Hello-

Im looking into getting this system and wondering if I need to worry anou. It with extreme cold temps. I'm in the Air Force and more than likely will be moving to North Pole AK. The average in the winter is around -20 an wondering if this syst would have problems or should I just keep my OEM set up?

Thanks

Kevin

I don't know about any systems but I know that you will want to buy some AMSOIL diesel recovery its way better for your engine than 911 due to alcohol free.

I mean the Nictane fuel filter system.

I have sold many of the kits over the years to customers in very cold temperatures and I haven't heard of any problems other than the OEM filter gelling up before the CAT filter. Most likely the CAT will fair better than your stock filter but if you are concerned the 1 micron filter would have the best cold-weather characteristics.

I didn't have a problem with my Nicktane kit and 1 micron filter last winter here in Minnesota, and it didn't get above -20 for almost two months straight.

Tom

Thanks for the replies!

Kevin

ive ran one for the last 4 years and every year ive had a filter clogging problem.

ive tired howes, PS, amsoil and now on stanadyne additive.

i just added a lift pump to help push fuel from the tank through the nicktane and up to the OEM filter. a lot of people i talked to recommended me doing that to help push that cold thick fuel to the CP3. especially since i have the nicktane..

ive ran one for the last 4 years and every year ive had a filter clogging problem.

ive tired howes, PS, amsoil and now on stanadyne additive.

i just added a lift pump to help push fuel from the tank through the nicktane and up to the OEM filter. a lot of people i talked to recommended me doing that to help push that cold thick fuel to the CP3. especially since i have the nicktane..

Gelling is product of the cold pouring point and clouding characteristics of the fuel purchased. Upping pressure will help a little but a more effective approach is to deal with the fuel. Bottle mix ratio on Stanadyne Performance Formula will lower pour point about 40*F it can be dosed at a higher rate but it doesn't work in a linear fashion 2x not equal to 80*F improvement. IMO you need to add #1 or Kerosene if it is a regular problem with your local fuel. Especially if your local fuel has a Bio component.

thanks for the reply.

one station sells #1 and its about 15 miles away, guess ill have to mix in some of that next time.

as far as the bio content goes no one knows if there is bio in our fuel or not. the pumps dont say yes or no on the bio content.

the pump stated the cloud point of the diesel was -15. so with the stanadyne added it lowers the cloud point up to 25 degs. so theoretically i should be good to -40 deg?

The OEM Filter will freeze before the CAT filter will, even with the integrated heater. I have something coming out in a couple weeks which should help solve that problem :)

What would that something be?

I have seen a heater put on a factory filter on this forum. Don't remeber where to even begin to look for it.

Or another thought, short term would be to strap some hand warmers to the fuel filters. Could also be a way to get a truck with gelled fuel running again. Would still need some type of additive though.

We are running with daytime highs in the teens and lows around zero. Took the truck to the shop after she would bogging down and would not go above 2000 rpm. Fuel gelled and filter seal pushed out from gelled fuel even over dosing with anti-gel at fill ups. Filter replaced and more anti-gel added at dealer. Next day took two hour trip, had gelling again, added 911 to tank (double dosed) helped clear 2000 rpm and bogging I was having today. We only have #2 bio diesel. Can not get #1 or non-bio (live in country). When I lived in Chicago area, I never had a gelling issue, now it is just a pain.

What is the best way to prevent gelling with bio from the local FS?

i think you got a mix of too much additives and bad fuel.

double dosing then adding more and more and more is not good. drain that tank and start fresh

a new filter design for the OEM location.. in my experience the OEM freezes first.. there is a heater on the OEM filter already..its just not very good..

What would that something be?

I have seen a heater put on a factory filter on this forum. Don't remeber where to even begin to look for it.

Or another thought, short term would be to strap some hand warmers to the fuel filters. Could also be a way to get a truck with gelled fuel running again. Would still need some type of additive though.

We are running with daytime highs in the teens and lows around zero. Took the truck to the shop after she would bogging down and would not go above 2000 rpm. Fuel gelled and filter seal pushed out from gelled fuel even over dosing with anti-gel at fill ups. Filter replaced and more anti-gel added at dealer. Next day took two hour trip, had gelling again, added 911 to tank (double dosed) helped clear 2000 rpm and bogging I was having today. We only have #2 bio diesel. Can not get #1 or non-bio (live in country). When I lived in Chicago area, I never had a gelling issue, now it is just a pain.

What is the best way to prevent gelling with bio from the local FS?

Get clear kerosene or fuel oil if D1 is not "available"

Took mine to -29f in Yellowstone camping and no freeze up.

I guess what I meant was that when it gets REALLY cold, things happen to vehicles, and I was wondering if the nicktane system or the one of the DIY systems would be effected by the cold weather (i.e. problems with hoses and such).

Kevin

how cold are you talking?

