Winter & Summer diesel Forums

BillD

Welcome and well done Jarcadia,

There is something new to talk about on MHF !!

It is interesting to learn the facts - it explains why we don't see lorries in trouble with diesel these days - it is not just 'Global warming'.

kands

Hi Jarcadia
What a brilliant thread... Welcome to the site.

I like Barry and Sue would like to know more about these additives, especially the one that stops fungal / bacterial growth. I have looked through my Chevy manual and find no mention of fuel additives, so this sounds like an important piece of information to us all.

Many thanks

Keith

BillD

Hi,

I am interested in this fungal growth thing but people should not get too worried about - it is quite infrequent.

I have one personal experience of it in a very old JCB.

My agricultural engineering business owning friend has, in a lifetime of experience, experienced it twice - in the same vehicle, a little used pick-up.

My boatyard owning friends, who specialise in boat maintenance, have never actually seen it.

We have all heard of it - but that is the result of my quick straw poll.

DABurleigh

All I know about diesel additives is that I use, periodically rather than all the time, Millers DieselPower Plus (was Dieselclean), mainly because Alison plays off Sainsburys against Tescos for cheap supermarket diesel and I want to ensure the injectors stay well lubricated and don't clog.

But having used it, I note visible emissions are well down on all three diesel vehicles we use. Typically when on the motorway at night look in the rear view mirror with car headlamps behind you when you accelerate - that's an acid test of such smoke/particulate emissions.

http://www.millersoils.net/index2.html
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/?t=5004&v=f
http://www.caravantalk.org.uk/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t4018.html

Dave

spykal · Moderator

Hi

here it is from the horses mouth so to speak....or at least from one of the horses mouths Laughing

As I said in my previous post I lobbed off a few emails to the fuel companies...I mentioned Shell in my previous post but I also sent the same question to Chevrontexaco.com...well they have replied and the answer is more or less what we expected ...but the dates are interesting...my tank full of diesel that I put in this week is still summer blend....never mind I will use most of it next week.

here is the message received today from Texaco Chevron (who must have a good customer relations department)

Mike, many thanks for your enquiry which was passed on to me by our Customer Services group.

We manufacture automotive diesel fuel to meet European requirements known as EN590. This specification is adopted by British Standards and a group of fuel experts (of which I am a member) sit and agree what is known as the National Annex, I can only describe this part as… the fuel needed to work in say a Scottish winter is different to that required for Southern Spain… we have some freedom within EN590 to choose cold temperature performance and winter start dates suitable for our geographic location.

This is by way of explanation to your specific questions; the formulation ex refinery, winter vs summer quality does change, as we have to meet the tighter cold temperature (winter) performance requirement as defined in the National Annex in BSEN590.

Winter for road diesel quality is currently defined as operating from the 15th November through to the 15th March and product sold during this period has to meet a cold flow test, known as the CFPP test, at a maximum temperature of -15C, compare this with the summer specification of -5C.

The actual performance change is bought about by using different blend components at the refinery, together with the use of cold flow additives.

Hope this helps,

Regards
Kevin J Barnes

Road_Runner_644

Hi Mike

That's very interesting, and I never realised that diesel varied in this way.

For what it's worth, I have always used a diesel additive, it's the next to the redex petrol treatment stuff in your local gaage and I can't remember what it's called, it's probably redex as well.

I also put redex petrol treatment in the genny, as the unleaded petrol is a devil for evaporating and leaving a scummy substance on the carb. I spent a whole day cleaning out a genny carb, which had a yellow scummy substance plastered all inside it a couple of years ago, and redex has stopped that happening.

The diesel treatment was advised to me by the guy that does our MOT'S. He said that it helps stop the buildup of sooty stuff on the exhaust that helps fail the emmissions test.

I just put the required amount in every 3rd or 4th fill up.

Dave

jarcadia

Dave
Your problem could well be due to summer and winter grade gasoline( petrol) and yes these do exist as well. Winter grade has much more “lighter” material in it. So if you have left winter gasoline in over summer it will evaporate much more quickly.

Brian

Geoffh

The antifungal additive I currently use is made by TAP Marine of Bristol. A £7.00 bottle treats1500 litres. Mine came from a boat chandlers near the local canal.

TAP have a helpline if you have trouble finding a supply. 01179 969 2345

Geoff

spykal · Moderator

Hi
The reply from Shell:-

I am writing further to your email, I apologise for the delay in response. For your information, the fuel formulation changes between Summer to Winter grade, in order to meet the Cold Performance properties of the British Standard specification. Winter grade Diesel contains a higher proportion of lighter middle distillate fractions as well as more cold flow improver additive than the Summer grade fuel. Winter grade fuel is sold in the UK between mid November and mid March each year.

Kind Regards
Heather Whyte
Customer Relations - Retail
Shell UK Oil Products Limited,
Rowlandsway House, Rowlandsway, Manchester M22 5SB

So at least they all agree on the dates that they change the formulation.

mike