Winter Diesel

Last year I emailed Sunoco because I wanted to know when the gas station I get our diesel from received the winter blend, that station is in Potsdam NY. I just bought 10 gallons but after that is gone, I'll be buying five gallons at a time just incase it turns cold until the winter diesel is in.

This was his answer.

The terminals typically are turning over their summer to winter diesel products starting in October. Obviously due to cost they don’t want to jump the gun but also want to avoid customer issues. If weather dictates a faster change over that will occur as well.

 

I have never ran winter blend diesel. I'm on my 13th Cummins Ram, been buying them new since 1992. I also have a TDI Jetta, the misses always had TDI Passats until she got her diesel Cherokee last year, the daughter has a TDI Jetta, the boy has a Cummins Ram, my mowers are all diesel. I've always ran Howes Meaner Kleaner in the spring, summer, and fall, then switch to Howes Diesel Treat when temps get below freezing. I've never had a single fuel gel issue in any of my diesels.

 

Up here the stations switch over to the winter blend, I don't think we have a choice. We can get some cold temps (-20 to -30) in the dead of winter.

 

I'm fairly certain you get winter blend in Kokomo, it's not an option. I'm im Indiana about 100 miles south of you and we get winterblend.

 

When I was running diesel vehicles in extreme cold I just mixed about 1/3 to 1/4 kerosene with my #2 diesel. It got me down to around zero F with no troubles. Above freezing I just ran straight diesel. Nobody carried #1 diesel so it was just make do with what you can get. Are they actually making up a winter blend these days?

 

I buy fuel at 2 different stations, both have clearly marked pumps "not winter blend" then there are pumps that say "winter blend" I do in fact have an option. The winter blend is always a few cents more as well.

 

Wow, you're old school haha. Winterized diesel is all that's available in the northern US. I'm not sure where the dividing line from north to south is located but in the SE I suspect it is south or central Georga. I was always careful to use up southern fuel before coming north in below freezing weather, I only had a truck completely freeze up 1 time in 40 + years and it was in Indiana. I also remember mixing #1 and 2 diesel and have heard other concoctions.

 

My diesels were in the 1985-ish time frame. Locally, in Illinois, at the time you had a choice of #2 diesel and a slew of cetane additives to try to keep things working or #1 kerosene. Some people would thin the diesel with gasoline but I resisted that approach and used kerosene to thin it for extreme cold weather. My little Ford had a fuel heater that worked on all of the fuel coming from the tank and recirculated any unburned fuel so it heated the tank whenever the engine was running. My Mercedes had statements in their owner's manual that amounted to a statement that you had to be crazy to try to run a diesel anywhere near zero so they had nothing to recommend. I actually had better luck with the MB in winter than I did with the Ford and its "fuel conditioner" which was just a heated filter.

 

I think out west anywhere north of san francisco gets winter blend starting in oct. Yes i have witnessed folks cut summer diesel with gasoline, but ive never done it. It mostly dont get any colder than -5 here and usually the low temp is like 15 above. So as long as you take the normal precautions and dont let a diesel powered truck sit for more than a couple days its all good.

 

Anybody else notice mpg drop on winter fuel?

 

You must be getting your fuel at Mcclure on 31 north of Kokomo I remember them having premium and "regular" diesel. If the regular diesel isn't treated at all it would become difficult to pump at 15 degrees and nearly impossible at zero.

 

That's interesting, we must have had some space age fuel at the farm too, cause we always had 500 gallon tanks filled whenever they were low, those tanks never got treated, we could get it filled in August and pump fuel out of it all winter, even below zero. I'm not trying to argue with you. You believe whatever you want. I do buy fuel at McClure, I also buy fuel at co-op, both have winter blend and non-winter blend.

 

Yes, but it might be due to the fact that I let it warm up when it's really cold.

 

It was space age fuel or a miracle. Here's what WIKI says:

Gel point is the temperature at which diesel or biodiesel fuel freezes solid and can no longer flow by gravity or be pumped through fuel lines. This phenomenon happens when a fuel reaches a low enough temperature whereby enough wax crystals have formed to prevent any movement in the oil. For #2 diesel this is usually around 17.5 °F (−8.1 °C).

For the fuel to become pumpable again, it needs to be brought above the gel point temperature to the Ungel point, which is typically near its pour point. However, most of the waxes will still remain in solid form and the fuel has to be warmed up further until its Remix temperature in order to completely remelt and redissolve the waxes.

Anti-gel additives are therefore commonly added to diesel or biodiesels where cold temperature is expected. They act to reduce the formation of wax crystals in the fuel, thereby lowering the pour point and the gel point of the fuel. Anti-gel additives may not necessarily affect the cloud point.

 

Hdtoolmkr 765, next time you fill up at McClure try the premium diesel, its not just winter blend and they sell it year around. As I recall it was about 4 to 5 cents more per gallon but it improved my fuel mileage and performance significantly.

 

You gotta use red armor oil or it will blow the brake light gasket...

 

It doesn't say premium diesel on the pump if I recall, it says "winter blend" and "warning not winter blend". I typically buy at co-op, I really only go to McClure if I happen to be north of town. My daily driver is p-pumped, injectors, cam, fire ringed, fass, twins, water meth, running a MP8/Smarty stacked, and south bend triple disc, I don't think I'll notice much difference in performance running premium fuel, but I'll give it a shot next time I'm up that way.

 

Now you tell me

 

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Company Overview of McClure Oil Corporation

Company Overview
McClure Oil Corporation owns and operates gas stations. The company offers gasoline, diesel and premium diesel, off road diesel, kerosene, and lubricants for businesses and homes. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Marion, Indiana