Bulk fuel

[fjlip]

Heard other way, winter only has additives to counter gelling, just like adding Howes etc. BTU nearly identical.

[GDR]

Also supposed to be no biodiesel in winter fuel. Most seem to feel biodiesel is harder on engines. Dont really know myself.

[burnt]

Winter fuel does have lower cetane levels. So won’t have the power/efficiency. You can notice it in late fall when they start switching to winter diesel and you are still out there combining. All I know is you hook a kite to a John Deere it’ll burn an outrageous amount of fuel, what’s another 5%....

Best thing we did fuel wise wasn’t winter vs. summer or where we get it from, it was switching the color of paint....

Got that covered.

We're blue.

[GDR]

So someone mentioned the storage life of diesel? How long can you store it? Not sure you can get a year out of gas but diesel should be good for a number of years, or not?

[helmsdale]

So someone mentioned the storage life of diesel? How long can you store it? Not sure you can get a year out of gas but diesel should be good for a number of years, or not?

New formulations are less stable than they used to be... both the Soviets and Americans used to store diesel for long periods in underground caverns for strategic purposes. That was constant temp, with no moisture infiltration, and continuously cycled.

I've stored 8 months and never had an issue. Most gets turned in 3-6 months. I have 3x1000gal ground level, and 2x500gal ground level tanks, that are manifolded together through 1 pump. I used to carry, and separately meter both clear and dyed, hence the reason I have more smaller tanks rather than 1 large one.

[TOM4CWB]

New formulations are less stable than they used to be... both the Soviets and Americans used to store diesel for long periods in underground caverns for strategic purposes. That was constant temp, with no moisture infiltration, and continuously cycled.

I've stored 8 months and never had an issue. Most gets turned in 3-6 months. I have 3x1000gal ground level, and 2x500gal ground level tanks, that are manifolded together through 1 pump. I used to carry, and separately meter both clear and dyed, hence the reason I have more smaller tanks rather than 1 large one.

Regina Federated Diesel Summer and Winter Diesel Available at Killam AB;

42 Cetane on Winter, no Bio.
46-49 Cetane on Summer, no Bio as long as Winter is being produced at refinery in Regina[40Cetane Winter only available from Edm Refinery... was 85cents/L Friday-28C Winter for another week at rack... then to -20C at Edm rack]... Federated Summer has at least 10% more energy than Winter... Pay end of May, in NE-AB Dyed Diesel 89.1cents/L for large volumes till Tuesday...[Federated Summer is good for a year at least with no Bio... about 8 months when SummerBio blend is recommended storage time...

[zeefarmer]

Heard other way, winter only has additives to counter gelling, just like adding Howes etc. BTU nearly identical.

In our semis that we run commercially with, we always notice a drop in fuel mileage around Oct 31 and it picks back up late March/early April. Fill up at the same cardlock every time.

[fjlip]

Temps, rolling resistance are a factor. Not just the fuel. Really hard to square.

[helmsdale]

In our semis that we run commercially with, we always notice a drop in fuel mileage around Oct 31 and it picks back up late March/early April. Fill up at the same cardlock every time.

I used to be a believer in this... So I took 4000gal of clear summer diesel and treated the ever living shit out of it. Used it the majority of one winter in my truck hauling commercial. Used IFTA reports to compare against all the other trucks in the fleet. All of our trucks were within a few MPG of each other, with some reliably higher and others reliably lower. Other trucks burning winter fuel, mine burning summer fuel, my % difference from where I usually stack up against the other trucks? +0.3%. MPG differerence from previous winters? +0.5%.

Fuel economy decline from summer running to winter running: 10% typically. Running summer fuel in winter? 9.5%.

Those numbers are hardly any more meaningful than rounding errors. Cold components, increased idle time, slushy roads, and possibly more wind are likely the largest contributors.

[zeefarmer]

That's interesting. I've always wanted to burn "summer" fuel in winter, but never have had the storage. But no matter the climatic conditions in Nov or March, I can watch fuel mileage drop and rise based on the time of year. I've kept records of every fill from 2 different trucks over 12 years.

[helmsdale]

That's interesting. I've always wanted to burn "summer" fuel in winter, but never have had the storage. But no matter the climatic conditions in Nov or March, I can watch fuel mileage drop and rise based on the time of year. I've kept records of every fill from 2 different trucks over 12 years.

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it work or not... Diesel fuel was certainly "stiff", as the proheat struggled to pull it on the first couple tries on the real cold days. I thought I was royally screwed with gelled fuel when we hit some near -40 mornings. After a couple unsuccessful attempts it would fire. Fuel filter restriction would run high into the red until the fuel had cycled long enough for the return to warm up the tanks.

Used Diesel Services "Arctic 4+" at about double the recommended dosage to treat it. It works, but I only use it now if I have a Tank of summer diesel I really dont feel like sitting on till summer.

[blackpowder]

Here, at UFA anyway, we're told it's seasonally adjusted. Not sure when you'd get true #2. Only a few months. Some claim efficiency goes down when on summer fuel with the bio adds.

[LEP]

Here, at UFA anyway, we're told it's seasonally adjusted. Not sure when you'd get true #2. Only a few months. Some claim efficiency goes down when on summer fuel with the bio adds.

Fuel dealer get the specific gravity on every load. It is never consistent. Swears the difference between winter and summer is only a few percent max. Just filled for .84. We need to fill 2 1/2 times to get through most seasons. There usually is a dip in price before spring but we decided not to chance it.

[Freightshaker]

I used to be a believer in this... So I took 4000gal of clear summer diesel and treated the ever living shit out of it. Used it the majority of one winter in my truck hauling commercial. Used IFTA reports to compare against all the other trucks in the fleet. All of our trucks were within a few MPG of each other, with some reliably higher and others reliably lower. Other trucks burning winter fuel, mine burning summer fuel, my % difference from where I usually stack up against the other trucks? +0.3%. MPG differerence from previous winters? +0.5%.

Fuel economy decline from summer running to winter running: 10% typically. Running summer fuel in winter? 9.5%.

Those numbers are hardly any more meaningful than rounding errors. Cold components, increased idle time, slushy roads, and possibly more wind are likely the largest contributors.

Now take winter fuel and burn it in July. You’ll see the difference. If you “treated the ever living shit” out of summer fuel you basically got winter fuel anyways?

[helmsdale]

Now take winter fuel and burn it in July. You’ll see the difference. If you “treated the ever living shit” out of summer fuel you basically got winter fuel anyways?

I have 1000gal of winter sitting around. Perhaps I should keep it till July and see what happens.

Perhaps treating summer fuel with DSG 4+ is the same thing as winter? In that case It would truly be a waste of cash as you get all the expense and none of the benefit.