Airdog and cold weather

J

j-rod

Up to no good
Anthony,

I'm going to be upgrading to an AD150 on my 02, and the directions say to run the feed line right to the VP. This bypasses the fuel heater in the stock fuel filter canister. Do you see this presenting any problems during winter time operation? Granted the heater probably is not doing a whole lot, but I have to believe it does something since it was put there in the first place. I'm thinking about feeding the stock fuel filter canister (filter removed) so the heater will still function, but I have been told by truckers that typically the fuel will gel around the filters first (which is likely why the stock heater is there). Northeastern PA gets down in the single digits consistently - well below zero with the wind chill, and getting stranded due to gelled fuel is not a good time (ask Mike G about that LOL).

Anyhow, your input is appreciated.

Thanks.

Jared
 
the AD moves the fuel as such a high volume that the heater isn't needed. i've never had one single call from someone that said they were having hard start issues due to the cold. with not having any water in the fuel it's less likely to have issues in the cold.

should you decide that you wanna run it through your stock housing at least upgrade to 1/2" line from the canister to the IP.
 
1lowdiesel said:
the AD moves the fuel as such a high volume that the heater isn't needed. i've never had one single call from someone that said they were having hard start issues due to the cold. with not having any water in the fuel it's less likely to have issues in the cold.

should you decide that you wanna run it through your stock housing at least upgrade to 1/2" line from the canister to the IP.
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Thats what i always thought about my HPFP and of course the AirDog $.02

And the upgrade you suggested....Jared i think Nicholas has one that he use to use laying around....
 
I live in Northern CT with an AD or FASS for the past two years with no problems at all. I also run power service additive year-round.
 
I can tell you on my 12v we had a couple days were it was -20* low's a low single digits during the day, and I didnt notice anything, if it did gel up a little the AD was able to push it on threw. I think the amount of #1 in the #2 is much more important, than any fuel heater.
 
FosterW said:
I live in Northern CT with an AD or FASS for the past two years with no problems at all. I also run power service additive year-round.
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A friend of mine has a FASS unit on his CR and bypassed the stock filter assembly altogether. He also has said just make sure its treated. No problems for him.
 
As long as its treated, I wouldn't worry about it... If its going to gel, it will gel down in the line from the AD or at the tank fist since its exposed to the elements more than the stock canister in the engine compartment. Not to mention, that any water in the system will be in the AD seperator or in the tank... further helping the gelling. I would just remove the stock canister/heater, treat it with PS and not worry about it :D
 
The gelling comes from the animal fat these basterds put in the fuel. There is no additive that can change the gel point of fat. We have been having this problem for about a week now. We run bio in the summer and switch back to #2 about the middle of august. Every one of our truck wouldnt run and when we changed the filters, they were filled with a yellow grease. I took a torch and heated the filters to drain in a bucket and set it outside overnight. The next day it looked like somebody had a bucket of bacon fat after frying a whole pig. LOL. The fuel company made a mistake on what they brought us.


Basically Jerrod you dont have anything to worry about unless you get some ****ty fuel somewhere and then it is not going to matter weather you have a fuel heater or not.
 
ILLINOISRAM said:
The gelling comes from the animal fat these basterds put in the fuel. There is no additive that can change the gel point of fat. We have been having this problem for about a week now. We run bio in the summer and switch back to #2 about the middle of august. Every one of our truck wouldnt run and when we changed the filters, they were filled with a yellow grease. I took a torch and heated the filters to drain in a bucket and set it outside overnight. The next day it looked like somebody had a bucket of bacon fat after frying a whole pig. LOL. The fuel company made a mistake on what they brought us.


Basically Jerrod you dont have anything to worry about unless you get some ****ty fuel somewhere and then it is not going to matter weather you have a fuel heater or not.
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Thanks for the input Tim. Good luck with your bacon LOL
 
Gelling is a big issue come winter time for us. From what I have experienced, it goes back to the quality of fuels. I've had way to many people in much colder climates and things tell me they have no issues at all. Folks in Alaska run their AirDogs direct to the injection pump and don't have issues. But the folks in Minnesota and Wisconsin are blowing my phone up in the winter. Maintaining your water separator is a must and running good additive is a must. Diesel 911 saved alot of people last year in the Wisconsin and Minnesota region. Had another guy that because of such crappy fuel. The water seperator had froze and blocked the passage ways offs for the pump. I bet around 50-60% of our pump problems during the winter come from that area. Anymore you never know what is coming from the diesel pump. Be sure to do your part with regular filter maintenance and additives and you should have no problems.
 
No problems here. Don't even run additives. The AD150 move so much fuel, the fuel temp goes up fairly quickly, even below zero. Even at zero, the fuel temp gets to about 100* running down the road.

Main thing that gives us trouble in the big trucks, is water.
 
2Tone12V said:
Gelling is a big issue come winter time for us. From what I have experienced, it goes back to the quality of fuels. I've had way to many people in much colder climates and things tell me they have no issues at all. Folks in Alaska run their AirDogs direct to the injection pump and don't have issues. But the folks in Minnesota and Wisconsin are blowing my phone up in the winter. Maintaining your water separator is a must and running good additive is a must. Diesel 911 saved alot of people last year in the Wisconsin and Minnesota region. Had another guy that because of such crappy fuel. The water seperator had froze and blocked the passage ways offs for the pump. I bet around 50-60% of our pump problems during the winter come from that area. Anymore you never know what is coming from the diesel pump. Be sure to do your part with regular filter maintenance and additives and you should have no problems.
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When I called AD about the issues I was having with mine they told me it was because of the o-rings they put in the pump. They said the o-rings would shrink once it got to -20*. Once I replaced the orings it was fine. I had to argue with the guy on the phone because according to him it doesn't get to -20* in MN. And I know it is from the fuel since I have 4 other vehicles that were running the same fuel with out problems.
 
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