After posting about getting your car or truck ready for the cold winter months, I began to think about some tips for our diesel-powered friends. While all of the tips mentioned in the earlier blog apply to diesels, there are a couple of other things to consider when the temperatures drop around your diesels.
Long gone are the days of diesels only being used in big over the road trucks (aka “big rigs”). Today, more and more people are looking towards diesels for their fuel efficiency; they tend to hold their value better than gasoline cars, and many other reasons. Something that people need to keep in mind when selecting a diesel powered vehicle is the special care its systems require in cold weather.
Gelling…Why is it just as bad for you motor as it is your hair
Diesel fuels tend to thicken or gel as the temperature drops. This gelling is due to diesel fuel being less refined than gasoline. Gelled fuel can cause a no start situation as the motor is starved for fuel. There are systems in place in many modern vehicles to help prevent this from happening, such as insulation around the fuel tank to help keep the tank from getting so cold that fuel gels. However, as Mercedes* found in their diesel-powered Sprinter* vans, insulation alone isn’t always enough. During vehicle testing, Mercedes* noted their vans had cold starting issues and rough idle conditions due to gelled fuel. Mercedes’s* fix was to offer an add-on auxiliary heaters that actually heats the fuel tank.
Another way to help keep fuel from gelling is through fuel additives. AMSOIL offers a Cold Flow additive that helps prevent gelling. Most diesel fuels gel around 32ºF. AMSOIL Cold Flow has been shown to reduce that gelling point by up to 20ºF, basically lowering the gelling point to 12ºF. Now even here in Maryland we see temperatures dip below that range, but keep in mind that the rating is the temperature of the actual fuel, not just the ambient temperature. So if your car is equipped with insulation, as most modern diesels are, then you can nearly eliminate cold start problems utilizing AMSOIL Cold Flow.
Clean Injectors and Fight Off Gelling
Keeping injectors clean is something you want to do regardless of the time of year. Clean injectors mean better fuel economy and performance among other things. AMSOIL now offers one product that will not only clean your injectors but improve cold flow and reduce gelling. This all-in-one product is known as Diesel Injector Clean + Cold Flow. (I know AMSOIL has a pretty straight forward naming convention with its diesel products right?) AMSOIL’s Diesel Injector Clean + Cold Flow additive combines all the benefits of their Cold Flow product with their Injector Cleaner product. This all-in-one additive will give you the piece of mind of knowing that your injectors are being cleaned while also protecting you fuel.
Oh No! I forget to use an anti-gelling Additive and now my diesel is gelled.
With how easy it can be to add either Diesel Cold Flow or Diesel Injector Clean + Cold Flow, you would never forget to add it when you fill up right….right? Well, if you do, AMSOIL has you covered with their Diesel Recovery Emergency Fuel Treatment. This emergency fuel treatment quickly dissolves gelled fuel and can thaw frozen fuel filters. This saves both time and money compared to completely replacing a fuel system or waiting until temperatures rise again.
As always, we are here to answer any question you may have. Please reach out to us here and share on your favor social media site below.
*All trademarked names are the property of their respective owners and may be registered marks in some countries. No affiliation or endorsement claim, express or implied, is made by their use.
