Anti Gel Additive

I'm actually going to do an experiment. I'm on a trip with a delivery in Hutchinson, MN on Thursday morning. I'm going to fuel somewhere just south of Chicago and I'm not going to treat the fuel and see what happens.

As always, I have extra parts, filters, tools, etc. if this bites me. We'll see how it works out.

Been in temps below 10 Have never used any additives in fuel. Just what truck stop has in their fuel. Never had any problem.

Wondered what driver's were putting in the tank... Steppenwolf

Bump.... this is a good thread. Gonna need anti gel anywhere near Chicago for next week or so.

We where doing so well with winter, these last 2.5, 3 weeks having been making up for it.

We have a whole pallet of antigen and they want us to poor a quart in each tank on fill up. Later in the week with the -10 they are calling for they may want us to leave the trucks running to be safe.

What day do you think you’ll be fueling up in Chicago?

I'm actually going to do an experiment. I'm on a trip with a delivery in Hutchinson, MN on Thursday morning. I'm going to fuel somewhere just south of Chicago and I'm not going to treat the fuel and see what happens.

As always, I have extra parts, filters, tools, etc. if this bites me. We'll see how it works out.

Been in temps below 10 Have never used any additives in fuel. Just what truck stop has in their fuel. Never had any problem.

Wondered what driver's were putting in the tank... Steppenwolf

If the truck never shuts off you don't need to. I know in the oilfield trucks we never treated our fuel, the company said it was cheaper for us to leave the trucks run overnight than to buy some antigel 🤷‍♂️ not my monkeys not my circus. I just do what they tell me.

The reason why is because the engine returns any fuel not injected back to the tanks and because it's been up to the engine it's much warmer than the fuel sitting in the tank. It can cause some condensation, but it also keeps the fuel above the wax/gel temp, especially if your running Northern treated fuel.

I'm actually going to do an experiment. I'm on a trip with a delivery in Hutchinson, MN on Thursday morning. I'm going to fuel somewhere just south of Chicago and I'm not going to treat the fuel and see what happens.

As always, I have extra parts, filters, tools, etc. if this bites me. We'll see how it works out.

I'm gonna bet you'll be fine. Depending on how long you have to sit and whether or not you idle vs using the apu. Im actually not sure if the apu does the same thing about returning the unused fuel back to the tanks or not.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

the engine returns any fuel not injected back to the tanks and because it's been up to the engine it's much warmer than the fuel sitting in the tank.

This is true, but comes with a caveat...

Let me explain. I had my fuel gel up while I was driving down the road. I had even treated it. The problem was that I let my fuel tanks get real low before re-fueling. Call it a rookie mistake, or call me a dumb bass, but it is worth mentioning. You need to keep your tanks filled up and treated once you get down in weather below zero. I can't recall the exact temps when this occurred, but it was something like twenty five below. When it gets that bad you need to be on top of things and make sure you have added some anti-gel and keep that engine running. I had trouble finding a wrecker. All of them were out pulling trucks with gelled up fuel. When I did get pulled into a repair facility there were over twenty trucks there with the same problems I was having. When you get into those double digit below zero temps you need to take this issue seriously and take whatever measures you can to avoid getting yourself into a bind.

the engine returns any fuel not injected back to the tanks and because it's been up to the engine it's much warmer than the fuel sitting in the tank.

This is true, but comes with a caveat...

Let me explain. I had my fuel gel up while I was driving down the road. I had even treated it. The problem was that I let my fuel tanks get real low before re-fueling. Call it a rookie mistake, or call me a dumb bass, but it is worth mentioning. You need to keep your tanks filled up and treated once you get down in weather below zero. I can't recall the exact temps when this occurred, but it was something like twenty five below. When it gets that bad you need to be on top of things and make sure you have added some anti-gel and keep that engine running. I had trouble finding a wrecker. All of them were out pulling trucks with gelled up fuel. When I did get pulled into a repair facility there were over twenty trucks there with the same problems I was having. When you get into those double digit below zero temps you need to take this issue seriously and take whatever measures you can to avoid getting yourself into a bind.

That's good to know OS. I try to never let my tanks get below half a tank anyway. I'm usually filling up around the 600-700 mile mark.

What day do you think you’ll be fueling up in Chicago?

I'm actually going to do an experiment. I'm on a trip with a delivery in Hutchinson, MN on Thursday morning. I'm going to fuel somewhere just south of Chicago and I'm not going to treat the fuel and see what happens.

As always, I have extra parts, filters, tools, etc. if this bites me. We'll see how it works out.

Late Tuesday PM, or early AM on Wednesday.

Yeah that’s what we do, keep the trucks running. We also use kerosene.

There was an argument on the cb the other day about the diesel power 911. Some guy got on and asked if it was any good. I replied it’s only for emergency use. Only if your truck is gelled up or about to. Some other guy responded that it’s just fine to use regularly.

Unless I’m dead wrong I was told it can tear up the fuel filter because it’s so strong. You want to use the white bottle. The one that says cetane boost on it for regular use. The red bottle is the emergency use.

Bump.... this is a good thread. Gonna need anti gel anywhere near Chicago for next week or so.

We where doing so well with winter, these last 2.5, 3 weeks having been making up for it.

We have a whole pallet of antigen and they want us to poor a quart in each tank on fill up. Later in the week with the -10 they are calling for they may want us to leave the trucks running to be safe.

The biggest maintenance problem with the additives is the ingredients, such as the cetane boosting chemicals, dry out O rings and seals in the engine, fuel delivery system, and all related components.