Why Fuel Treatment is Necessary?

In recent years, diesel fuel quality has been declining with refiners constantly under pressure to cut costs. As a result, today’s diesel fuels contain less sulfur and other undesired elements than it has before. Because of the decline in diesel quality, additives for diesel fuel are so vital to the health and operation of your diesel engine’s performance. By using fuel additives, not only can you improve your engine performance, but you’ll also be taking preventative measures in tackling lubricity, deposits, cold flow, cetane reduction, and other key performance properties of your diesel engine.

5 Fuel Treatment Need-To-Knows Before Freezin’ Season

Below are 5 Fuel Treatment Need To Knows before Freezin’ Season.

• Don’t Get Gelled Up
• Water Doesn’t Belong There
• Kill Those Diesel Bugs
• Add Lubricity Back
• Don’t Let Storage Affect Quality

Don’t Get Gelled Up

Just because the weather is about change into a freezing tundra does not mean that your business stops. One thing you do not want to freeze up this winter is your diesel fuel. If you didn’t know, diesel fuel contains paraffin, or wax, in a liquid form. As the temperature drops this winter, remember that at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the paraffin starts to crystallize; And between 10 and 15-degrees Fahrenheit, the paraffin will change into a gel that clogs both the fuel filters and tanks. Using an anti-gel additive and following the proper treatment information, you can lower the gelling point of your diesel fuel. During those winter months, it is always recommended to keep additional anti-gel additives in your cab in case of emergency or severe weather.

FPPF Melt Down SOS

FPPF Melt Down SOS is a safe unique blend of organic compounds designed to dissolve ice and wax in gelled diesel fuel. Within 20 minutes, Melt Down SOS reacts and completely thaws the fuel in the entire diesel system. Melt Down SOS works in all fuel systems including newer common rail systems and is compatible with all types of diesel fuels, biodiesels and home heating oils.

Directions

• Add one quart (32 oz.) directly to each 50 gallons of gelled fuel in the tank.
• Disconnect fuel filter assembly, remove any gelled fuel by adding a 50/50 mix of diesel fuel and Melt Down SOS to the bowl of the fuel filter and reconnect.
• Walt 20 minutes and restart your vehicle.

Water Doesn’t Belong There

Water is a Grim Reaper for diesel engines. Newer common rail fuel systems run at pressures up to 4,000 PSI. Even if a tiny droplet of water makes it through one of the new high-pressure systems to the fuel injector, it can blow the tip off causing you an arm & leg in repair expenses. This is again caused by a reduction in diesel fuel quality.

New blends of diesel fuel often contain some biodiesel which has more water in it. Luckily, almost all diesel engines are equipped with a Fuel Water Separator (FWS) filter. All OEM manufacturers recommend that you demulsify water from your diesel fuel so the water can be removed and not damage your engine.

FPPF Fuel Power

FPPF Fuel Power totally disperses water from the fuel system and reduces oxidation to stabilize the fuel! Not only that but it also dissolves gum and varnish, cleans injector tips, and restores proper injector spray pattern. This results in improved combustion efficiency, added power, and increased miles per gallon. And better yet, FPPF Fuel Power contains no harmful alcohols to attack your gaskets and seals.

Directions

• Add prior to fueling for best mixing results.

Kill Those Diesel Bugs

Have you ever found sludge in your filters? Hopefully not! If you said “Yes,” then you could have ‘Diesel Bug’. Diesel Bug is contamination of diesel fuel by microbes such as bacteria and fungi. This comes from blended bio-diesels using various forms of organic plant based oils. The presence of water then encourages microbial growth which either occurs at the interface between the oil and water or on the tank walls, depending on whether the microbes need oxygen.

FPPF Killem

FPPF Killem is an EPA registered product to be used as a biocide to control micro-organisms in fuel oil storage tanks, fuel oil and other refined or partially refined oils. Killem will reduce tank corrosion, slime mats, odors, fuel oil filter deposits and plugging, vehicle fuel tank deposits and corrosion, fuel-water separator deposits, injector plugging, excess carbon deposits and exhaust gas smoke. Killem will sanitize your entire fuel tank to get rid of Diesel Bugs for good!

Add Lubricity Back

Today’s diesel fuel is better for the environment, but the chemical process used to refine today’s low-sulfur diesel takes out quite a bit of the lubricating properties of diesel fuel. That lubrication needs to be put back into the diesel fuel through fuel additives or your engine may experience extensive premature engine wear.

FPPF Lubricity Plus Fuel Power

FPPF Lubricity Plus Fuel Power is a premium year-round diesel fuel treatment that increases the lubricity of both #2 and #1 low sulfur and ultra-low sulfur fuels to exceed all ASTM standards. This fuel additives provides both additional lubricity and all the benefits of FPPF’s Fuel Power like total dispersant of water from the fuel system and reduced oxidation to stabilize the diesel fuel. It also improves cetane rating, combustion efficiency, adds power, and increases your miles per gallon.

Directions

• Add entire quart contents to any diesel fuel to treat up to 250 gallons.
• For best results, add prior to refueling.
• Use half of the container in each 120 gallons side fuel tank.
• Bulk Treatment ratio 1:1000

Don’t Let Storage Affect Quality

Diesel fuel is the popular choice of the heavy duty industry, with many businesses purchasing diesel fuel in bulk and storing the fuel until they need it for their trucks. But what you may not know is this. The longer you keep diesel fuel stored, the more likely it is to develop issues, from fuel degradation, that will affect its quality and performance in your diesel engines.

Diesel fuel starts degrading shortly after leaving the refinery in a process called oxidization. This means that diesel fuel starts to form sediments and gums. In as short as 30 days without fuel additives, oxidization can form contaminants that can damage fuel injectors, fuel lines, and other fuel system components which will hurt your diesel engine’s health and performance. This is the reason for needing fuel additives like stability improvers to protect the fuel while storing.

FPPF Total Power

FPPF Total Power is an all-in-one diesel fuel treatment for top performance year-round. It stabilizes fuel to slow down fuel aging and prevent thermal and oxidation fuel related problems. It also removes water to help prevent bacterial growth while storing the diesel fuel. FPPF Total Power still goes above that by cleaning your injectors, adding lubricity, and preventing fuel gelling during those cold temperatures.

Directions

• Add prior to fueling for best mixing results

Treat As Follows When Sub-Freezing Weather Is Predicted:

• One quart added to 250 gallons can lower Pour Pont -30°F and the Cold Filter Plug Point -15°F.
• One quart added to 125 gallons can lower Pour Pont -45°F and the Cold Filter Plug Point -25°F.

Treat As Follows For Injector Cleaning:

• One quart to 250 gallons keeps injectors clean.
• One quart to 125 gallons cleans the injectors to L-10 Superior and exceeds N-14 specifications

(The above cold-weather treatment ratios are results for typical fuels. Do not exceed treatment ratio of 1:300, one quart to 75 gallons. Do not add to gelled fuel. If fuel is already gelled, treat first with FPPF Melt Down.)

Wheelco Recommendation: FPPF Fuel Treatments

At Wheelco, we know that diesel fuel is ever changing and takes constant research and innovation to be able to properly treat all types of fuels and the problems that can arise. That’s why we choose FPPF Fuel Additives.

FPPF has been the leader in fuel additives, treatments and conditioners since the 1970’s. FPPF has seen all the issues associated with heating oil, diesel, gasoline and biodiesel fuel and consistently arrive at a solution. As fuel problems evolve, so does the FPPF product catalog.

Visit with our Wheelco team of aftermarket experts and service techs to help get you the best all-around fuel additive, or we can help you target a specific need. Give us a call or stop in to one of our stores today.