Antigel additive.

Foxrunfarms

Well-known member

Equipment
Kubota LX2610, 1951 Farmall M, 1967 John Deere 110 Rf, 2010 Arctic Cat 700
Apr 25, 2023
366
522
93
WI
Being July and in the 90's I don't want to think about this but I was curious on 2 things.

1) for the cold climate guys what antigel additive do you use? In my area it can be -40 with the windchill.

Growing up and where I work we use winter blend diesel but still added diesel 911 additive.

2) I don't have fuel tanks but keep 2 jugs full at all times and especially plan on that in the winter so I don't need to run somewhere to fill them up in a snow storm. Would it be best to put the additive in the jugs mixed to keep that fuel good and dump it in the tractor? Or is it better to just get a fresh jug to dump in the tractor and add the additive to that?

Thanks.
 

Trustable

Active member

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l2501HST
Jul 5, 2022
193
128
43
Michigan
Being July and in the 90's I don't want to think about this but I was curious on 2 things.

1) for the cold climate guys what antigel additive do you use? In my area it can be -40 with the windchill.

Growing up and where I work we use winter blend diesel but still added diesel 911 additive.

2) I don't have fuel tanks but keep 2 jugs full at all times and especially plan on that in the winter so I don't need to run somewhere to fill them up in a snow storm. Would it be best to put the additive in the jugs mixed to keep that fuel good and dump it in the tractor? Or is it better to just get a fresh jug to dump in the tractor and add the additive to that?

Thanks.
I used the white bottle power service this winter. It got down to -15 a couple times after snowfall and the tractor didn’t seem to have any problems clearing it for a few hours each time.
 

GeoHorn

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M4700DT, LA1002FEL, Ferguson5-8B Compactor-Roller, 10KDumpTrailer, RTV-X900
May 18, 2018
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Texas
I use the Texas winters to avoid gelled diesel. But if I had to live “up nawth”… I’d use Stanadyne or Power Service.
 
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Foxrunfarms

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Equipment
Kubota LX2610, 1951 Farmall M, 1967 John Deere 110 Rf, 2010 Arctic Cat 700
Apr 25, 2023
366
522
93
WI
I use the Texas winters to avoid gelled diesel. But if I had to live “up nawth”… I’d use Stanadyne or Power Service.
2 of my neighbors did that. One stays there during winter, the other sold his farm and called it his forever home. The older I get the more that crosses my mind. Unfortunately humility affects my leg hardware..........winter time the leg feels the best...........my mind and the rest of the body not so much haha.
 

will721

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LX2610, Ford 2n, Ferguson TO20
Jun 6, 2023
179
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Quad Cities Area

Funny enough, before his video came out, I already ran the winning combo:

I run power service in the winter, the white bottle. I drive a diesel truck all winter. We also get well into the negatives and have winterized diesel but at -40 it isn't enough. The first winter I had my diesel truck and it got that cold it gelled on the highway. Since running PS I haven't had an issue. I also triple dose when its about to drop that low just in case. Being on the side of the road without heat at those temperatures is no beuno.

Fyi the red bottle 911 is what got me off the side of the road, however it was a much higher than recommended dosage. I.E. one bottle treats 100 gallons and one bottle treated my 15 or so gallons I had in the truck. I don't recommended it ever getting to that point.

I also use hot shots in the summer months, their non winter additive. Infact since purchasing my lx it hasn't had a any fuel without it.
 

mikester

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M59 TLB
Oct 21, 2017
3,560
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www.divergentstuff.ca
If you buy diesel at the pumps or in bulk, fuel is pre-blended seasonally so in general you don't need to worry about more additives.

As an aside Windchill is a meaningless calculated number meant to let TV weather news broadcasters get people's attention by saying "it feels like" it's colder outside than it really is. In summer they ignore wind and neglect windchill and use a humidex value to tell you it feels warmer than it really is. Both of these numbers are as accurate as asking a menopausal woman the temperature inside a climate controlled office.
 
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NCL4701

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L4701, T2290, WC68, grapple, BB1572, Farmi W50R, Howes 500, 16kW IMD gen, WG24
Apr 27, 2020
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these numbers are as accurate as asking a menopausal woman the temperature inside a climate controlled office.
I have a planning meeting this afternoon in which the above is almost certainly applicable. Will likely use that analogy. Thanks!
 

Bmyers

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Grand L3560 with LA805 loader, EA 55" Wicked Grapple, SBX72 BB, LP 1272 mower
May 27, 2019
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Southern Illinois
Being July and in the 90's I don't want to think about this but I was curious on 2 things.

1) for the cold climate guys what antigel additive do you use? In my area it can be -40 with the windchill.

Growing up and where I work we use winter blend diesel but still added diesel 911 additive.

