We’re in the last few weeks of winter, but it isn’t too late to learn how to prevent diesel gelling.
Anybody who uses diesel in vehicles and machinery knows about the hassles that cold weather brings to engine performance. If you have been around diesel engines in the winter, you will remember how temperamental they could be. Besides snow shoveling snow and scraping ice off windshields, smart contractors, fleet owners, and farmers know how to deal with low temperatures – otherwise, they will be out in the cold with a vehicle or motor that will not start. Whether you have to drive to your job, get your tractors moving, or start up your equipment, a motor that doesn’t fire could ruin your day. We’re in the last few weeks of winter, but it isn’t too late to learn how to prevent diesel gelling. Read on to learn more about the cause of bad winter engine performance.
Engine Performance and Gelling
Unlike gas, diesel fuel has paraffin wax. This ingredient helps aim to increase lubrication and aid viscosity and does a very good job in mild and cool warmer weather. Once it gets frigid, the wax will thicken up and become smaller crystals. That is where the issues begin. Before the fuel comes into the vehicle or machine engine, it goes through a type of filter to help remove impurities. The filter is an essential part of helping keep your engine more clean. But, in freezing temperatures, this filter could get clogged. As the temperatures drop, the wax crystals stick to the fuel filter and prevent your engine from getting fuel. Your engine won’t start, and how does the cold weather have to be before it negatively affects the performance? The short answer is chilly enough to start turning the wax into crystals. Once the temperature starts to dip below 32 degrees, the liquid wax will start turning into crystals. This “gelling” is the cloud point and refers to fuel becoming more cloudy because of the wax starting to harden. Fuel filters could get clogged up with wax crystals, and the engine either does not run or drops in performance.
Gelling Terminology to Keep in Mind
Just like with anything semi-technical, there are terms thrown around that are good to know. Understanding these terms can help you when it comes to picking the winter fuel or buying winterizing treatment. Cold filter plugging point, which is known as CFPP for short. In untreated diesel fuel, the CFPP is the point at which wax crystals could form a gel and then clog the fuel filter. The cloud point is the temperature range that the wax starts to harden. The pour point references the lowest temperature when the fuel starts to flow and pour.
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