diesel gelled

jeremy in NE · Dec 8, 2013

Well I put treatment in the tank when the cold hit, but it failed me. Started and ran for 5 minutes than gelled. Went and got some of the 911 stuff and put it in the tank, replaced the fuel filter and filled with fuel and 911. It will only run for 5 minutes. Pull the line from the tank at the fuel pump and it is slightly gelled. Let it flow out of the line for a few seconds until it looks like good fuel. Than it will run for another five minutes. John Deere 4040. What can I do short of draining the tank, so I can feed cows today.

IaGary · Dec 8, 2013

You need to get some #1 diesel in there. You may have to drain the tank to get enough #1 in to work. Once that wax separates it is hard to get it dissolved back in to the fuel.

Are you using the red bottle 911 or the white?

White works if added before it gets cold. Red is for after you have a problem.

Gary

MSM · Dec 8, 2013

Regular diesel or bio diesel? Regular diesel mix kerosene with it along with the 911.Once running add anti gel and let the tractor run for an hour or so to thoroughly mix everything. Bio diesel will jell in the high 20's if it is straight bio, and will form small waxey balls that will clog lines and filters as the temp drops down into the teens and below. Your only recourse may be to drain the tank,change the filters again,blow out the lines,and run a 50-50 mix of straight diesel and kerosene, along with a good anti gel additive.

M Nut · Dec 8, 2013

Any chance of using a torpedo heater to blow some heat on the tank and get the fuel warmed up? If the fuel tank in the front like on a 4020? If so, possibly drape a heavy canvas over the hood and blow some warm air under it.
Friend of mine is a logger in MN, and he will use a propane "bertha" torch to warm the metal fuel tank on the skidder when it gets real cold out. Little more daring than I, but I have used the torpedo heater trick a few times with success.

jeremy in NE · Dec 8, 2013

I put the white in when it got cold and now put the red in to get rid of the gell.

Tx Jim · Dec 8, 2013

Jeremy
Any chance of putting an air hose down in the tank to blow low pressure air to mix the 9-1-1 and the diesel in the tank?

36 Coupe · Dec 8, 2013

The only cure is a heated building then add some kerosene.Kerosene is dyed red here but should be ok in a farm tractor.Red fuel will get you a big fine in on road vehicles.Its all about taxes, the IRS has agents prowling country roads checking oil trucks for red fuel in diesel tanks.Out side fuel tanks need a blend of diesel/ kerosene to avoid fuel gelling.If you dont under stand gelling put an olive oil jar in 40 degree temperatures.

RayP(MI) · Dec 8, 2013

Was 9 degrees last nite. Bet there was a lot of gelled diesel. I'm fortunate, don't need my diesels today. Got up this morning to 12 degrees, decided I really didn't need to go deer hunting with the muzzle loader this morning. Not looking forward to wrestling hay bales for the critters, smashing ice out of water troughs, and carrying buckets of hot water from the house.

jeremy in NE · Dec 8, 2013

I understand gelling, but now that it has happened I am looking for the best and quickest route to fix. I will just drain the tank and start over. thanks

Scott 730 · Dec 8, 2013

(quoted from post at 08:30:10 12/08/13) I put the white in when it got cold and now put the red in to get rid of the gell.

Treatment needs to go in before it gets cold and then run the engine to get it throughout the fuel system.

Allan in NE · Dec 8, 2013

I use gasoline mixed at a rate of 10%.

Allan

dirtfarmer2 · Dec 8, 2013

The fuel line on the 40 series John Deeres is steel and runs right past the radiator fan. So when you start the tractor it blows cold air right across the fuel line as the fuel travels to the pump. It seems to help if you split a rubber tube and put it around the steel fuel line to provide some insulation while the fuel travels from the tank the injector pump.

DoubleR · Dec 8, 2013

I thought I was having the same problem a few years back with my Massey. Later found out it was a elbow in the petcock below the tank that had a little crud in it restricting the flow.

JD Seller · Dec 8, 2013

Jeremy: Did you mix the treatment at the recommended rate??? On some of the treatments if you mix it too strong it actually causes it to not work in as cold of weather.

Also if you have ANY Bio diesel in the tank your in for trouble if it is colder than 10 degrees. Even treated. The Bio diesel is just plain bad news in the winter with cold weather. Great for summer but terrible in the cold.

I got caught with it in my tanks 4-5 years ago when it turned cold. It took me a week to get it all straighten out and that was with a heated shop to work in. So I never run it after about September now.

Your on track with just draining it all out and starting over with a K-1 and diesel mixed with a treatment too. Reason for the treatment is WATER. The K-1 will prevent gelling but not freeze ups caused by water.

donjr · Dec 8, 2013

Man, you got trouble!! Ain't nuttin more pressin than hungry cows.

Take a large tarp and place it over the tractor. Seal it as well as possible. Use a couple of large flood lamps directly under the crankcase, and another tarp(s) to seal as much of the engine area only. The idea is to get as much heat into the actual engine area as you can. Infrared lamps, or high heat lamps of some type. It will take awhile, so be patient. Then put the machine close to an electric source, get a block heater and USE it.

Biggest thing I have found over the years, is that a shelter of some kind over a tractor really works. Around it is even better. I know wind chill gets to humans, but I really believe machinery feels it to. My loader tractor is always put in at night, and a block heater is plugged in on a timer that comes on two hours before I feed. It's rare that I have trouble getting it started or running.

