At what temperature do you guys change from #2 to # 1 diesel?
I think that the general rule of thumb is that #2 fuel will gel at around -10F (or even a whole lot warmer if your fuel filter is adding resistance from ice or dirt). Once you get colder that -10F, you need to blend some #1 into the #2. In my area, the fuel distributor will usually recommend a 70/30 mix of #2/#1 in the winter which I think is targeted at the -30F range? Fuel additives like Powerservice say right on the bottle that they can be used in straight #2 fuel to achieve the same properties, but I'm not convinced.
One of my tractors has a fuel filter with the element completely visible through the glass. This is a nice feature to have when you're trying to diagnose your filter and fuel condition in cold temps. You can see it struggling when it's pulling air bubbles through the injection pump side of the filter element. One time at around -20F that tractor started to gel up. I saw this happening and couldn't figure out why because the fuel should have been fine and the filter was pretty new and looked clean. I popped on a new filter and all was good (except my fingers). I would have just blamed the fuel if it had a canister filter.
Anyway, around here it doesn't get cold enough that we have to burn straight #1 fuel. There's nothing wrong with doing this except it hurts your wallet and limits your power. #1 fuel has a lot less energy per volume so you burn a lot more of it than #2 or a #2/#1 blend. Plus you have less power from your engine. But hey, you still have a lot more power than an engine that won't run past idle!
Loading your blend up with #1 can be good insurance (especially this year).
