Diesel pickups fuel gelling

What is the best way to prevent this.I have been putting 8oz.of Power service in a 26 gal.tank.Yesterday coming home from a gun sale ,7or 8 degrees out it would only go 30mph .I stopped and filled the tank and put in Diesel 911 and nursed it home to a warm garage. SCARY

"What is the best way to prevent this."

Buy good quality #1 fuel.

Find some clear kerosene.High priced but it works.Only other cure is a heated garage.It will gell again.

Morning. Yeah that ride isn't any fun. Only worse is when you ain't there and the rides over. Throw the power service away. I much prefer howes or fppf. If you run 60/40 blend powerservice might be ok. If you warm up a gal of the kero and pour it in often it will clear up right away. After all those miles prob going to need a filter. Seriously tho, 50/50 blend w/no treatment is all I would be running in this cold crap. Fred

i have a 06 duramax pickup with service body on it one of my coworkers has the same year truck we both drive to the same job site his gelled up twice last year.he buys the cheapest fuel he can find i use bp year round and have never had a gelling issue. RICK

I use howes and have never had a problem and they have a guarantee if you gel they pay the tow.

Bob, I expect that 90% of the US population and 99% of the readers here already know what you stated. Since many have their OPINIONS on where good fuel is to be found could you please enlighten me as to how you KNOW that you are buying good fuel as opposed to "don't buy cheap fuel" which of course 99.9% of us already know

Looks like you are ready for fuel filter change and BP station I know puts the anti jell in the tank. They haul their own fuel. Cheap gas over time will effect the injector tips. Know of a 3.4 chev that had a big problem with no name gas. Not mine.

Showcrop,

I live in COLD northern ND and, IMHO, most guys with diesel trucks have a pretty good idea what fuel to use, yet there's always some who try to get by with blending #1 and #2 or add a bunch of "magic juice" to try to sneak by.

A friend of mine did that for YEARS and usually "got by" although he limped home a few times like the original poster.

One bitter cold winter night he had a medical scare with his young daughter and his diesel pickup jelled up on the way to the ER, he had to get his brother to come pick them up and finish the trip. (With a gas-powered pickup.)

That deal pretty much ended the piddling around with blending fuel and adding anti-jell.

I know a couple of other guys who seem to be always changing $50 or $70 fuel filters from trying the same trick.

Yeah, I know #2 is USUALLY cheaper and gets better mileage and the OTR trucking crowd burns as much of it as they can, as the BIG trucks are equipped with industrial strength fuel heaters and kept idling and warmed up in cold weather, but when it comes to diesel pickups that are more sensitive to gelling it's pretty foolhardy NOT to run straight #1 during the coldest weather.

Buying $ Additive and $$$ filters and paying for an occasional tow quickly takes away the cost advantage of cheaper fuel.

Here in Maine it can be cold at times (-40), but the only time I have fuel issues is when I let the fuel filter go too long between changes. The fuel is cut by the fuel companies during the cold months, so that isn't really the issue I dont think. I found that as long as my fuel filter is fresh, I dont have issues. When the filter gets partially plugged with dirt, etc., the fuel has a more difficult time passing thru when the fuel is thickened from the cold. I am running 2 diesel trucks and 3 tractors nearly every day.....just my 2 cents.
Cal

I read the posts about "Don't buy cheap fuel" .I didn't know that there was cheap fuel.I allways use Shell , Bp or Mobil.I think the problem is Biodiesel ..The pump says "may contain 5 to 20 bio"

Use number 1 fuel. Or get a pickup with a gas engine.
My repair shop always is full of gelled diesels when it gets cold out..all the owners of those trucks seem surprised it happened...they all seem to think a blend is good enough or anti gell additive works all the time..
If you let a 6.0 Ford gell you risk fuel injector failure..your checkbook won't like that!

Never use bio fuel in the winter! It will gell way easier than even #2....

If you guys ever run into a pinch where you are gelling up and you want to get over it quick, see if a service station has E85 gasoline. Never put more than 10 percent in your tank though. It's pretty much the same concept of kerosine, just a little more common in these parts anymore. We use it to get the combines ungelled around here all the time.