Temps in the interior have been warmer in recent years but in the North Pole/Eielson area you will definitely see 40 below each year. I lived in North Pole for a couple of years before getting smart and getting my butt back down south to Wasilla. The first year we saw minus 72 at the house. The second year it only got down to 65 below. The diesels do fine up there but you'll need to be putting in additives with each fill up.

Temps in the interior have been warmer in recent years but in the North Pole/Eielson area you will definitely see 40 below each year. I lived in North Pole for a couple of years before getting smart and getting my butt back down south to Wasilla. The first year we saw minus 72 at the house. The second year it only got down to 65 below. The diesels do fine up there but you'll need to be putting in additives with each fill up.


what type of fuel do you use, 50/50 blended?

what type of fuel do you use, 50/50 blended?

I realy don't know, I never paid attention. Just whatever came out of the pumps.

I've seen -68 around Fairbanks, I've always wanted to see what it's like in the -70's. At -68 my 50/50 mix of coolant shushed up enough to freeze my stat shut and she overheated for about 1/4 mile, I now run a 70/30 mix. That's one thing to keep in mind.

Auto-start is a must unless you have a heated garage. I've been really happy with my compustar but the main box just failed. My mom's Tahoe has had nothing but problems from viper, but my sister's Yukon has an older viper that works great. A lot of it comes down to the install make sure they key the thing off rpmss and not voltage. rpm is harder to hook up but will start more reliably.


I've known some people who install ceramic heaters in the cab and then run the power wire through a grommet in the firewall. I've always considered this a fire hazard but man is it ever convenient.

Block up your radiator as much as you can.

Extra lights and HIDs are a good investment, we get less than 4 hours a daylight in the dead of winter, and by daylight I mean the sun considered coming up over the mountains for 4 hours, peaks over the mountains and the goes away again.

In my experience sealed cell batteries and deep-cycle batteries are a lot hardier in cold weather. I've never seen an optima freeze down, I've left mine out for the weekend in -60F, and for a week and a half at the Fairbanks Airport where it didn't get above -40F. The battery is almost 10 years old and it's never failed me. Since optima lost propriety over its patent the quality has gone down a lot though.

If I think of any other cold weather considerations I'll add them.

I've seen -68 around Fairbanks, I've always wanted to see what it's like in the -70's. At -68 my 50/50 mix of coolant shushed up enough to freeze my stat shut and she overheated for about 1/4 mile, I now run a 70/30 mix. That's one thing to keep in mind.

Auto-start is a must unless you have a heated garage. I've been really happy with my compustar but the main box just failed. My mom's Tahoe has had nothing but problems from viper, but my sister's Yukon has an older viper that works great. A lot of it comes down to the install make sure they key the thing off rpmss and not voltage. rpm is harder to hook up but will start more reliably.


I've known some people who install ceramic heaters in the cab and then run the power wire through a grommet in the firewall. I've always considered this a fire hazard but man is it ever convenient.

Block up your radiator as much as you can.

Extra lights and HIDs are a good investment, we get less than 4 hours a daylight in the dead of winter, and by daylight I mean the sun considered coming up over the mountains for 4 hours, peaks over the mountains and the goes away again.

In my experience sealed cell batteries and deep-cycle batteries are a lot hardier in cold weather. I've never seen an optima freeze down, I've left mine out for the weekend in -60F, and for a week and a half at the Fairbanks Airport where it didn't get above -40F. The battery is almost 10 years old and it's never failed me. Since optima lost propriety over its patent the quality has gone down a lot though.

If I think of any other cold weather considerations I'll add them.

Thanks for all the great intel. I have already added much of the stuff you have listed, and I believe that you know what I mean when your vehicle just acts funny during the winter. I have a friend who said the the LCD in his phone wouldn't work because it froze, but would work after about 15 min in the warmth.

You living in Fairbanks, how is the fuel. Is a secondary system really needed?

I plan on putting on a remote start, but was going to wait until I got there to ease any warranty issues with in.

Thanks
Kein

Thanks for all the great intel. I have already added much of the stuff you have listed, and I believe that you know what I mean when your vehicle just acts funny during the winter. I have a friend who said the the LCD in his phone wouldn't work because it froze, but would work after about 15 min in the warmth.

You living in Fairbanks, how is the fuel. Is a secondary system really needed?

I plan on putting on a remote start, but was going to wait until I got there to ease any warranty issues with in.

Thanks
Kein


Fuel isn't bad, well the prices are. All this oil up here and we're paying some of the highest gas prices in the country. Not sure what diesels at, I love diesels but I wouldn't own one up here. A lot of people do but gas engines are more warm blooded.

From what I've seen the most common way to set up a diesel is to have heaters on everything, so a silicone heater under one or both batteries, block heater, sometimes even an oil pan heater.

The newer ones seem to have auto-starts programmed to kick the engines over for a while then take a break, then resume. I've seen some like my neighbors Duramax that starts idling at the begging of late winter and doesn't really stop until around now.

I wouldn't be too worried about the warranty, three of my family's trucks have autostarts, all three had warranty that lived out their natural lives undisturbed. And we made use of those warranties frequently, Alaska isn't kind to vehicles. Just have a dealer install it. My favorite GM dealership is back in anchorage, Alaska Sales & Service.