David G · Dec 8, 2013

I always add the treatment before filling up so it can mix well. I have been to -40 and never gelled. I also avoid bio diesel in the winter like the plague.

Best way around gelling is get it in a warm room for a couple of days.

Hayrack · Dec 8, 2013

I used to work at a truck repair shop and we used a product called "Meltdown" on trucks we couldn't get into the shop that were jelled up. Just poured it into the jelled up tanks and put the jumper cables on and wait about 20 minutes or so... changed out the fuel filters, and a way it would go! You could actually look in the tank and see that stuff working.

Geo-TH,In · Dec 8, 2013

Back in the 70 I had oil heat. It got extremely cold and even the #1 oil jelled at the oil filter only. I relocated the filter to a warmer area to solve my problem.

M w J · Dec 8, 2013

If you still have the little screen in the sediment bowl below the primer pump take it out That is where the first restriction is then warm it up under cover of a tarp or building.

Anonymous-0 · Dec 8, 2013

keep using 911 and you will get to buy a new injection pump, I never use it because I put some #1 in before it gets cold, BTW it was -10 to -20f actual air temp here and I have cows to feed also and had no problems, wind chill factor means nothing to a tractor, if a pump shop that could profit from my using stuff like power service and ps911 says not to use it I tend to listen to them so that I don't wreck a $1500 dollar pump, eveidently some of you have piles of cash and are looking for ways to spend it

onefarmer · Dec 8, 2013

I got by once when I was out snowplowing away from home. My 4320 was gelling up, I had a plastic hose of a good length so I unhooked the fuel line at the pump, attached the hose and stuck the other end in the filler neck of the tank. Seems all the gelled fuel was at the bottom of the tank and had clear fuel at the top. All I can say is it got me home!

Lazy WP · Dec 8, 2013

I fought with my ASV skid steer for 3 years. Anytime it would get cool, it would gel. Yesterday, I tore the lines off at the lift pump. Blew back into the tank, and it runs like a top. Not sure what is in the tank, but it got me going yesterday.

Is there any chance you can do the same on your tractor?

Jerry/MT · Dec 8, 2013

If you are near a souce of electricity, use a heat gun or even a hair dryer and work over the fuel filter and supply lines. better yet if you have e a torpedo heater, throw a tarp over thengine , take a piece of plywood and angle it so it takes the heated ait upward Toward the engine. Keep the heater about 10-12 ft from the plywood(no need to catch it on fire) and let it run for a few hours. While you"re waiting for it to warm up, get some #1 diesel in the tank.

MN Scott · Dec 8, 2013

I use a 50/50 blend of number 2 and 1 and have never had a diesel gel in 25 years. The 10% gasoline works well to. Power service is worthless, ever try to pour the stuff in the white bottle at -30, not going to happen. If you can't pour it hows it going to help?

baldwin racing · Dec 8, 2013

when we buy diesel up here in northern ny they run a treatment in fuel already....I still run powerservice in the white bottles, Its better to use more than to skimp out and gell pour the 911 to it and heat the lines, put the power service to the tank on the tractor as well dump fuel filters and pop them back on and bleed them get the tractor running and keep heat on the fuel lines until it gets the power service to the fuel pump....
let us know how you make out
kelly

KCTractors · Dec 8, 2013

Use Allan from Ne advice, that does work. I used that on a Cummins 350 one -30 below day, stuck on the road all day, then mechanic called and said to put 1 gal of gas in each tank ( 75 gal tanks ), stirred the gas in the fuel tanks and she run like a rabbit the rest of the trip.

Jerry He · Dec 8, 2013

Allen, you are so right. Back in the early 80s when we used to have winters in IL we had a Cat 112 grader as the only snowplow for 30 miles of roads. On the 24th of Dec. it was 20 below and started blowing and 26 inches of dry frozen snow started to move. We could get the grader started but as soon as we removed the torpedo heater it would die in 5 minutes. We put 15% gasoline in that tank and filters and it ran like it was summer, seemed like it had more power and smoked less.

casecollectorsc · Dec 8, 2013

Same with Howes, had a jug in the truck side box at -20 and it was solid!! Went to a fuel meeting once and they said nothing can dissipate the wax forming in fuel except blending with #1 or run only #1 when cold. Said none of the additives tested were any good, only at taking your money.

JT · Dec 8, 2013

I know you said it is gelled up, but is there any possabilty it is not gelled really up bad and you have algea plugging up the fuel line pickup in the tank? Just another thought if you put PS or some kind of antigel in it before all this happened, the downside of and of the bio fuels like this is the chance of algea grwoing in fuel tanks.
Had a 455 John Deere doing this same thing one time and found the pickup had black, slimy stuff on it prventing a good flow of fuel.

36 Coupe · Dec 8, 2013

The filters may be clogged with wax.Warm up is the only way that I know of.This is from a fellow who runs service trucks in northern Vermont at times.I was lucky enough not to have to do any diesel work when I worked for a JD dealer.

Pops1532 · Dec 8, 2013

The thing that has worked for me when I've had gelled diesel is a tarp and torpedo heater.

Bill(Wis) · Dec 8, 2013

With a good fitting tarp weighted down around the edges to prevent heat loss and a torpedo heater you'll be able to get that tractor warm to the touch in the time it takes to eat breakfast.

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