When its that cold you might want to think about mixing kerosene or number 1.Antigel is only good until like 20 below.Then you have to have kerosene or number one.Also depending on where you are they have fuel in real cold areas that already have additive blended in or a mixture of number one and number 2.
I dont even know if they have number one fuel now so that means kerosene if you can find it.I always used Fppf and Howes.I would usually go North and maybe spend one night and keep the truck running and be going south the next day.
Power Service was the only stuff that would work if your fuel already gelled.There could be other stuff by now.Power Service is not as good as Howes and Fppf in my opinion.It might get you going if you are gelled and is surely not the worst stuff by any means.The best thing is to get fuel that wont gell like blended and mixed with good additive.The trouble with that is if you have a lot of fuel in your tank before it gets cold you need to do something with it before it gells.Fppf is what I would use.After gelling,choices are a tow truck and warm shop,Power Service and good battery and new filter,or kerosene,blow all the lines out and new filter.Fppf after it gells wont do much.Howes is a little better,but it wont ungell it either.
I didnt like Power Service because my truck didnt get as good of fuel mileage using it as with Howes and Fppf.If you are gelled up you might pour enough Power Service in and mess with it until you get it running again.Probably not running real good,but running.Before -10 you need to get some mixed fuel,put Kerosene in or number one if you can find it.The only alternative if you are where there is no Kerosene or number one or good blended fuel is a gallon of gas to 100 gallons of Diesel.It can explode by static electricity while pouring it in.I dont know how cold that will work but I had to do it before at -10 and it worked.I wouldnt know about when its real cold or what it will do to injectors or anything.I had a 400 HP Cummins and it worked in that.Before computers.

I have an 06 Duramax and run Kwik Trip's winter blend fuel and have never had a problem. I also add a bit of power service when it's really cold and change the fuel filter each fall.

I know a guy who has an 08 duramax and me but in 10 % gas and the truck shut down on him.As far as mixture of no 1 and no 2. I would say you dont need it. Large truck fleets around me only use the additive. Diesel fuel on the farm use to be a blend of no 1 and no 2 but now they just run additive in the barrel. It works fine all the way down to -50. My dodge has never gelled up. None of my 4 diesel tractors gell up either.

Doesn't PS require .5 oz. per gallon? You may just be shorting the additive. It also needs to be added before you fill the tank so it mixes good and not added later when the fuel is colder.

It was suggested that I get a gas truuck by a guy claiming to be a mechanic. I have kinda got used to towing something other than my fat a$$,like a 20ft cattle trailer or 24' flat bed .Its in my garage now and I will get fuel filter changed Mon. even tho It was just changed 2 weeks ago.I just got back from Loves trk .stop and picked up 2 jugs of Howes additive and will give it a try.Thanks to those that offered advice rather than smart a$$ remarks

This is a case where you have to read the instructions.The good additive like Howes must be mixed right to work good.If its too weak of a mixture it can still gell.As long as you get your mix right and it runs good its not really necessary to change the filter.However I would carry a spare filter with me all the time.Also if it was a real expensive filter I would see if I could find another filter head and get a different filter the same micron that didnt cost 70 dollars to change.I have had to change my 4 dollar filter on a Cummins 4 or 5 times in one day before when I got bad fuel a few times.
Somebody said additive was good for -50.None that I ever saw was.Things like that change all the time but straight number one or kerosene below -20 is what I would do.Straight number one could need additive below that if I remember right.If you are going to run in temperatures above that then you are alright with additive as long as you mix it right.I dont know about biodiesel.Diesel tanks on big trucks get whats called sludge in them.I would burn 200 gallons of diesel a day if I was running good and still would get sludge in the bottom of the tank.Now unless you draw the fuel out of the bottom of the tank sludge builds up in all tanks that have a pickup tube in them,like on a pickup truck.If you have that in your tank I hear that bio diesel will clean that out,so it will plug your filters,and could freeze in a line because its actually water.Every year I would drain some out of the bottom of my tanks before it got real cold and that would help on changing filters unless I bought fuel that had that in it.You have to be more picky about where you fuel with a diesel.Places like a truck stop where they go through a lot every day are better than some place that keeps it in their tank a few months.Never fuel if a tanker is pumping fuel in the tanks because it can stir up all of that sludge and cause you trouble.The more water you can keep out of your system the better off you are with a diesel.There are absorbant sock like things you can get to put in a tank on a big truck.I used them once a long time ago and they seemed to work.The biggest problem though is mixing additive wrong.Also I never knew,and still dont know what you do when you buy fuel that claims to have anti gell added to it.I always just mixed my Fppf additive in it anyway if It was going to be real cold and I was going North.It might be wrong to do that but nobody ever gave me a good answer either.I dont know if mixing different additive helps or hurts but you want additive in before it gells.Its a real mess if you get it gelled up bad.Could be spring and warm weather before you get it running right again.
Diesels have their problems,but they make up for it in other ways usually.Take care of the sludge,mix your antigell right,and carry a filter with you,and maybe avoid buying biodiesel until warm weather,and it should stay running.
Also from my experience working on them,a lot of problems get healed with warmer weather.I rarely ever started my reefer unless the outside temp was 40 degrees and had very few problems with it at least while hauling refrigerated loads.After the auto start reefers came out I would start them down South and turn them on manual if I had a frozen load.That was when fuel was a lot cheaper though.However a diesel thats warmed up and running return fuel into the tank is a lot easier to keep running than one that starts once every 5 or 6 hours.When they get cold soaked its a lot harder to start them especially if they are wore out.Trying to run in the cold you have to be very conscious of your fuel and also how cold is it going to be tomorrow if you get fuel today and will it be liquid tomorrow.8 oz of Power service might not be enough.You might need twice that and if you have bio diesel it could have sucked sludge up in your filter if you changed 5 minutes ago.I wouldnt know how you would have to mix biodeisel to keep it from gelling or if you even can mix something in it that works.Some vehicles I have seen on TV they rigged to burn cooking oil have a heated fuel line or they cant burn it at all,plus I think they have a fuel heater in the tank,and you have to start the engine on regular diesel and switch over after it warms up.

