 Poster: A snowHead
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Leading on from a couple of other threads regarding frozen diesel.
I had an email from the landlady at our accommodation earlier today advising that in the Grand Massif overnight temps were at -20 - -25C with daily conditions at -12C. She operates a transfer company and they have had a number of problems with freezing diesel and the requirement to replace fuel filters. According to her the local fuel stations have been economising on the quality of fuel by only using diesel which protects to -10C.
Additive is in short supply and she has asked me to take some out for her tomorrow, I bought some of this from a local car accessorie shop:
http://www.wynns.uk.com/Product.aspx?p=90795&g=GRP_PRO_DIESEL
I got it for £10 a litre and it treats 400 lt
The instructions are a bit vague so I called the company who advised that depending on the diesel used would depend on the level of protection. He went on to explain that different countries add different levels of freeze protection and depending on what they put in depends on the capability of the additive. Below is a list of a few EU countries, the lower value is the standard issue diesel for winter, the second value the protection offered with the additive. He remarked on the protection offered by the Netherlands.
France: -19/-32
Netherlands: -28/-32
Luxembourg: -20/-27
Italy: -15/-26
Just in case you were interested...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Basil, brother-in-law lives in the Netherlands, it gets bloody cold in winter. In my experience Italian fuel is useless, and my Italian neighbour backs up my experience. Mechanic told me additive is useless if diesel has already waxed.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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We've had a lot of this recently - one of thr UCPA's instructors has been hitching to work all week because his car froze. Lots of other people begging lifts/rearranging schedules/getting other people to pick up kids/etc. May reconsider our thought to replace Mr L's Saxo with a diesel.
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Basil, useful, thanks. We are now back in UK but have family members driving in diesel vehicles to our apartment today - will reinforce my warnings to them.
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Mechanic told me additive is useless if diesel has already waxed.
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yep, add it when you fill up.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Also it's being reported that additive is in very very short supply in the alps at the moment so if you're Going out it's worth buying lots and lots.
Btw Bas.......... Treating 400ltrs is only a couple days worth for your land lord and land lady!!
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The situation may have improved but supermarket diesel was sludging at -5C last week according to reports I've heard. The advice is to use a fuel like Total Exxium (spelling?) which is what I will fill up with when I get my car back from the garage ! 
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Not sure how "reliable" this is but if your diesel does freeze than if you drop a little petrol into the tank then it melts the deisel (max half a litre of petrol to 10litres of deisel in the tank.
(Warning; I take no responsibility for any damage caused by taking this advice!!)
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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marcellus, more discussion on that (pity we are now running two current threads on the same subject - makes following the discussion more tricky). The consensus seems to be that it is not a good idea for modern diesel engines.
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achilles, My handbook has dire warnings about adding anything at all to Diesel. It even says not to use modified Bio Diesel!
Tried all probable outlets in this area for additive to send out to Montalbert and no one has any left, now I bought the last 3 containers!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Boredsurfing, I think there's a percentage of Bio Diesel in all Diesel. Even more reason to buy a Landy, it'll run on any old crap.
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cran
cran
Guest
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Some of the Renault/Nissan/Opel (all the same) 8 seater minibuses have a filter that is too small which doesn't help.
Main thing we have been told is to NOT rev the engine before it's well warmed up as that can clog the filter.
My van has been fine with temperatures down to -22/-24 a couple of mornings this week (touch wood).
The fuel from the Garages we use seems to be ok (Carrefour in Samoens and BP just off A40 J19)
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Main thing we have been told is to NOT rev the engine before it's well warmed up as that can clog the filter
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interesting. One of the Expert People can maybe tell us about this. My understanding with petrol engines is that letting them idle, cold, is bad for them. But with marine diesels you are generally taught to let them idle for a few minutes before putting them under load. Is it the same with diesel cars?
A relevant question for me as in this very cold weather I am sometimes kind enough to warm the car up so my passengers can get in a warm car. Should I let it (a diesel) just tick over, or put it under load?
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You know it makes sense.
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| marcellus wrote: |
Not sure how "reliable" this is but if your diesel does freeze than if you drop a little petrol into the tank then it melts the deisel (max half a litre of petrol to 10litres of deisel in the tank.
(Warning; I take no responsibility for any damage caused by taking this advice!!) |
Nor would I take responsibility, but I merely mention that I was unable to start my Scenic in Isola 2000 (no wonder, the poor old girl had been left in down to -20 temperatures for a week and had every right to sulk). The first thing the mechanic who turned out did was to slosh petrol into the tank. I can't say he did anything as scientific as to measure the amount. It eventually worked - amidst great clouds of black and then white smoke. Once it was firing, he left it idling.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I am in Val Cenis at the mo, and had trouble starting the car despite it being only -8C in an underground car park; this was remedied by turning on glow plugs repeatedly , allowing the car to tick over for 5 mins, adding some anti waxing agent from the local garage, and then driving down to said garage and brimming with their derv; they blamed it on cheap supermarket fuel ( tempting at 20 cents a litre less) Wynns anti waxing to -26C says add at above 5C, so not so sure that it helps. Went for a half hour drive to Bessans but bottled out when the outside temp hit -22C at 10.30 am. Hope all good for return tomorrow. Most anti waxing agents contain kerosine; do not use petrol in modern diesels.
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Poster: A snowHead
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On some diesels,there is a thing called a "power heater". this is just a clutch connected directly to the engine block,
with the drive belt attached. when activated (by a button on the dash,normally) it increases the load on the engine
which warms it up quicker. It uses an additional 300 ml of fuel per use on a medium size diesel 2-3 litre.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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ok got my car back, 98 euros to change the inaccessible fuel filter and reset the engine management computa. I've now filled up with Total Excellium which should be ok, says down to -20C. Toyota Grenoble got a load of Wynns fed-exed over from the UK so I have a bottle just in case.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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marcellus, I got them 1000 litres worth.
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davidof,
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Toyota Grenoble got a load of Wynns fed-exed over from the UK so I have a bottle just in case.
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That'll be why there is none to be had in Wilts/Hants! 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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marcellus, I have added up to 25% petrol to deisel in very cold weather here (-12 & lower), without any adverse effect to my Mitsubishi.
Both with deisel & Bio-deisel, although it may depend on the type of motor (mine is a turbo) injection. Not sure - note cstreat comments .
First time in the Alps as we got close I added @ 20% on the last fill up before going up the mountain to save buying expensive deisel higher up.
last winter in the "big freeze" my Bio Deisel supplier thought I was mad, until he filled up & smelt the petrol over several fill ups, so he knew it was okay & then tried it himself on his Toyota again with no adverse effect.
My boss's BMW manual quotes winterising your fuel by adding up to 30% petrol to deisel.
With Petrol being cheaper than deisel it also helps the wallet....
Noisey
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Petrol being cheaper than deisel
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not in France!
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| pam w wrote: |
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Petrol being cheaper than deisel
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not in France! |
Nor in Germany or Austria! I got stung for 1.61 Euro a litre for bog-standard Lead-free on Friday of last week and that was not at a motorway services either! 
I want my diesel motor back!
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