The Donaldson approach to this situation includes proper cold flow additive use, housekeeping and blending methods. Fuel may reach its coldest in storage or in equipment tanks, depending on the application. If not, it can remain insoluble in fuel and load filters. Use 7-micron bulk anti-static winter filters to help mitigate the issue if needed, and recognize that some chemistry issues may make their way past the tanks.Ĭold flow improver can load filters in cold conditions, because it creates solids as it functions and must initially be blended properly in warm fuel. It can make fuel transfer or starting equipment difficult to impossible.ĭonaldson recommends that fuel purchasers buy a blend of #1 winter diesel and #2 summer diesel to meet the temperature needs of their region and increase the blend rate as temperatures fall. Fuel that is gelling even before you can visibly see it can plug high efficiency bulk or on-engine fuel filters. At a temperature slightly above this point, waxes begin forming but are not yet making the fuel look cloudy. Diesel fuel for cold weather operation is characterized by its cloud point, which is the point that wax solids become visible and the fuel looks cloudy. 100–300 micron solid waxes that quickly overwhelm fuel filters faster than usual. Fuel gelling is caused when fuel cools to the point that longer hydrocarbons begin to form. Gelling and Waxing are the only solid formations expected in fuel. Rapid filter plugging is almost always due to a massive increase in particulate less than 4-micron in size associated with fuel chemistry issues or environmental conditions. An exception occurs if you are using poorly maintained and dirty mobile fueling systems, which can transfer a tremendous dirt load at times. Rapidly plugging filters are rarely, if ever, plugged by a high concentration of typical debris. Bulk fuel filter and on-engine fuel filter issues increase in cold conditions, at fuel blend seasonal changes, during fuel source changeover, and in poorly maintained fuel storage infrastructure. On-equipment fuel filter plugging issues typically appear in the newest, most heavily used equipment. It is important to note that fuel meeting all current D975 diesel and D6751 biodiesel bulk fuel industry standards at time of delivery can still cause operability issues in certain situations. In addition to the injector changes, diesel fuel itself has been modified with the removal of sulfur and addition of biodesel. On-engine fuel filters are expected to remove 125 times more dirt than older engine filters while still meeting service interval expectations. Today’s HPCR systems require fuel filters to do much more they must remove debris 2 microns and larger. Older diesel injection systems could tolerate more dirt in the fuel compared to today’s engines. Now filters must protect sensitive high pressure common rail (HPCR) fuel system components.
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