#1 Diesel in the Great Plains?

-
nm9stheham

nm9stheham

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2013
Messages
12,087
Reaction score
4,282
Location
Waynesboro, VA
We may be taking a trip to the Montana mountains in January and will use our diesel pickup. For those who runs diesels in the Dakotas and Montana, do most of the truck stops have pumps with straight #1 in them in wintertime? We may well be seeing some -30 to -40F temps in the mountains where we are going, and if it is going to be that cold, I'll want to tank up on straight #1.

And for anyone in that region and in Canada who runs diesels in winter, what type of arctic level anti-gel additives do you use? There are lot of anti-gels out there, but a lot of them only work down to -20 F or so. Any ideas of what you use and how you mix would be appreciated, as well as in what actual temps you run.

Thanks!
 
Most filling stations blend their fuel for their weather conditions. That does not mean they cannot be caught off guard with too much of the wrong blend in their storage if conditions change quickly.
The biggest problem I have seen here is with long haul truckers that fill in Texas with 200 gallons of # 2 diesel and drive to here when it is cold. I have gotten along well using a local blend but if in question added a treatment. ( Howes Diesel fuel treatment is popular here).
Yote
 
I agree with Yote. I use Howes when I can find it. Like he said most distributors blend for winter, so the additive is more for excess peace of mind. But I have been in the far north when the stations have not been able to pump due to not switching soon enough! That sucks. Pull into a town to fill up and find out that none of the diesel is flowing!
 
Thanks. I use Howes Meaner Kleener regularly but their antigel is only rated down to -20F or so from what I can find. Where we are going is up at 6000-7000 ft elevations in MT and ID, and sometimes this daytime high is only -25F and overnight gets down to -30 to -40F fairly often in Jan.

If I can get straight #1, it supposedly is good to around -40F.

And, yeah, I have had the blend change problem; driving from southern to northern IN in Jan 30 years ago, my fuel started gelling at between -5 and -10F. Limped off at an exit, and parked out of the wind and the morning temps came up 2 degrees and the undertruck heat thawed it out.

Man.... I gotta think about the anti-freeze too!
 
X3 Fill up with #1 anywhere and add in some anti jell. Howes is a good product. You will notice after a tankfull how much smoother your diesel will run.
 
Agree, fuel local and use an additive, I use power service, never had a problem.
 
#2 winter blend is good to a certain temp.I add Howes,fppf,or Power service.Check with where you fill up at to see how low their diesel is good for.You'll go thru #1 fast and will be brokeded
 
LOL, well, I'll be driving a CTD RAM p/u towing a coupla snowmobiles and will be in the really reeeeealy cold temps for under a thousand miles. So I think I can swing the cost. I ain't doing YOUR kind of miles; you sure seem to get around.

Yeah, I checked the standard blends per state and the lowest looks to be -29 F. Howes is not guaranteed even to that low but their data is a bit unclear. I'll probably go with some of the arctic additive stuff that is supposedly maintain cold pour to -65F and avoid filter waxing down to -40F. Just thought someone might have used that really low temp stuff. Not many people do starts and runs in sub -30F, so it seems.

And of course, I'll go to all the trouble and it'll be a hot spell.... high above 0F every day LOL.

FWIW, we were in the Sawtooth Mtns in ID last Jan, and that week, every morning low was between -30 and -40F. This year, it going to be there and/or Yellowstone; same deal for temps. (Had a gasoline rental car this year so no diesel worries.....)
 
Last edited:
toolmanmike said:
X3 Fill up with #1 anywhere and add in some anti jell. Howes is a good product. You will notice after a tankfull how much smoother your diesel will run.
Click to expand...
No need to sell me on Howes; been using it for some years in 2 CTD's and a 7.3. Noticed the smoothness within 2 miles of the first use! FWIW, I use the Power Kleaner from Howes, not the anti gel; their Kleaner is about half the cost to run vs their Anti-Gel, if you are just after the injector lubricants.
 
I'm below -30 regularly. From November until March, I work in these temps on a regular basis. I also run a diesel electric drilling rig in these temps. As I stated above, most distributors blend well ahead of time. You should not have a problem as long as you fuel up locally. If a sudden cold snap hits unpredicted, you might have troubles.
 
nm9stheham said:
No need to sell me on Howes; been using it for some years in 2 CTD's and a 7.3. Noticed the smoothness within 2 miles of the first use! FWIW, I use the Power Kleaner from Howes, not the anti gel; their Kleaner is about half the cost to run vs their Anti-Gel, if you are just after the injector lubricants.
Click to expand...
I always used a quart of atf every now amd then on my 6.5 GM diesel. Those old mechanical pumps and injectors like lubrication.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top