seems to be a tad o confusion here... let me clarify....
Illinois stations sell B5-B20 without any more info than that. I don't know who to blame, might as well be Obama for all I care. Or the Department of Agriculture here, or some jackass in Chicago. Regardless, lots of unhappy oilburners around here for various reasons. As you all know, B100 gels at 32F, straight #2 diesel gels at around 17F, and #1 (kerosene) at -40F. 10% kerosene drops #2 cloud point about 10F iirc. We have no control over (a) the % #1 put in our winter blends, and (2) the % of BD in the mix. That's the reality. No, I don't run B100, didn't intend to imply I did. But BD is a better lubricant John, especially for ULSD. I would run it in the summer if I had it and it was the same price.
I had a load of this "standard" Illinois winter fuel, running at temperatures from 10-35F. Drove to the north, and got a warmish next day in the 20's with snow. Filled the Aux tank with 60gal of Minnesota winter blend (who knows what the #1/#2 ratio was but BYA it's higher than Illinois) plus the white bottle stuff at 80 oz / 125 g, knowing it was going to get a tad colder (like 40F drop). Parked next to the electric outlet post in the yard, plugged it in after shutting it down. But on the first night, the main tank had trickle-filled from the Aux tank with the "winter blend" from Mobil of Savoy IL with 5-20% BD and ??% #1/#2, and 80 oz / 250g of the white bottle PSD. At sub -20F for 2 nights, my fuel bowl/filter gelled. Duh, no surprise. My bad for not running it first thing the first morning to hold the cold wolves at bay.
Fuel filter pulled, 911 added several times to fuel bowl and the recommended 911 amount to the main tank, new filter put in, but the fuel pump just couldn't pull enough fuel to run the engine. Points to gel in the lines. Between the fuel bowl heater, the 911 stuff, the clean new filter, several fuel bowl openings to add kerosene and 911, and my observation of the fuel bowl pressure (75 psi) while cycling the key 4 or 5 times between start attempts, I'm sure the HPOP was not the problem, nor were the injectors. Hey, the injectors are still injecting today, the fuel pump is still pumping fuel, today. (I got 20+ mpg today with that Minnesota fuel but 40F weather). The fuel pressure after the pump shut off wouldn't go down below about 30-40psi, telling me that the return line was clogged with slush.
Nothing terribly remarkable here for cold weather ops. Never experienced it? Count yourself missing some character building experience? Or lucky!
My point was only about the batteries. I was surprised to learn that the Big Ass charger we used really perked up my batteries, and they're still perky two weeks later. That was my original intended point. No more! Sorry it got lost in my message. Big Joe has reinforced that point, and I am glad to have learned that my batteries, which I fuss over, were really not fully charged even after an 800 mile run. DaveBen - these are stock MotoCraft batteries, 2 years old and they are rocking still today. Not a lick of corrosion to be found anywhere.
Oh, the kerosene heater directed toward the fuel tank, and angled along the frame, with cardboard to hold the heat in and block the wind? That was used to thaw the lines. Ever start an airplane in the cold? No? Bulldozer? No? Tractor? No? All the same idea. Need volts/amps. Need fuel. (Block heaters ain't the sole answer...do the math on 1200W and a 300 lb chunk of -20 metal. It would take weeks to warm it up...) And at those temps (it warmed up to 3F with a breeze), you could lay under the truck and freeze your ASS off next to the heater (ask me how I know this). No way you would toast a wiener down there.
Yah, 5W40 full synthetic motor oil, Mobil ESP.
I would love the link for the gear reduction starter, at 208k my starter is prolly on borrowed time?
