How long does it take for diesel fuel to thaw?

dieselenthusiast · 10-08-2010, 11:55 PM

Without cold flow improver, how long does it take for wax crystals to thaw once temperatures rise above the cloud point?

FastFreddy1414 · 10-09-2010, 04:14 AM

Depends on the amount of fuel in the tank. It takes a while to raise the temperature of a full tank about 55gal of fuel but doesn't take long to raise the temp of say 5 or 10 gallons.

Horsinaround · 10-09-2010, 06:56 AM

It will also depend how high the temperature goes. If it is only 5 degrees above or 25 degrees above the cloudpoint it will determine how quickly it warms up.

***speed185187*** · 10-09-2010, 07:23 AM

if it's in the tank, and you have a torpedo heater, place it about 4 feed behind the truck and let it heat the underside of the truck. I had to do it one morning, wound up being 2 hours late for work.

But it seriously depends on the amount of fuel that's gelled, and the temperature differential between the two.

dieselenthusiast · 10-09-2010, 10:39 AM

Thanks everyone for your replies. What you’re saying makes sense. I was under the impression that once the fuel turned into wax crystals that it would take high heat and lots of time to thaw. The reason why I'm asking is because I live in the high desert (7,000 feet) where night time temperatures drop down real low but the day time temperatures go right back up.

Here’s the norm:
Fall (+15 t0 +30’s for the Night LOW and +60’s to +70’s for the Day HIGH
Winter (-20 to +20) for the Night LOW and +30’s t0 +50’s for the Day HIGH
Spring (+20’s to +30’s for the Night LOW and +60’s to +70’s for the Day HIGH

I'm trying to decide if I should start adding a fuel additive with our night tempersatures dropping into the +20's.

***bulldogbones*** · 10-09-2010, 10:49 AM

I noticed you have ( bio diesel ) as an avatar. If thats what your running in your truck then. That starts to gel at a much warmer temp then ulsd.

camorhino · 10-09-2010, 11:19 AM

Up here it will start to gel about -40, it's pretty much make sure the truck was plugged in, you used antigel and let the truck circulate fuel for about 15min+ before driving it.

The nice thing with the fuel canister is you can pull the top off and add some antigel into it instead of waiting for it to try to make it's way through the tank pump and to the engine which will only work if it's warmer and you don't kill the battery trying to start it.

dieselenthusiast · 10-09-2010, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bulldogbones

I noticed you have ( bio diesel ) as an avatar. If thats what your running in your truck then. That starts to gel at a much warmer temp then ulsd.

Very true; however, I only run enough biodiesel to help with lubricity (B2).

MPD106 · 10-09-2010, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieselenthusiast

Very true; however, I only run enough biodiesel to help with lubricity (B2).

I run B20 all the time, I only run antigel when the temp drops below 32 degrees. Ive done this for years and been ok so far. On a side note I have only gelled up once, and that was when the temp was -10 through -20 with a windchill of -30, I left the truck unplugged as usual in the driveway but didnt drive it for a week and I had standadyne antigel in the tank, truck gelled up and wouldnt run.