Gelling

[jbsaxman]

Ok, dumb@$$ question here:

I forgot to add my additive with the last tank of fuel I put in. And it got mighty cold here last night. Tried to start my truck this morning and she wouldn't go. I suspect that my fuel gelled. Will it degell as it gets warmer? I didn't have time to actually check, so I don't know for sure if it's the case, but I suspect it is.

Thanks.

 

[sshewins]

As far as I know, it should re-liquify once it's warmed up enough. If you need to, add some of the power service from the red bottle. IIRC, it's designed to quickly un-gel. When was the last time you changed your fuel filter? Just a thought.

 

[NVW]

Yes it will de-gel as it gets warmer. They also make an additive called "Melt Down" that will de-gel the fuel. Leo

 

[jbsaxman]

What about the fuel thats in the line.

Also, my fuel filter only had a couple hundred miles on it.

 

[Matt Bachand]

What about the fuel thats in the line.

Also, my fuel filter only had a couple hundred miles on it.

Are you getting any fuel out of your filter mgr bleeder? I believe gel'ed fuel clogges fuel filters fast, until it un-gels.

 

[NVW]

Pour a little bit in the filter housing, that should cure it. Leo

 

[chrisk1500]

Define 'cold'.

Are you using summer or winter diesel?

 

[jbsaxman]

No gelling. Just the equation: Frigid air + Icy block = Not enough heat during compression to ignite fuel.

See my 'Interesting' thread.

 

[sshewins]

As far as summer or winter blends, the refineries all take the temp into concideration. When we load up, we generally have a percentage of #2 plus #1. BP uses a 70 - 30 mix during Feb (at least in Chicago). Others use a additive that we add when we get to the station. One place in particular, uses a product that gets added in a ratio of 1 gal per 1000 gal of fuel. Mobil kinda pre-blends it with out us having to figure anything.

As far as the filter goes, I ran for a guy last winter that had just changed filters a week earlier and by running bio (B-11) it clogged up the filter that quick. There are stations that use bio and aren't required to label it as such (again, at least here in Illinois) IIRC, it was around 0* that whole week.