I see, thanks for the tip.

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I take it if the gasstation carries this winter blend, it will say it on the pump?

Is this winter blend diesel..do they put the same antigel stuff that you buy at the store in their diesel tanks at the gasstation?

I'm still curious though when/if you have to buy antigel at the store if you are already using it when you fill up at the gasstation? Is it at or around 0F like said some posts up?

 

a normal winter blend for the stations is 50/50 this means they are blending #1 and #2 at a 50/50 ratio.............yes the pump should say blended or winter fuel on it, I use additive year round anyway as it also has a cetane improver in it and that alone will justify the cost of the additive in MPG gains so the anti-gel part of the additive is just insurance or a bonus of the deal

 

It's a bigger pain, but mix it yourself. At least then you know it's good. And don't rely on antigel additives too much with straight #2, especially if it gets colder than 0F.

 

I've never seen a pump marked for winter blend in Ohio.. I just guess by the "how the heck did I use up that tank so fast?" factor.

My last truck was an 86 ford idi that hated to start below 0* temps, added a little power service (winter in the grey bottle) to each fill up and it was much much better!

never had any gelling issues otherwise, I believe the winter blends are guaranteed to 0*f but if memory serves me correctly shouldn't gel until -20f to -40f

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Also, from what I recall is the colder it gets the more aggressive the mix of #1 gets.. so you may start out with a mix of 40/60 this time of year and end with a mix of 60/40 at the coldest points. I wouldn't worry about needing any anti-gel unless we get into a cold snap of -20 or more for extended periods.

 

Unlike most of the other guys here so far, I start using anti-gel as soon as the temperature starts to drop below 32F/0C. I'll add a little bit to my tank at every fill up, about 160-350mL of Howe's, as long as there isn't a chance the temperature will hike back up well above 32F.

I do this as insurance. My tank is huge and changing filters on the side of a highway in freezing weather isn't fun. Also, I don't know or trust other fuel stations if I'm in a random location. Apparently some places pre-mix, some don't. I don't know if they do or not and how much, so I make sure I'm good on my own.

Once the temperature starts to drop below 0-10F consistently, I'm on the additive like crazy...about 300-500mL of Howe's/100L of fuel. I don't take any chances after too many hard lessons.

In addition to the additive if you're really concerned about cold weather, make sure you have some kind of winter front for your truck too to keep the engine bay warm. I always carry spare fuel filters and wrenches with me now for the extreme cases.

 

I have never seen a pump marked for winter blend either, but I mostly only see my 3 pumps.

I hate getting called by one of my drivers telling me they froze up. It happens once every 2 years and they are always getting loaded, dropping a load, or sitting in an intersection. Some times it takes more than just changing a filter.

 

I've had my truck gel up when the temp dipped near 0 in upstate NY. The truck started fine, idled all day long, took off for work and once I got up to speed it started losing power and choking down. Had to pull over and let it idle for a while until it smoothed back out. I had to do this 3 or 4 times in a 6 mile drive. What normally took me 5-7 minutes to get to work took 25. The truck never shut off though, thank god! It was COLD! I usually run Opti-lube products and have never had an issue before, but I hadn't been running it (stupid) and it happened. 3 trucks that I know of gelled that day, mine, another 6.0, and a chevy. The chevy was bad enough it wouldn't even run, at all, had to be trailered home. A 4th truck, another 6.0 had zero issues because it started and idled fine like mine, but the vegistroke kicked on after that and it was a nice heated system, so they drove on WVO the whole day without issue.

 

I add a little each fillup just as insurance

 

For those new to diesels, and you live in an area where it gets in the teens to below 0, gelling up means the pour point decreases and wax crystals form in diesel. When that happens, fuel filters plug up causing loss of power and eventually a stall out.

 

Yes, and if you've never had the opportunity to stand outside in 0 degree weather with the wind and snow blowing, trying to change fuel filters on the side of the road at 7am on your way to work, then you're really missing out! just kidding...