Just curious...

[Frodo the Zuk]

Who, in your opinion, sells the best quality diesel fuel?

Do you use additives regularly to make up for poor quality?

[ORCoaster]

No one sells QUALITY Diesel anymore.  It isn't the formula designed for the IP back in the mid 1980's.  They have taken the sulfur out of it and thinned it in the process.

So to return some viscosity to the fuel some of us add oils, diesel injector cleaner or in my case I dissolve about 3-4 oz of paraffin wax, the kind you buy for canning into a gallon of diesel and add that to 9 gals of fuel in the tank.  It returns the thickness to the fuel and the cetane.

[Frodo the Zuk]

I just reached the pages in the SAGA where Hagar talks about wax. I am very, very interested. I think I'll start with an ice-cube size for a tank (10 gallons) and see what it does.

[ORCoaster]

That thread still lives?  Even though he does not?  Interesting the internet is!

[Rabbit79]

I remember doing some research on this back when they made the switch to ultra low sulfur diesel. It was kind of hard to sift through all the manufacturer claims and every guy championing his own particular product that he liked to use, but I did come across some independent study that listed a product called Opti-Lube XPD as the best off the shelf product. I never have had a chance to use it because nobody sells it here where I live. For my part I put in an additive made by Redline, which I can't remember the name of at the moment. Mostly what I look for is something that helps lubricate the pump, as that was what the sulfur in the old high sulfur diesel did. I can't say that I'm loyal to any one brand, the Redline stuff just happens to be what I can find here in my little town. Seems to work ok, at least I can't say I've had any problems since they switched to ULSD.

[burn_your_money]

Get diesel with some biodiesel blended into it. It has excellent lubricating properties.

[fatmobile]

Hagar also suggested aeroshell motor oil because it's ashless,.. like 2-stroke oil it doesn't burn to ash that wears the engine.
 It helps make the fuel thicker, not just slicker.
 Most folks shred and dissolve the wax into diesel before adding,.. don't just throw a cube in there.

[sgnimj96]

I was looking at that wax thread the other day.  Sounds great...but most Wax needs to be ~130 F to melt.  Seems like it would always be solid until the fuel filter(s) got warm enough to melt it.     I'm thinking any chunks might get hung up in the tank or lines before ever making it to the engine area.

I put some candle wax in a jar of  biodiesel,  even left it in the sun for a while- it didn't melt at all,  not even the small pieces.   Wax can supposedly be dissolved with turpentine or xylene,  but then things are getting even more complicated.  Maybe someone can explain how to properly dissolve solid wax into diesel fuel.

I'm going to start using B-99 as an additive in place of 2-stroke oil (1 oz/gal or so).    It's the same price as diesel where I live.

[ORCoaster]

Your error was in the choice of wax.  Candle is not correct.  Paraffin, used in canning is the wax Hagar talks about.  You shave it like you are whittling wood.  I have draw a line on the piece of wax with the Stanley knife I use.  Mark about a 1 inch slice across the piece of wax.  They are squares, about 3 by 5 inches in size.

I take a gallon of diesel in one of those red one gallon containers and slap a funnel on it.  Then I slowly shave the wax into the funnel and poke it down into the fuel.  I leave it out in the sun and let it warm up and every so often go and shake it up.  I never see chunks floating in the bottom after a while.  It just melts into the warm diesel. 

Once the two become a liquid I pour it in the tank and drive like a circus clown.  Not really I just figure it will mix up with the rest in time just coming to a stop and starting away from a light. 

Might be time to mix a batch.  It hit 68 today, and was sunny.   

[sgnimj96]

Does "Gulf Wax" work?   

Another confusion comes from "paraffin" also being another name for kerosene or jet fuel.

[ORCoaster]

Not a familiar name to me.  Is that a brand name?  Is it used to seal the tops of jelly or jam when canning?  If so then it would be the same as the type of wax I was using in the gallon of diesel.

[sgnimj96]

Not a familiar name to me.  Is that a brand name?  Is it used to seal the tops of jelly or jam when canning?  If so then it would be the same as the type of wax I was using in the gallon of diesel.

  https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gulf-Wax-Household-Paraffin-Wax-16-oz/10420578


Searching the web, it sounds like 1/4 of the box to 10 gallons is a nominal formula.

[Frodo the Zuk]

What do y'all use in cooler weather? Right now, I've got "half a bar" of Gulf Wax per 10 gallons of diesel. My little mill seems to like it a LOT, and I'd like to add a "full bar" (which is 1/4 of the box), but am just shy of it not staying dissolved. Here in west Georgia, we still can't trust the temps not to dip down too low for my comfort in adding a lot of wax.

Hagar used ashless oil with success (Esso AV-100?). I don't even know what that is or where to find it. I'd like to keep it simple.

[ORCoaster]

If you are in West Georgia I know you are in a similar band of climate that really doesn't see much freezing weather.  So the wax isn't going to gel up on you. 

Do the Hagar freezer test.  Melt all of one bar into a gallon of fuel then pour some into a sealed container, best if clear glass with a spill proof lid on it.  Then sit in in the freezer.  If it doesn't gel up in there you are good to go in your climate for sure. 

The only time I wasn't running the wax was in the dead of winter and I was crossing from the coast to the valley where it does get in the 20's for an extended amount of time.  In those months I ran a few gallons of 100% BioDiesel in the tank with the rest of the diesel.  Never had a problem. 

I also had a second tank for WVO and that I ran in the summer.  But that is another fuel source that has its own needs and confusions. 

[Frodo the Zuk]

My Zuk is set up for WVO. It's a  2-tank system, heated from the tank (a 5-gallon jerry can on the tailgate) to just before IP with various heat exchangers, then electric heat just before the IP. The system works great. I've only used it once since purchasing the Zuk back from the fellow I sold it to when I ran out of diesel and needed to travel a few more miles to the station. I no longer have a filtering/dewatering station, and my daily commute doesn't warrant using WVO (by the time I'm up to temp, it'd be nearly time to switch back to diesel). I've strongly considered building a new filtering setup just to take advantage of the system on the rare occasions I could use it - and to recycle household oils.