2) I don't have fuel tanks but keep 2 jugs full at all times and especially plan on that in the winter so I don't need to run somewhere to fill them up in a snow storm. Would it be best to put the additive in the jugs mixed to keep that fuel good and dump it in the tractor? Or is it better to just get a fresh jug to dump in the tractor and add the additive to that?

Thanks.
I use Sta-Bil Diesel All Season additives. I use it year around. I add it to the fuel cans when I fill them, so all my fuel is pre-treated, year around, and ready to go.

Also, there is a recent thread about algae in fuel, which I treat my tractor with algae treatment in the Spring and in the Fall when we seem to go through some of the biggest temp changes and condensation seems to be abundant.
 

The Evil Twin

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L2501, LA526,
Jul 19, 2022
2,823
2,844
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Virginia
Power Service or Amsoil Alk In One here. Lube, water demulsifier, anti gel all in one product.
As much as we like our tractors, they don't have feelings. So wind chill means nothing to them, their fuel, oil or coolant. Pump fuel (road and off road) is treated for your climate and typically sufficient. However, when a crazy bomb cyclone drops the wrath of Elsa on you, it may not be. A good example is Texas a couple years ago. Lots of gelled fuel because it was 30-40 below what they normally got.
 

RBsingl

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Kubota F 2690 72" rear discharge deck, Deere 955
Jul 1, 2022
409
428
63
Central IL
I use Power Service anti-gel and it has never let me down. But if you get a blend that is heavy on bio, it will defeat the best of the anti-gel agents in really cold weather.

Buy your fuel from a station that knows what they are doing in cold weather. I followed the lead of the regional propane sales company since they are delivering fuel in all sorts of weather with their diesel trucks.

Wind chill is a human thing, your fuel cloud and gel points are based upon the actual and not "feels like" temperature which includes wind and humidity. The wind will cool a tank faster but it can't cool it any cooler than the true air temperature. 32 degrees and no wind feels the same to fuel as 32 degrees and a 50 MPH wind but to humans wind plus a little humidity can make 32F seem chilly.

If your fuel filter and tank are located where they get heat from the engine/cooling system, then blocking off part of the grill can make a big difference so that they can benefit from increased ambient heat. One of the things GM got right about their old 6.5L diesel was mounting the fuel filter in the V of the engine where it would stay warmer.

Rodger
 
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Foxrunfarms

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Kubota LX2610, 1951 Farmall M, 1967 John Deere 110 Rf, 2010 Arctic Cat 700
Apr 25, 2023
366
522
93
WI
I use Power Service anti-gel and it has never let me down. But if you get a blend that is heavy on bio, it will defeat the best of the anti-gel agents in really cold weather.

Buy your fuel from a station that knows what they are doing in cold weather. I followed the lead of the regional propane sales company since they are delivering fuel in all sorts of weather with their diesel trucks.

Wind chill is a human thing, your fuel cloud and gel points are based upon the actual and not "feels like" temperature which includes wind and humidity. The wind will cool a tank faster but it can't cool it any cooler than the true air temperature. 32 degrees and no wind feels the same to fuel as 32 degrees and a 50 MPH wind but to humans wind plus a little humidity can make 32F seem chilly.

If your fuel filter and tank are located where they get heat from the engine/cooling system, then blocking off part of the grill can make a big difference so that they can benefit from increased ambient heat. One of the things GM got right about their old 6.5L diesel was mounting the fuel filter in the V of the engine where it would stay warmer.

Rodger
There's a kwik trip just up the road from me and a cenex about 10 minutes away. Where I work we use both stations but for my personal preference I seem to get better start ups and preference with cenex.

Growing up we had a heat houser on some tractors. It covered the block keeping it warm and also directing some of the heat towards the operator.
Screenshot_20230712_215755_Photos.jpg
 
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RBsingl

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Kubota F 2690 72" rear discharge deck, Deere 955
Jul 1, 2022
409
428
63
Central IL
The cetane number is an important characteristic of diesel fuel and Cenex is known for their emphasis on providing higher than average cetane fuel. I have used their fuel often in my diesel pickups.

Cetane is basically the opposite of octane with a higher cetane rating indicating fuel that more quickly and easily combusts under pressure which is exactly what we want in diesel engines.

Fuel with a higher cetane number is very helpful with cold winter starts and I suspect that is critical with a lot of Kubota products. One of the big differences I noted between the Yanmar diesel in my Deere compact utility and the Kubota diesel in my new F2690 mower is the Kubota is much more cold natured about starting. With the Deere, it will start immediately except for very cold weather without waiting for the glow plugs while my F2690 likes a few seconds of glow plugs even in late spring for smooth starts.

Power Service silver and white (winter formula) both provide some cetane boost also.

Rodger
 
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