I think mine did the 3 cylinder dance last night before I left my uncles house as it was -15 below but it did start right up with out any problems or being plugged in. I asked my cousin what mix they are useing in our fuel around here ( he delievers fuel) and he said that it's a 70/30 mix with #1. Sure am glad I also use 10oz PS white bottle and 16oz of 2 cycle oil as my second cousin had is VW TDI gel up the other night near Ames IA after filling up at a station earlier. But I think he learned not to trust not using some type of anti gel in his fuel after having his car towed

 

There would be no doubt in your mind your truck was in 3 cyl idle........sounds like it knocking its self to death! I was worried about waking up my neighbors up! haha....

 

So what I can't figure out is why does it not always go to the high idle. it's literally 15 F out, it should definitely do this no??

 

Not if its been pluged in........here are the requirments:

High Idle (Its posted somewhere...and i might be off a few degres):
Intake Tem > 32*F
Coolant temp > 140*F
No Brake input, In park for Autos
Speed sensor/APPS sensor at 0%

High idle + 3 cyl:

Same as above but >15*F

ALSO you need to have it turned on if yours is a 2nd gen. Play with a Smarty and this will do it automaticly when you go back to the stock tune...this is how mine was done.

ALSO....fuel starts to gel at 10*F from my research........

Might clean your IAT????

 

It wasn't plugged in at the time... oh well. I did get the 3 cyl high idle this morning, just not a little later in the day. I am sure it must just have been "too warm" (maybe sitting in the sun?)

 

I plugged in my truck last night. only to find out the gfi tripped sometime in the night. Still started good. Went to start my skidder started up then quit warming up. Use the same fuel and additives in both. Time for a fuel heater in the skidder!

 

It was a balmy -5* here this morning and I fired right up! Didn't even put on a jacket to go out and start the truck! But I few weeks ago I did gell.
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=131398

For those of you who don't deal with the cold weather a whole lot a few thing to remember. 1- Use an Anti-gell additive BEFORE the cold weather hits. 2- Plugging in your truck will not prevent gelling. Plugging in keeps the engine coolant warm and oil/tranny pans warm if you have installed pan heaters on them (same with battery pads and/or blankets). Your fuel system and tank stay in the cold and are not preheated with electricity unless you have installed some sort of heater yourself. 3-Gelling typically happens in the filter. If you have a lot of miles on a filter and you know a serious cold snap is comming, change your filter before it gets cold. Clean filters flow better than dirty ones and will allow larger parafin (wax) particles to flow through which lowers your chance of gelling. Gelling is when the parrafin in your fuel comes out of suspension and binds together then pluggs the filter or lines. 4- If you do get started in the cold, let the engine warm up to temp before you get going down the road. This lets the warm fuel from the engine that returns to tank help heat the tank. 5- Ice in the lines/tank is something entirely diffrent than gelling. Your best bet to combat ice is to buy fuel from a reputable source and keep your tank over half full at all times to help prevent condensation (water) in the tank. Water freezes at 32*F and can ruin your day long before you need to worry about gelling.

With a good winter blend fuel and anti-gell in every tank I don't worry about gelling until at least -40*F.

Hope this helps.

 

Darn good info......coming from Texas....im not used to this cold we are getting here.......we have been below frezzing since last week...and looks to stay this way for another.......Texas was like......"Bring in your pets and cover your bushes! Its going to be 30* tonight! With a high of 55* the next day!!" haha......this is nuts by my standards.......and just not used to it.....and with a diesel.....i got to pay attention to a few more threads i would rather ignore in the winter time! haha....thanks for the info! Heck...i still get giggly when my truck idles up!

 

When we see cold temps. like now -20* to -40* f. , actually at about +10 I'll put a old furniture moving blanket over the entire eng. bay , holds the heat in even for the fuel filter ,
If I do not at these temps , then the airheaters will come on even though the eng. is warm .

 

I havnt yet, i added a half of jug of Power service antigel to my tank and topped er off 2 days ago... However my bud who came up from TX in his Kenworth was carring straight #2 once he got up here (air temp was -23 without windchill) his started to gel even iwth his fuel heaters on... You know how hard it is to find Diesel 911 by power service when its this cold??

 

Well, its been 17 hours and counting. Full tanks to begin with, a friend of mine (Greg, G1625S) came over n froze with me today, to help free up the shaker, after a filter change, propane torching the filter housing we got that thawed. BUT, now I have 300 gallons of GEL in my tanks!!!! We got the truck to run, untill the gel in the tanks hit the filter, pulling around 25 inches of H2O on the fuel filter restriction guage. Now I have 3 bottles of 911 @ 10 dollars a bottle in the tanks, and 5 gallons of Kero in each tank.
Entire fleets of trucks around here gelled last night. I have almost givin up, my next course of action if the 911 and Kero dont settle in, is the salamander pointed at the main tank for about an hour. So far this has cost me (a company driver) $60 dollars, plus a lost day of driving.
I usually keep the white PS in my tanks this time of year but neglected to do so this time, as I dont get reimbursed for it. Im going to make a call to my fuel stop and ask about the blend, I know its ULSD.

 

Been using either Howes or PS for 3 winters now, never gelled up.

Wish I could same the same about our 35 Internationals. Not one of them would start. Good times with the bulldozer, cases of fuel filters, and half a dozen Reddy Heaters.

 

I think your heading in the right direction. (assuming that a salamander is the same as a torpedo or master heater) You might want drain a tank and fill it with some #1 to run on until it warms up again. that's gonna be a pain and waste of fuel but it beats sitting.

 

I know its over kill but I just dont like messing with half bottle of power service so i just dump the whole 32oz bottle in the tank when i fill up. I buy the power service by the case so its alot easyer.

 

I like howes, not to start the brand war. they advertise that they will pay for your tow if you gell up (i think the fine print says if you buy a case). I put it in the truck and tractors. no problem.

it was 6* in the sun when I fired her up mid morning. cycled the grids twice and it started instantly, not pluged in.