How to find truck stops with #1 diesel?

Thank you.

 

Cat standing behind the military……

they do suck

 

At remote sites in Alaska we would add a quart of oil to 100 gallons of jet fuel to run in diesel engines.We had a bunch of Ford diesel engine trucks and they had a small bottle of additive to add to the tank when filling.
We had a fuel pump go out on an older 400 Cummings,the disc's that create the fuel pressure in the fuel pump wore out from lack of lube in the jet fuel.

 

All the Town Pump locations in Montana have #1 and 50/50 blend. #1 smells nice and burns very clean. Not sure who the distributor of that product is...might be Cenex.

 

It will but most engine manufacturers will void the warranty unless you add a lubricant to the fuel. The injectors and fuel pump’s don’t get enough lubrication with straight Jet Fuel.

 

I had a JERRV with a cat and JP8 it ate.

 

Being an inquisitive person and the fact that I drive in both hot and cold weather I started doing some research.

Disclaimer: My rig is equipped with an Artic Fox system but my reefer is not.

Here’s what I found. It’s by no means meant to be an exhaustive thesis, instead it’s meant to be a quick explanation of winter fuel to provide fellow drivers with a rudimentary understanding of the concept to help them make a sound choice in terms of winter fuel. If you find this useful great. If not then that’s great too.

Many who read this will wonder why I included novice level information. I did that so that anyone reading this could understand it.

It is in not intended to be critical of one persons choice. In the end I will tell you to run your rig your way and I’ll run mine my way.

I didn’t realize it but there are actually 7 grades of diesel. Per ANSI ASTM D975-21 those grades are:
Grade No. 1-D S15 (Winter Diesel)
Grade No. 1-D S500
Grade No. 1-D S5000
Grade No. 2-D S15 (Summer Diesel)
Grade No. 2-D S500
Grade No. 2-D S5000
Grade No. 4-D

Sx being Sulphur content. So S15 = 15 ppm

One difference between No. 1 and No. 2 is the temperature at which the mix begins to gel. That temperature is called the cloud point. Clouding occurs when the paraffin in the fuel mix solidifies at low temperatures and begins to bond into larger molecules than normal. Those larger paraffin molecules then clog the fuel filter.

Number 1 diesel is refined to have a lower paraffin content than #2. For reference #1 diesel had a cloud point of -40 degrees. Number 2 diesel had a cloud point of 14 degrees.

One way to prevent gelling in cold weather is to mix #1 and #2 at certain ratios to achieve a specific cloud point. This is fine but one must remember that doing so also changes lubricity.

Iimproper mixing of #1 and #2 diesel can lead to premature failure. It is important to add proper amounts lubricants to offset that loss due to the reduced paraffin content. Otherwise one can reasonably expect abnormal wear to fuel system parts such as injector valves and seats much like was the case when lead was removed from gasoline.

Lubricity level is especially important now with the mandated use of low sulphur fuel. Sulphur also acts as a lubricant but due to clean air regulations it’s use has been severely reduced.

Lubricity is also why some manufacturers will void warranties if certain other products are mixed into the fuel to prevent gelling such as kerosene since it offers very little lubricity.

in summary there are many different ways to provide an acceptable winter fuel mix. Some people blend their own, others buy specific preened mixed still others choose to use additional additives that I inhibit paraffin’s bonding capabilities. What is import to remember that diesel engines require a fairly complex mix. So research your method and choose wisely.

In addition to cloud point another problem in the winter is icing. Refined diesel has a certain amount of water in it. Though water content lower in #1 it’s still there. So both #1 and #2 have de-icing additives mixed in but at a higher percentage in #2.

For fuel sold as winter mix it is actually a blend of both #1 and #2 diesel. A specific desired cloud point is selected then a specific amount #1 and #2 is mixed together to reach that goal. Then additives are mixed in to achieve a certain lubricity and de-icing levels.

Hopefully someone finds this information useful. Just gathering the information gave me a far greater understanding than that which I had before.