Trucks gelling up in the winter, what is the solution?

Can't beat the fuel we get up here. I've seen it as cold as -38°C and the diesel wasn't even starting to cloud.

Used to love getting new machines from overseas with Japanese or European summer fuel in it during winter. It left the port in Vancouver where it was above freezing and by the time it got up north the fuel system looked like it was full of butter. Then its 3 hours of running heaters with the engine and fuel tank tarped in so that it could be driven off the lowbed.

 

The last resort.

 

Not B models though.

 

You may be right, but you’re backwards on the micron rating.

Smaller the number = ability to filter smaller particles.

Therefore a 5 micron filter will plug before a 25.

Hence the problem of filters plugging prematurely on modern engines. Injectors have tighter tolerances requiring finer filtering, but when the fuel thickens the filters plug faster.

 

And the old E7 Macks with the similar fuel system.

All these new HPCR engines return a lot of fuel, too. Unfortunately it's not passing thru the head as in days of yore, so it's not warmed much. The only thing saving a lot guys the headache of full on gelled truck is the electric heater in the base of the Davco. And since few know it's there, there's a huge false sense of security about what it takes to keep a truck running in subzero temps.

 

I thought the new x15 doesn’t return much ? Or am I misinformed.

 

I probably shouldn't have said all, I assumed they were all fairly similar. On the DD-series Detroits, the majority of returned fuel doesn't get any closer to the engine than that monstrous filter assembly on the side of the block, whereas on the Series 60 it came from the fuel rail in the head. The HPCR engines don't send excess fuel through the head like that. No sense in taking all the fuel from the transfer pump up to the higher pressure of the rail.

 

Left Pennsylvania at sunup this morning (26F) heading to Minnesota forecasted to be -6F. Taking my 10 hr in Chicagoland forecasted to be -11F by morning. Took on 150 gallons at the pilot in Austintown OH and will top off in South Beloit IL tomorrow. Pilot website says they treat fuel and I trust pilot 100%. Just kidding I will add 1 bottle of power serve to each tank before breaks and I’m aint turning this puppy off till it’s at least 10F.

Last winter my bunk heater gelled up at 9F. I trusted the big chain truckstops would treat the fuel well enough but the small fuel lines and fuel pump gelled up and I froze. Luckily the truck did not gel. There is the heater in the fishbowl that might have saved the truck from gelling. If nothing else I would dump a bottle of anti gel into the left side tank if you use your bunk heater to stay warm.

A lot of newer drivers never experienced this kind of cold and I hope the can keep they trucks running and filters from waxing over.

This is from the Pilot website:

To help keep professional drivers safe and their trucks moving in these cold months ahead, we are also prepared to begin our winter blending initiative at the pump.

Cold weather locations will begin treatment once the outside temperature reaches 15°F:

• For CO, NY, MA, ND, MI, SD, MN, WI, NE, and WY – and select cities in IN, OH, NH, and PA, Pilot Flying J will continue treatment until March 1, 2021 regardless of the outside air temperature.
  • 15°F to 5°F Outside Temps – blending a single treatment of cold flow improvers
  • 5°F to -5°F Outside Temps – double treatments of cold flow improvers
  • Below -5°F Outside Temps– fuel will be treated with double treatments of cold flow improver and 20% of No. 1 fuel. If No. 1 fuel is not available, triple treatment of cold flow improver will be used
• For IL and IA, double treatment rates will continue until March 1, 2021 regardless of the outside air temperature

 

This is from last year. And it wasn’t as cold then as it is now….

 

So the X15 does not return heated fuel to the tanks?