#1 fuel

I heard today one of the local fuel suppliers is telling his customers that #1 fuel will be no longer available in the state of Iowa. I spoke to the guys that took over my fuel business. They said that is not true, the pipeline terminal in Des Moines is out of it but they are pulling semi loads of it out of Council Bluffs.

Used to be the only thing that really needed it was home fuel/ furnaces.  Plug in a tractor or diesel truck and let it warm up and you never needed #1.  BUT, that was YEARS ago...

I never run anything but diesel fuel from the auto diesel pumps,supposedly its supposed to be #1.Figure they aren't going to put any bad fuel in those tanks for diesel cars to run.

Number#1 is just kerosene. All of the diesel from Marathon and other fuel distributors right now is cut about 70% number 1 and 30% number 2....they don't want to sell just #1 so they have plenty to blend that's why they say there is a shortage

Guys #1 fuel is not kerosene. Kerosene is refined more than #1 fuel. Doug you are right farm fuel is blended at the bulk plant, this cold the more #1 the better.

Edited by HD6GTOM - 30 Dec 2017 at 7:35pm

Kerosene is #1..I hauled fuel for 10 years there is absolutely no difference. When #1 or kerosene is more refined it becomes jet fuel but there is no difference between #1 and kerosene..one is called number 1 for road take reasons kerosene is not road taxed..only difference

I remember that Halloween.  I believe it hit -15 in Omaha, beating an old record by 15 degrees.  I had just taken a new job and was responsible for snow removal.  What a rude awakening.  You weren't the only one with the wrong fuel in your tanks.

Actually diesel doesn't "gel" so much as the wax begins to form in clumps.  These wax particles clog the small passages, including the fuel filters.  I believe I read somewhere that #2 has to drop to somewhere a little below zero before it begins to gel. You can get by using additives to somewhere below zero, but you better know what you are doing.  Kerosene is more foolproof.

Those blends are figured out at the refinery loading station - when you go to load a tanker the codes for the load and amounts are programmed into loading ticket codes , you enter the numbers , amount you want to load into each compartment , and what customer it's for - the computer then either adds the right dye for on or off road , Canadian shipment, heating oil or transport use . You stand by the truck and the computer does the rest . 

The locomotives I've worked on all ran on #2, and had engine coolant lines that circulated into the fuel tank to increase fuel temperature specifically to prevent the fuel from coagulating in extreme cold.  In my opinion, it's always been a wise plan to do that, even for road trucks and cars, but manufacturers, particularly those whos' products are sitting out here along the interstate with flashing lights, do not agree...   Apparently, they figure that since the trucks run about 2000 hours a year, and are only shut down by this circumstance an average of 36 hours or so at an incidence, that the loss circumstances incurred by their customers are insignificant.

But it's important to realize from an engineering standpoint that adding the complexity of fuel heating takes additional materials and plumbing, which adds weight and complexity.  The seven-or-so pounds it'd require would be catastrophic in comparison to the 260lbs of lights, chrome, and fasteners of air-cleaner accent kits, dual 14" diameter exhaust stacks, lug nut covers and such.  The DEF tank, exhaust particulate filter system, and an APU to keep everything warm (rather than idling the engine) being absolutely necessary, every ounce and every dollar counts, right?

But really... Bio fuel mixes were the biggest fuel-related issues I ever ran into with my diesel-burning company truck...  it's great to feel good about the environment, and I'd not think twice about having my own grease-burning pickup truck to beat errands around town in during the summer, but I wouldn't expect a tub of bacon-fat to crawl through a 3/8" fuel line on it's own accord at -4F.  I'd expect to have a four-gallon nurse tank of #1 fuel to get it started up, and a good-sized can of STERNO under the belly of the tank to get the french-fryer to flow.

Well, since after tonight, the cold weather is supposed to be behind us, I can safely say this: By now I usually have 50-50 fuel plus conditioner in any diesel tractor that I plan on using in the winter. Somehow I got behind this year, and have nothing but straight number two with conditioner in em. Since it got REALLY cold, the only diesel tractor we've used is the 185 with a loader on it, and it hasn't gelled up. And it's been used every day, including today, when we woke up to minus 35, and hit a high of minus 10. And it sits outside. Outside of the fact that Howes diesel conditioner must be some good , I do have the engine compartment double wrapped with bubble foil insulation, and we have the block heater plugged in, plus a magnetic block heater on the oil pan. Darrel