Best Diesel Fuel Additives

If you’re new to diesel-powered engines or just moved to an area with cold weather, you may need to think about a few things to keep your engine running and minimize any starting problems that naturally occur on diesel engines on cold weather.

It’s not uncommon to have starting problems during cold weather, but it is even a bigger pain to start diesel engines because of the tendency of the fuel to gel together. Because of this, diesel fuel becomes more sluggish. Moreover, a component of diesel fuel is paraffin and when cold weather strikes, this waxy substance crystallizes, which not just causes difficulty starting the engine, but also plugging of the fuel filter and shutting down of the engine. Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel or ULSD required in the United States and Europe are even more susceptible to waxing because it contains more paraffin. Biodiesel engines are even at a bigger risk since it gels at a warmer temperature than regular diesel.

To address this problem, some people mix no. 2 diesel with no. 1 diesel or kerosene. Others prefer using diesel fuel additives that are geared toward cold weather treatment. Doing this will not only help your engine perform better during cold weather, it will also save you money by giving you better mileage and saving you from paying more for blended fuel, which is more expensive than regular no. 2 diesel. These anti-gel additives help the engine operate even under cold weather conditions. They work by reducing the cold filter plugging point and the pour-point temperature. This helps maintain the high temperature by which diesel fuel operates properly and improves fuel delivery to the injectors. Some additives even remove water, which is also very helpful since ice forms faster than wax gels. Diesel fuel additives that remove water prevents freezing and enhances fuel delivery, as well as reduce wear on the engine.

Once you have the proper diesel fuel additive to use, simply pour it directly to your tank before filling it up and store what’s left on your trunk. Now more than ever, owners of vehicles with diesel-powered engines need to consider using diesel fuel additives. The question lies in which additive will give you the highest returns in terms of performance and value.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 12:37 am and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.