Hello everyone, just wandering what temperature diesel freezes. The weather forecast says it's going to be as cold as minus 5 celcius tonight and i've got to get up at 5.30am for work tomorrow?

all depends on what they put in it ....I think winter diesel is OK down to -12 or -15c

all depends on what they put in it ....I think winter diesel is OK down to -12 or -15c

Thanks, kind of a shame really, wanted a good excuse to miss work tomorow!

I think it has to be Mega Cold for diesel to freeze..............The wax in diesel causes the most problems when it "Thickens" in cold weather.

An old trick to stop it waxing when its really cold is to put a gallon of Petrol in a tank of Diesel.

Probably not a good idea with modern diesels as its bound to damage some sensor or other

I imagin today's diesel should'nt cause many problems but in the olden day's i've seen wagons with fires under the engines/fuel tanks trying to get the engines started

Had some problems (very minor TBH) starting my car on mornings when its minus 5 or below.... Heater plug stays on for a good 4 seconds instead of 1/2 a second when starting up, then its a bit lumpy and revs hover around 1000rpm instead of 900ish, and I can hear the squirting noise as fuel is trying to get through the system. Maybe this is the waxing thing? It also smokes a lot, but then it does anyway.

It all settles down after 15 or 20 seconds anyway.

The diesel froze in my mates pug 206 a few years ago whilst we were up in Aviemore.

One disposable bbq later it was thawed out.

The old truck driver trick is a mix of diesel and sand, which smoulders quite nicely and warms through the tank. Having said that, modern diesel shouldn't wax until about -15, so we should be OK, unless we get a *really* cold snap.

Most filling stations , have a note saying that they are now useing winter fuel with additives , my normal one does in any case , so would not expect a problem in our mild winters even if its - 5 ,

Had some problems (very minor TBH) starting my car on mornings when its minus 5 or below.... Heater plug stays on for a good 4 seconds instead of 1/2 a second when starting up' date=' then its a bit lumpy and revs hover around 1000rpm instead of 900ish, and I can hear the squirting noise as fuel is trying to get through the system. Maybe this is the waxing thing? It also smokes a lot, but then it does anyway.

It all settles down after 15 or 20 seconds anyway. [/quote']

aye mine does the same on a cold day or if it's been standing for a long period.

I'm not sure adding petrol in a moden PD lump is wise I'm sure someone said it does more harm than good.

It was minus 4 when I started her up this morning. The glow plug light was on for a good 4-5 seconds. The engine held about 1500rpm for about 10 seconds before settling to a normal idle.

It started much more easily than my last diesel (an XUD engined 306DT). That used to churn on the starter for a few seconds when it was below freezing then lumpily idle whilst beltching soot for a good 30 seconds.

Additives are available for diesel fuel to improve viscosity when very cold, and I believe that these are commonly used in the colder countries in Europe and elsewhere in winter. A typical example is below. I have no idea if such an additive is suitable for the PD engine.

http://www.dw-tuning.co.uk/shop/(wqd5px45fye3vme3qqmdt255)/detailview.aspx?ID=1085234

In the UK the maximum allowable cold filter plugging point (CFPP) for diesel fuel - ie the temperature at which filtration fails and which represents an approximation of the minimum operating temperature of the fuel - is -15

I started my car this morning and the temp sensor said -5.5, the car smoked like a pig for a few minutes which it's never done before.

And as for that darned windscreen demister - it took over 20 miles before the ice left the screen completely.