Cold weather diesel owners

[IDemo]

I have a neighbor up the street who owns a late model Ford F250 with a diesel engine. He starts and runs the engine several times daily when the temp gets below 40°F or so. He does not have a block heater plugged in, and the truck is never garaged.

Now, understanding that diesel fuel can begin turning into Jello at cold temps, can it really be the case that these vehicles demand an hour or more of idling daily just to maintain reliable operation when it's not even at or below freezing? Is the added fuel expenditure and CO2 output really worth it for those who do not have a business reason for requiring the towing torque?

[Teamster Jeff]

1. If the fuel is going to gel it will gel whether the truck is running or not. Eom

[IDemo]

2. Understood

Is there some other reason someone may want to do this, such as moving fuel through the fuel lines, pump, injectors?

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

3. Im interested in this topic bc I have a related problem

The business across the street takes numerous semi & short truck deliveries per day and they promised us neighbors a no engine idling policy. In reality its been like pulling teeth to get them to comply - I think the problem is mainly that the management doesn't really want to bother with having to deal with the constant communication to their vendors that seems to be required to enforce the rule.

My understanding is that the new technology doesn't require the long start up process that it used to and nowadays theres really no reason for the idling. Some seem to have no problems with turning off their engines but others clearly have an attitude problem. They'll comply for a few weeks but then start up again -arghhhh.

Anyway.... Im interested too in what the rationale might be.

On the surface it looks like just being a jerk - ie I have to be out here in the cold at 5:30 am so Im going to make as much noise as I can to wake everyone up. This is often accompanied by a lot of banging of the metal doors and yelling.

But pls correct me if Im missing something- thnx!!!

[Tobin S.]

8. The main reason to idle a big truck now days is for the comfort of the driver.

And trucks are increasingly being equipped with technology that keeps the cab warm or cool without idling the engine.

I drive an older heavy truck and I keep the engine idling this time of year so I can stay warm when I am at my stops. I don't idle like that when I am in a residential area.

[IDemo]

11. This is just a pickup though, not a big rig

And he's not warming it up to go anywhere; he's just remote-starting it from inside the house and letting it run for 15-20 minutes, then shutting it down.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

4. Winterized Diesel fuel should be good to temps way below freezing

But it can still be a problem if the temp gets below zero.

What's the usual night-time low where you are?

[IDemo]

5. It's been in the mid-30's to low 40's for a couple of weeks n/t

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. Then the fuel should be just fine.

Maybe your neighbor just likes the rattling sound of an idling Diesel motor.

[jmowreader]

7. My new car is a diesel...and I'm north of you

It is one of these, it's a 2001, and it's the color of the one in the picture:



This is no shit: 60 mpg on the freeway. I've tested it. Seattle to Idaho and back on three-quarters of a tank of fuel. Maybe it's the low-rolling-resistance tires the dealer put on it. It's also VERY quick.

I did my homework before I bought it, and this is what I learned: Unwinterized diesel fuel gels - which means the paraffins dissolved in it turn solid and clog up your fuel system - at 15 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature is the "gel point." If I was to fuel my car in August, park it until January and try to start it, the untreated fuel in its tank would turn into a product that looks like vaseline but smells like diesel. When the average temperature in the area drops below a point each state sets on its own (but it's no more than 40 F), fuel dealers are, by law, required to add a chemical to diesel fuel that reduces the gel point to -40 C - the freezing point of gasoline. In short, if it's too cold outside to start a diesel in 2016, it's too cold outside to start any engine.

Idling a modern diesel for long periods of time will damage it. Modern diesels are all turbocharged; they need the pressure to pack enough air into the cylinders. A turbo is driven by exhaust gases. If there's not enough exhaust pressure to spin the turbo, the engine won't get enough air to burn the fuel properly. This creates soot...which winds up in your oil...which clogs your oil filter...which activates the bypass valve and causes unfiltered oil to run through little bitty passages like the ones in his $1674-plus-labor turbocharger. (Yes, that's what they cost...rebuilt. I don't even want to think about what a new one is worth!)

This is how to do a start-of-day startup on a diesel engine when it's really cold outside:

Your glowplug light:



Glowplugs are cylinder heaters. Diesels use heat for ignition. The faster you can get the cylinders warmed up, the faster the engine fires up. This light illuminates while they're on.

So...step 1 is to make sure everything in the rig that might draw electricity is turned off. Turn off your radio, turn off your headlights, turn off anything that draws power.
Step 2 is to turn the key to "on." This light will come on, and a few seconds later it will turn off.
Step 3? Turn the key off and wait five seconds.
Step 4: Turn the key "on" and wait till the glow plug light goes off. Then crank the engine. It will fire right up.

If he's REALLY paranoid about gelling fuel, have him buy two pints of Power Service Diesel 911 and a jug of Howes Diesel Treat. Diesel 911 is an "emergency fuel degeller" and it works great. If the fuel gels, you remove your fuel filter, dump it out, and refill it with a 50-50 mix of Diesel 911 and ungelled fuel. This should take most of one pint; diesel fuel filters are pretty big. (You will NOT be doing this on a Volkswagen, because you can't open a VW fuel filter. His Powerstroke has a filter you can open.) You pour the rest of it in the fuel tank. Then you wait five minutes and start the engine. You then pour some Diesel Treat into the fuel tank to prevent it from gelling again. He will probably trade the truck in with two unopened pints of Diesel 911 behind the seat. Fuel gelling is, or at least used to be, a huge problem on farm equipment - farmers would fill their equipment during the summer and when it got to be winter the wrong fuel was still in the machine. If you're driving the vehicle every day, by now you've got winter diesel in your rig and you're fine.

So please ask him to stop. He's doing his truck and the environment nothing but harm.

[jakeXT]

9. 40 below zero sounds reasonable

[Motown_Johnny]

10. No

I live in Detroit and work for a landscape company. We have a diesel powered loader that gets used to load salt into trucks all winter long, among other things.

It often goes for days without being started. It is garage kept but no block heater. We do use an anti-gelling additive to the fuel though.

I can't believe that truck needs to idle that long every day.