Get Your Diesel Fuel Ready for Winter with These 8 Tips

Every year the transportation industry faces new perils during the winter and this year will be no exception.  With that in mind, here are a 8 simple tips to help maintain your equipment and fuel tanks to prevent problems with diesel fuel during those challenging cold months:

1. Make sure you have adequately treated the bulk fuel tanks for the temperatures you will be dealing with. Think in terms of the coldest point where the truck will travel and treat the fuel accordingly.
2. Block heaters are not designed to warm an engine. They are designed to maintain the heat already generated by the engine. Therefore it is crucial that the block heater be plugged into the engine while it is still warm.
3. Remind the drivers to unplug the block heater before starting the truck. A few seconds of running the engine while the block heater is still plugged in is enough to burn it out.
4. Do not idle the trucks. You will do more to cool the engine by idling a truck coming off the road versus shutting it off. (Engine temperature rises approx. 18 degrees when it is shut-off.) Conversely, starting a cold truck and letting it idle is futile. If you need to ‘warm’ a truck that’s been sitting, get in it and drive it around the yard and ‘exercise’ the truck once it has reached maximum oil-pressure. This will warm the engine, transmission, differential, and suspension. Not to mention prevent the risk of potential fines for idling for both the driver and the organization.
5. Remember to drain air-tanks and fuel water separators. As the ambient air temperature falls, the ability for water to condense in fuel tanks increases and can be carried into the filter/heater unit. During periods of extreme cold, this should be done on a daily basis. The fuel filters are the only protection the engine has against contaminants in the fuel. A larger micron fuel filter should never be used to extend filter life or increase flow. It may void the warranty and can be damaging to the pump and/or the injectors.
6. Be sure air hoses are connected to each other or, if equipped, to the dummy glad-hands when the equipment is not in use. Disconnected air hoses are a leading cause of brakes freezing up.
7. If moisture is present in an air-line, use one cap full of brake line antifreeze in the EMERGENCY (red) side ONLY. Never put it in the blue side or you may cause the brakes to lock up. Use only company supplied brake line antifreeze as there are many products out there that will cause damage to the internal brake system.
8. Be sure glad-hands are hooked up tight. If they go on loose they will come off in a tight turn and will cause unnecessary cycling of the air compressor. Make sure you have a snug fit.These tips can make the difference between a “go” or “no go” situation, making that delivery commitment, or completing a run versus having a breakdown. Breakdowns during inclement weather are extremely dangerous. There are many great tips for proper fleet fuel system management in cold weather but the best tip is to increase driver awareness and subsequently hold them accountable for action or inaction.

Also, when fueling over the road, check to see if the truck stop has changed their pump filters recently (clue: clean filters). Look for hydrosorb filters as these will remove water from the fuel before it gets in your tank and forms ice or gelling.

Ask the supplier if they are using a bio-blended fuel and, if it has been treated, also ask if the fuel has been tested for CFPP. Bio-blended fuels are harder to treat in the winter and will not perform like a ULSD.

If you’re concerned about the impact of winter on diesel fuel or want to know if you’re receiving the best fuel prices possible, contact Conor Proud at Sokolis, [email protected] or 267-482-6159.  We are the nation’s leading independent fuel management consulting team and can help you make sure that your fuel management program is running at peak efficiency.