white and red bottle of Diesel 911 (or similar product) and stow it in a easy to access location. You don't want to be found wanting if you NEED the red bottle.

I use diesel for JD 2720.
I  buy 3-4 5 gallon jugs at a time and treat them with Opti-Lube XPD.
Has been lasting me about 4-6 months before I need to repeat.

Never concerned myself with summer/winter blends at gas station.

No, we get the kero blended with #2 diesel, but I dont know what the blend is. I just notice it doesnt have the "oomph" on summer diesel, and it smokes more when it starts. Less so about fuel economy in my case, but more about how it feels/acts when starting/working that tells me its not the same.

All I'm going to say is "JP-8 for the WIN!"