Diesel Goo

[libertygarden]

I've had a diesel tractor since May 2022, and my first experience with anything diesel. Longs story short, last week we had single digit and teen temps every day here in NE TX. When I attempted to start the tractor on Saturday (19F) it would turn but not start. I jumped the battery for 20 minutes and still no luck, just a little puff of black smoke at the end.

I hope I didn't bust anything. This coming week we'll be as high as 60F. Is this a matter of just waiting for the fuel to un-gel or should I do something else before attempting to start the tractor again.

 

[Rmc]

Add some fuel treatment. Many options available. I personally use howes .

 

[kenny thomas]

911 treatment. And yes treat every tankful with antigel

 

[mwj]

Change the filter.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Red bottle diesel 911 after it has gelled. Change filter at the same time typically.

My goto it Hot Shot's Secret anti-gel mixed when refueling equipment.

 

[libertygarden]

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Silver]

Don't do anything if it warms up.

 

[Atimm693]

It'll probably start right up if it's gonna be that warm.

I've had mixed results with diesel 911. When the system is clogged with gelled fuel it's hard to get it circulated enough to do anything. Pretreating with power service or whatever additive is a much better solution.

Don't trust that you're actually getting winter blend diesel from your supplier either, especially down south.

 

[Mat Man]

I always try to treat and run equipment before it gets cold. If you have any kind of problems with fuel treat and change filters before they gel up

 

[Rmc]

I would treat the fuel even if it warms back up. Part of the gelling is the wax within the diesel clumping together. Even at temps above freezing doesn't always mean that the wax still won't be in chunks in the fuel. Many newer diesels have extremely low tolerances as far as particulate size in fuel system.

 

[sstterry]

Since we are on the topic of Diesel Treatments, (if you have a storage tank on your farm), I would also reccomend treating the storage with an algicide treatment as well. The constant heating and cooling of the tank creates condensation on the inside of the tank and that can lead to algae growth.

 

[jltrent]

Sounds like your battery maybe getting weak also.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Power Service is added to the bulk tank.
About once a year I run Chevron Techron Diesel Cleaner. It's good stuff.

Chevron 266373272 Techron D Concentrate Diesel Fuel System Cleaner, 20 fl. oz., 1 Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074JMSM96?tag=cattletoday00-20

 

[libertygarden]

@jltrent you may be right. The battery is about 2 years old. I only use the tractor on the weekend for about an hour. Once I didn't use it for two weekends and I had to jump start it. This last time, I tried charging the battery with my pickup for about 20 minutes and the needle on the dashboard never made past the quarter mark. Once the tractor is running, the needle goes to half.

@sstterry , @Caustic Burno , I top off my tractor's tank with a 5 gallon jug every two months. I only uses it to move bales around in winter or do a little shredding in the summer.

Is there an issue to jump starting directly to the starter? Mahindra deliberately made it a PITA to change the battery.

 

[sstterry]

@jltrent you may be right. The battery is about 2 years old. I only use the tractor on the weekend for about an hour. Once I didn't use it for two weekends and I had to jump start it. This last time, I tried charging the battery with my pickup for about 20 minutes and the needle on the dashboard never made past the quarter mark. Once the tractor is running, the needle goes to half.

@sstterry , @Caustic Burno , I top off my tractor's tank with a 5 gallon jug every two months. I only uses it to move bales around in winter or do a little shredding in the summer.

Is there an issue to jump starting directly to the starter? Mahindra deliberately made it a PITA to change the battery.

Then no need for the algaecide, I was referring to storage tanks. But do listen to CB. He knows his petroleum.

 

[Atimm693]

@jltrent you may be right. The battery is about 2 years old. I only use the tractor on the weekend for about an hour. Once I didn't use it for two weekends and I had to jump start it. This last time, I tried charging the battery with my pickup for about 20 minutes and the needle on the dashboard never made past the quarter mark. Once the tractor is running, the needle goes to half.

@sstterry , @Caustic Burno , I top off my tractor's tank with a 5 gallon jug every two months. I only uses it to move bales around in winter or do a little shredding in the summer.

Is there an issue to jump starting directly to the starter? Mahindra deliberately made it a PITA to change the battery.

That's not an issue. Most tractors that have the battery hidden will have a jump start lug somewhere that's accessible, it'll usually have a red colored rubber cover on it.

I'm a big fan of battery disconnects or battery maintainers on equipment that sits. Letting batteries sit dead is very hard on them.

 

[Caustic Burno]

That's not an issue. Most tractors that have the battery hidden will have a jump start lug somewhere that's accessible, it'll usually have a red colored rubber cover on it.

I'm a big fan of battery disconnects or battery maintainers on equipment that sits. Letting batteries sit dead is very hard on them.

I believe in maintainers as well.
Takes a lot of cold cranking amps to roll a diesel over compared to gasoline.
Been years since I owned a diesel with a decompression valve.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

If 120v power is available a battery tender is the best thing you can do to make a battery last.

 

[Lucky]

Something to remember when treating diesel equipment with antigel is to run the equipment for 15-30 minutes after treating to get the anti gel in the filters and injection pump. We had a transfer pump lock up on us during last weeks cold snap because they treated the tank and didn't run the pump until after it turned cold. Park the truck in a warehouse for an hour and all was good.

 

[libertygarden]

So I went to the ranch today, as I do every Saturday. This week was in the 40s to 60 range, so I gave the tractor a try and it started as soon as I turned the key. I poured about 1/3 of the Techron bottle that @Caustic Burno recommended since the bottle is for treating a bunch of gallons and I only have about 10 gallons in the tank. I ran the tractor for about an hour, then I poured about 6 oz of the Lucas anti-gel and ran it some more. The whole bottle would have been a waste. That was the only anti-gel I found, but Lucas makes good products so I trust it'll do its job. Thanks for all the suggestions. It was a fun day mucking around with 2WD.