DIESEL FUEL ADDITIVE OPINION

This is funny I sent my Power sprayer in for its annual service. The guy calls my wife and says that I need to remove the old gas and clean it out and replace it. Funny thing is its there job to do that in the service and the gas isn't more than a couple months old.

Now, I have seen wax crystals floating on top of number #2 oil. Is this what is meant by "jelling"?

Waith 'til the engine STOPS, and, when you cut the filter open, it's clogged with what looks like Vaseline! now, THAT'S GELLING!

...Bob, in northern ND, where the predicted low tonight is -15ºF.

15 years ago, I drove a log truck, mostly sub zero weather and two 50 gal tanks. The owner insisted on a gallon jug in every truck, half cup to each tank every fill up. If one is getting icing in windshield washers, just a couple of table spoons will cure it. For air brakes I carried a 20 cc hypodermic shringe with a real small hose. I'd take the air lines off, and put 35cc in each hose. Half dozen pumps on brake pedal would free up frozen brakes. Great product if you have hard ice on a windshield. My son broke a windshield digging ice with one of those scrapers.

Ever wonder why windshield washer freezes after you haven't used it in awhile? All the methyl hydrate has evaporated. Add a bit of methyl hydrate and your washers will work in minutes. It's the same product used in lock deicers. Methyl hydrate is used to deice planes. It will take the ice or frost off your windshield far quicker than you can scrap it off.

Why keep all those additives around. The biggest benefit they give is to the retailer or manufacturer. Even Methyl hydrate can be bought at your local drug store for about 25% of what your auto parts guy charges. Some druggests get a bit uptight about non medical people buying methyl hydrate by the gallon.

I recall not but a few years ago going to a druggist as the last chance to buy some mercury for cleaning the lead out of the bore of one of my handguns. As volume goes, it's not many cc-s to fill a 6" .357 barrel, but mercury ain't light and I couldn't tell ya what it would weigh, but I thought I was being detained at the counter until the FBI could set up a tail to determine what mischief I might be up to with the mercury I wanted.

Thinkin' between the environment and the fear of terrorism, it's gettin' mighty hard to get your hands anymore on dangerous stuff for a legitimate purpose.

The time I was questioned by the druggest, I had bought a gallon on Tues. for example. Two days later I needed methyl hydrate at a different location and it was quicker to stop by the drug store than go home. At that time the only user he had the bought methyl hydrate by the gallon was the local hospital. I assured him it would be just as valuable in my air brakes as someone's backrub.

The part that gets me about these additive threads. The automotive parts store additive business has got to be one of the biggest ripoffs known to mankind, yet man is addicted to this damn stuff. I can remember when I first started using methyl hydrate, diesel fuel or air brake additives were close to $10. per gallon. Methyl hydrate at the auto parts store was $7.50 per gallon plus you actully got more ingrediant to protect systems from frost with the methyl hydrate than from the additives. Here's the kicker, back then I was buying the same gallon of methyl hydrate from the drug store $2. per gallon. There is nothing in any of those commercial additives to prevent jelling or air brake freeze up other than Methyl Hydrate. I can never understand why folks are PROUD to spend 4 times the money to achive that. Modern day economics facinate this old bird.

Soundguy

Jason