Winter Diesel: Get Ahead of the First Hard Freeze

Diesel has paraffin wax in it. That's normal — it's part of the fuel and part of what makes it burn the way it does. The trouble starts when it gets cold enough that the wax comes out of solution and turns the fuel cloudy.

Keep going down and those wax crystals stop moving through your filter. That's gelling, and in this part of North Dakota it isn't a rare event. It's a season.

What Gelling Looks Like at 6 A.M.

It rarely announces itself. Usually the engine starts, runs for a minute, and then loses power as the filter plugs — or it won't start at all. Either way you're now thawing out a tractor or a truck instead of doing what you got up to do.

The fix is always cheaper before it happens than after:

• Move to winter-grade fuel before the first hard freeze, not after.
• Use an anti-gel additive as directed, and add it before the fuel gets cold.
• Change fuel filters going into winter — a partly loaded filter plugs first.
• Keep tanks fuller in cold weather to cut down on condensation and water.

Water Is the Other Half

Every partly empty tank breathes. Warm days and cold nights pull moist air in, and that moisture condenses on the tank walls and settles to the bottom.

In July that's a nuisance. In January it's ice in your fuel line. Keeping bulk and equipment tanks topped off through the winter is the simplest thing you can do about it — and it's a good reason not to coast into December on a quarter tank.

Don't Forget the DEF

DEF freezes at around 12°F. That won't hurt the fluid — it thaws out fine and your truck's system is built to warm it — but jugs and totes sitting outside will freeze solid and won't do you any good at 7 in the morning.

Store what you can inside, and keep enough on hand that a frozen tote doesn't shut you down. We stock DEF in drums and totes alongside our fuel deliveries.

What We Deliver

Farmers Union Oil Company delivers clear and dyed diesel, premium 91 no-ethanol, and 87 E10 gasoline right to your tanks. Minimum delivery is 200 gallons, with roughly a five-day lead time, and there's a $0.10 per gallon cash discount on orders of 200 gallons or more.

Ask us about winter-grade fuel and additive options when you place your order.

Delivering Across the Area

We deliver from our Wilton and Wing locations across the Burleigh and McLean county area north of Bismarck and the surrounding communities. Over 75 years in, we know what this winter asks.