Diesel fuel: #1, #2, Winter, Blended - Differences?

[DennisG01]

I know, this is probably a stupid question, but what's the difference between #1, #2, Winter, and Blended fuel? What is it blended with?

[Kidd]

#1 diesel is summer fuel, a heavier fuel, gives more power but only good to about -20.. gels after that. Winter fuel is summer without the heavier fractions.. wax and such, good to about
-40, then there is Arctic, very close to kerosene, good to about -60. Blended is a mix of summer and winter Diesel, usually sold only where it doesn't get extremely cold.

K.D.

[Kidd]

Hmm, or is #1 winter, and #2 summer?? Been 25 years since I worked for Imperial Oil... :confused:

Ah, well.... :D

K.D.

[CareyWeber]

#2 Summer grade fuel (IIRC gells at 20

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

CareyWeber: ditto. From what I've read (& I count on more knowledgeable folks correcting my mistakes), #2 is good to ≈ +20

[damork]

I find the #1 seems to help my 6.5 fire off a bit better than the thicker #2 in the winter. A lot of stations seem to be selling "premium" diesel but some of it is really a blend, others truly run cleaner and allow better starts (higher cetane). Knowing the cetane number is more difficult than getting the octane of gasoline.

I too worked in Alaska - near pump station #1 at Prudhoe Bay. We had a lot of trouble with the fuel as the lubricants (waxes) were gone and the fuel was extremely dry. At that time we added anything with oil to help avoid sticking injectors in 2 cycle Detroits and wiping out 3208 Cat fuel pumps.

[CareyWeber]

Originally posted by damork:
I too worked in Alaska - near pump station #1 at Prudhoe Bay. We had a lot of trouble with the fuel as the lubricants (waxes) were gone and the fuel was extremely dry. At that time we added anything with oil to help avoid sticking injectors in 2 cycle Detroits and wiping out 3208 Cat fuel pumps. damork,

The guy at the Injection repair shop in anchorage said that winter time in Alaska is the most important time to run an aditive with good lube qualities.

I've been told that pumps with hardeded internal parts keep from galling/sticking IIRC all the Military 6.2/6.5's are that way. I was aslso told that most of the Ford diesel pickups on the Slope had hardened pump internal parts.

Carey

[Dvldog 8793]

Howdy
This is what I've found in my area. All the regular gas stations start blending with the first cold weather. Some that offer the "premium" fuel say that it will not gell, I've had some tree cutters tell me different. The people up here that depend on it for a paycheck use 100% #1
because a gelled fuel system in the middle of the woods can put out of business.
Personally I get my fuel at the truck stops and blend my own. I use about 8 gal of #1 to a tank plus I use an additive year around. (mostly Stanadyne w/ other"stuff") I've never had a gelling problem.
I've had OTR drivers tell me that they have seen #2 from down south start to give problems at 25-30*. Who knows???
In the Marines we would mix #1 with JP5 (jet fuel) and then add some motor oil. This when we first pulled into Norway and hadn't got the good arctic stuff yet. We always added the oil no matter what.
L8r
Conley Janssen