Gelling in diesel fuel isn't anything new during cold weather, and I don't think ULSD is going to behave in much different fashion than from what we used to consider regular diesel. Removal of the sulphur is likely a very good thing from an air pollution standpoint. From my own experience in very cold weather over the last 45 years however, all the additives in the world are not going to help anyone much if they insist on running straight #2 diesel fuel. Once you get that stuff below about 22 degrees F., you will have problems, no bull! Those that are using bio-diesel in cold weather have been and will continue to experience problems because of the inherent qualities in the bio part of the fuel, it just doesn't like cold weather, though some folks I know seem to do OK with it.
That said, there are things you can and should do to protect your equipment. Do proper PM maintenance on your equipment fuel systems and your fuel storage and pumping/filtering devices. Do this BEFORE cold weather hits, it's way too late once the cold hits the fan so to speak! Keep a close eye on your bulk storage if you use it. Condensation creeps up fast in humid climates in late summer and fall. If you haven't cleaned all the crap out your tanks, early fall is the time to do it. Make sure all fuel is filtered before being installed into your equipment. Treat the fuel with a good additive to keep water contamination in check. Forget about additives that promise to prevent wax problems, they are a waste of your money and time. Test your fuel with regular fuel samples to a lab. This will always alert you to bad fuel and once you learn of it, act fast! Keep in mind that heated filters can help, but if you have long fuel runs from tank to pump to filter, you can have gelled fuel nearly anywhere in those lines, but especially at connectors and elbows.
Watch the weather. When the bad guy on TV says it's going to get real cold, trust him. Get some @1 diesel or Kerosene blended in your fuel, and make sure you run your equipment a bit with the blended fuel. Yep, it's a bit more expensive, but it's not near as bad as telling the production types that they have to send everyone home for the day because your mechanics are going to have to spend several hours cleaning out frozen fuel systems and changing filters. Not to mention putting out the fires they light off trying to thaw out fuel lines and fittings. Melted air brakes hoses, burnt electrical harnesses and lots of other damage occurs when this happens.
To many times, bad weather rolls in after you have shut your iron down on Friday for the weekend. Then Monday rolls around and everything is froze all to hell because the temp went from 60 above to 20 below on Sunday. Careful preparation before the end of the shift on Friday will allow you to start and operate on Monday. There have been times when I had equipment idling 24/7 because of the cold -- with a mechanic standing by all night checking for problems. Cold weather makes everything harder, but once you learn to live with it, life goes on.
But, I digress. Environmentally, ULSD is a good thing and we will learn to live with it as manufacturers and end users figure out how it works and tricks to keep it flowing. We did this with the earlier low-sulphur diesel and it took about a year to come to grips with it. ULSD is running cleaner than many gas powered vehicles now a days, but there are also the added components now to take care of, the particulate traps and catalytic converters and such. They require close inspection and maintenance just like the rest of the systems on your rig. The jury is still out as far as I am concerned as to their total effectiveness vs cost.
Even an old dirt stiff like me can learn how to cope with new fuels and iron, once I'm convinced that putting up with the new stuff will be a good thing. Not that any of us have much choice or say in the matter these days. Politicians and lobbyists make the rules, sometimes without much good reason, and the rest of us struggle to keep up. It is probably better to be pro-active when changes come down the pike regarding fuels as I haven't seen much rollback on any new regulations or specs. Good article Larry.