Did you even know there was such a thing? I do now! After a $150.00 tow bill and a $225.00 repair bill for draining the fuel filter and line, I am very familiar with freezing diesel fuel.
Last Tuesday it had been snowing at Mammoth non-stop for 48 hours and we received almost 8’ of snow. I try starting my ’17 MBZ Sprinter Van, it will crank but it won’t turn over. I keep trying to start it to the point that the battery is now low. So I call AAA for a jump. When the tow truck arrives, we try to jump it, but it’s a no-go. Billy, the driver, tells me he thinks my fuel has frozen. I said what? It never occurred to me.
Billy asks where I bought the gas, as all stations around Mammoth should have Winter Diesel Fuel or AE. I told him I filled up at Paiute Palace Casino in Bishop. Billy says “ohhh, you need to get fuel from Shell or Chevron as they have to carry the winterized diesel. The reservation can do whatever they want”.
Is it only me that didn’t think to ask if the “diesel is winterized” in a gas station where the temperatures go down to single digits? Bishop is also where everyone from SoCal stops to or from Mammoth. Anyway, $ 375.00 and a day later, I finally get my rig running thanks to the clean out and the adding of Diesel 9-1-1, diesel additive. This will lower the freezing point of your fuel. So I’m carrying this baby with me the next time I head to the snow, just to make sure.
The story has a happy ending. The snowboarding was epic on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and we got home without any additional drama.
Another learning experience for the adventurer!
