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Vent: My loader kept stalling in the cold until I tried this
I was on a winter job and my skid steer would die every morning when it got below freezing. I checked the fuel lines and filters, but nothing was wrong. Then I remembered an old timer saying to wrap the fuel tank with insulation. I used some leftover foam from a plumbing job and duct taped it around the tank. Now, I start it up and let it run for ten minutes before I move it. No more stalling, and it saves me time waiting for a tow. It's a simple fix that cost me nothing. Hope this helps someone else dealing with cold ops.
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phoenix_martin406mo ago
Totally works, hugotaylor! I did the same with pipe wrap on my old backhoe and it ran fine even at -5.
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hugotaylor6mo ago
Zero degrees Fahrenheit, does that insulation really stop fuel line freeze?
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rileyprice6mo ago
Yeah, the zero degrees part is what gets you. My buddy tried that insulation wrap on his plow truck last winter when it hit about that cold. It slowed things down, but his diesel still got a little gummy in the lines overnight. He said it helped for sure, but he had to add an anti-gel treatment to the tank to be safe. The wrap alone wasn't quite enough when it sat that cold for that long. So it helps, but you probably still need to treat the fuel.
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nancy_wood5mo ago
Honestly, how often does it actually hit zero where you are? Around here, the weather folks panic over a forecast like that and we get maybe one night of it. A good winter blend fuel from a busy station usually handles it. I've seen more problems from summer fuel left in a tank than from a single cold snap.
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