Wasn't trying to be a jerk. After re-reading my post I guess it does sound a bit "Jerky"

I am an ASE certified master tech - and a Ford certified master tech - been a mechanic for over 22 years. Work on anything from automatic trans to suspension work to diesel and gas engine..and much electronic diagnosis..

Built many bikes,hotrods,restored many old tractors etc.
I am not only a mechanic - mechanics is my life.

If you want the diesel for towing I have no problem with that and understand completely.

I think you are shorting the additive. I was told by several diesel mechanics that since Ethanol has been added to diesel that the anti-gel additives need to be double the recommend rate. So instead of 8 oz of PS in your tank it should be 16oz.

The only thing we get is bio fuel and you need to get a fuel treatment good for bio and howes is best . And I have never heard of alcohol in on road fuel ,but I know the railroads use it in loco's

showcrop find a place that fuels a lot of trucks and has fresh fuel on hand all the time

mixed in a 20% or less it wont gel any faster than what ever it was mixed with.

railroads do not use alcohol in locomotives. Locomotive engineer. 10 years.

you might want to recheck that are you sure they dont mean biodiesel? They dont put ethanol in diesel that doesn't conform with the astm standard.

Road Master for BNSF in Galesburg told me that they do use alcohol in locos during cold weather .

I agree with Bob- I have an 04 duramax- and for some reason there has been an issue from day one. This was my first diesel and was told make sure you blend your fuel ya da ya ya da.. Well from the -27 below minnesota weather yesterday I am going to straight number 1. I had #2 winterized diesel from kwik trip a month ago and it gelled up. After an oil change, fuel filter, warm shop and a bottle of howes with a mechanic I came away with a $321 bill. They added 1/2 bottle of Howes treatment and sent me on my way. I blended "more than enough" howes for the past two weeks. Yesterday i got up with the fridged weather and started my truck to go coyote hunting. I wasnt 1 mile down the road with 50/50 #1 and #2 winterized diesel from kwik trip( treated with howes as well) and I gelled up! Mad at the world I dogged it home and got a new fuel filter. At this point I changed the filter, added powerservice myself to the filter and went to the gas station to top it off with #1 this morning no more issues, truck said -19, and on the way it dropped to -25. Truck is running like a top. I would rather get bad milage than to sit with 2 filters, 1-mechanic charge and 3 bottles of howes to save my life. Forget the blend go #1!!! Trust me I dont want an emergency situation to come up and have to worry about my truck limping along. Also note that the guy before me had been blending his mind out, the injectors went bad in my truck causing 2 scored pistons and I have a truck with 17,000 miles on it.. Thank god for GM warranty!! saved me an $11,800 engine bill when the installed the new motor.