Bearkiller, I am 99.97 percent sure you simply had a case of bad fuel........ It happens.

Could have been a load of bad Bio, could have not been distilled or had the additive package correct, but there is no way you should need a fuel heater with straight #2 at those temperatures.

Call me nuts, but if it looks like you are going to get another cold snap before these tanks are run out, I would probably lace 5 gallons or so of #1 or Kerosene in for good measure.

 

Sadly, YES, due to our entire neighborhood having to take legal action against a ---- well, I won't say any more on that matter.

That being said, my tanks have lock-tabs welded onto the caps with big bullet-proof Master locks hanging through them; the locks are undisturbed, so I doubt anyone has tampered with the fuel in my truck.

The wife's tank is not so well protected.

 

The same morning that we had our situation, it was on the TV news that, a couple counties over from us, the entire school-bus fleet was inoperable due to what they said was fuel-gel but may very well have been just bad fuel.

Myself, I have not been off the place since; so, I have not heard any talk about others having similar problems.


My intentions are to procure a couple 5-gallon jugs of #1 or kerosene to have on hand as you say; ......... of course, those are my intentions --- what actually takes place may vary ; this economic depression we have been in these past several years prevents us doing many of the things that we know we should.

 

-21F here today and I don't have winter diesel in my truck. Old diesel from the summer is in the tank still. Truck started right up. I agree with Pat, your fuel has water in it. Normally I see diesel gel when the temp is around -30F and you have to heat it back up to 30F to get it soft again. Powerservice is suppose to prevent this from happening so it's a good rule of thumb to put it in around -15F to be on the safe side. There is a fuel heater on the engine that aids in the de-gelling process. Hard to get your hands on though.

 

I'm gonna say it again:

Untreated #2 diesel gels at about 40F. 50/50 kerosene and diesel is good to -40F.

In my experience, some fuels just do not respond to some anti-gels, regardless of dosage. The spectrum of solvents that dissolve petroleum waxes are described by CAS 8052 42 3, so having that as a main ingredient in an anti-gel should improve the likelihood that it will work.

When you fill up, it is almost impossible to know exactly what you are getting in terms of fuel base stock, blend, and additive package. So, it is almost impossible to know at what temperature it will gel. You are totally dependent on your station and their distributor.

One thing that I think helps a great deal if you keep kerosene on hand for gel emergencies: keep 5 or 10 gallons in a heated space, not out in the cold. Adding heat to your tank helps a HUGE amount, and warm fuel really helps the engine start in cold weather too.


As for the fuel heater: The fuel heater that came on 1st gens draws about 6 amps, and is about 75 watts. 75 watts will heat about a gallon of fuel per hour 70 degrees. A gallon of fuel per hour will keep the truck idling. The newer heater is around 200 watts, and draws around 15 amps.

On a different note, in response to BK's having trouble buying Kerosene: I really think that we are choosing to squeeze the life out of our rural communities. Much of this squeeze seems to me directly due to public policy. I am not happy about it, but my hope that we can turn things around is getting thinner and thinner.

 

"Untreated #2 diesel gels at about 40F. 50/50 kerosene and diesel is good to -40F.
When you fill up, it is almost impossible to know exactly what you are getting in terms of fuel base stock, blend, and additive package. So, it is almost impossible to know at what temperature it will gel. You are totally dependent on your station and their distributor."

Exactly why I blend my own.

 

On my slowly absorbing all the information that has thus far been provided, a thought or two has came to mind and one pure brainstorm so far as my personal truck is concerned.


I like the warm kerosene idea; however, if one intends to add five or ten gallons of special frigid-weather fuel to the tank, there needs to be space in that tank for this to be added; it is hard to add to an already full tank.
With a piddling little 30-gallon tank, one will need to plan ahead and not have it too full for the good stuff to be added.

As for my 92-gallon capacity selectable THREE-TANK truck, two 20s and a 52, (and here is where my brainstorm comes in) I could and probably should and maybe will fill one of the 20-gallon tanks with super-special frigid-duty fuel and just leave it on standby until needed.
When a sub-zero night is fore-cast, I could switch to the special tank and purge the system of my normal fuel the evening before the cold sets in. (on my truck, I can either do this by running the engine or by letting the auxiliary bypass Carter electric-pump do it)

Of course, once winter was behind us, I would use up this special fuel and replace it with fresh the next winter.

Although it is a blessing that we usually only have these frigid nights/days sparsely and sporadically, it is also a curse in that the expense and mentality of being prepared is often, especially in a starve-to-death economy, hardly justifiable for the few occasions that we actually need it.
If it were ice-cold several weeks out of the year, then we would do without other things so our transportation means would be more reliable under such circumstances.
Around here, it may be in the low 70s one day and below zero the next night, then in the 50s the following day --- and constant rain all winter any time it is above 30.
Considering the low pay scale around here, it is actually cheaper to just stay home during the few really cold or snowy days we actually have ---, but that is not always realistic.


Thanks for reading.