I do know what you mean about engines acting strange in the cold. A lot of it has to do with the fact that the thermocouple in the IAT only registers down to about -38, so any PCM stops trying to compensate past that point. The engine gets really stiff, and the PCM throws a number of protection modes. I'm not sure what diesels have but I'm sure they have them, until the engine gets up to temp.


The things I've done to get trucks going up here.

One time, my friend Karlins truck froze up in the dorm parking lot and he needed to be on base in the morning he was frantic to get it running again, I guess only his truck had clearance to go on base and if he didn't show up he'd be in trouble.

So we lit a fire under it, literally. Threw a tin full of hot briquettes under there got the engine compartment nice and warm again, and then pull started it with a tow rope and my truck.


Longest crank to start was my old roomate's jeep, we had a trickle charger and my truck's charging system hooked up to it. It spun for 25 mins uninterrupted before catching and starting up. That thing had problems. And a plugged heater core he was too cheap to fix, no wonder Soc went back to the east coast.

He lasted two winters though, I've got to give him credit for that, two years in Fairbanks driving too and from class each day, no heat in a sweatshirt, down vest, and jeans.


Another time, a guy at the dorms couldn't get his early 70's chevy with some kind of slant-6 going because the electric choke was bad. Well after a few hours of frustration, and some frostbite I rammed a screwdriver down the carb and held the choke open. An almighty blast of blue fire shot out and lit my glove on fire.


Another time was my old roommate Matt's Lincoln Navigator, that thing was a mechanical catastrophe. He had an alt go out and its a ford so the alt is all the way down near the ballancer, it's 48 below and he doesn't want to change it himself, he was also too cheap to call a tow truck. So anyway I told him not to throw parts at it but he gets a new battery anyways, doesn't fix it. So we charged both batteries up used jumper cables to wire the second batt in parallel and put it on the passenger seat, so no heater and the window is down.

Barely made it to Gabes T&A, had no headlights, dash, anything electrical it was all engine but it made it.

Gabes is really the only place I trust in Fairbanks. Northern industial is popular but like a lot of the places they're really only good at building old gen I and II small blocks, none of them seem know a damn thing about EFI. Born Again transmission, X-ray Motors, and a few others are alright though.

The Cadillac dealership is good just stay away from the chevy dealership, its called Aurora Motors, never heard anything good about them and went to their service department once or twice, they seem really shady.

On the bright side there isn't any wind in interior Alaska. I mean its dead calm 99.9% of the time, and its a dry cold. Which hurts more, but kills you more slowly.

North Pole has the only good Chinese restaurant in Alaska and by far the best I've ever eaten at anywhere. Probably the best restaurant in Alaska actually. Place called the Pagoda, it's been featured on a few food channel specials.

Oh and we also have the most awesome gun laws (or lack thereof) anywhere.

No permitting or licensing. Concealed carry is a right here, not a privilege like some communist states believe it to be. Full open carry as well. When buying a gun no long waits for identity checks.

I don't know of any good shooting ranges in North Pole but if you're in Fairbanks just take Cushman St. South and there's a great shooting range out there, with benches and pistol range with trap and its free, its provided by the municipality. Also you can just go and shoot whatever out there because its outside of city limits.

If I think of any other good Alaska tips I'll post them up.

I can add a bit to cold weather prep considering I was a manager at a couple of auto repair shops in Fairbanks and Anchorage. Battery blankets are pretty much a waste of money since they do not fit tightly around the battery. A lot of the heat they generate is just lost to the air. The pads that go under the battery are much better at keeping the battery warm. However, they will occasionally develop a hot spot or two and literally melt the bottom of the battery. Without a doubt the best thing for your battery is a battery tender. The tender will charge the battery only if needed and a charged battery will not freeze. You will also need to have heating pads on the pan of the engine and transmission. These are siliconed to the pan with power cords run to the front of the truck.
Any auto parts store up there will carry the pads as will Fred Myers and Wal-Mart. They will also have the adapter cords you'll need to hook all of these cords together, see pic below, and the cold rated extension cords. Word of caution here, a big, heavy duty extension cord is useless unless it is specifically rated for cold weather. To the best of my knowledge, there are no battery chargers on the market with cold rated cords. No store will warranty an extension cord or battery charger with a broken cord. At 60 below zero the cords will literally shatter if you drop them , kick them, sometimes just touch them.

In the pic is what will be under your hood. The battery tender, block heater and pan heaters will plug into this. Yes, you will need one other in order to plug in everything. You will carry a 15 to 25 foot blue, extreme cold rated extension cord with you so you can plug in at work. The yellow plug at the end of the cord has a light inside. It will light up when plugged into an outlet that has power. This is a must. You don't want to be at work for 8 or 10 or 12 hours with the cord plugged into a dead outlet.

Lil Buddy or Little Buddy is the name of the in cab heater that was mentioned above. They have a special two part cord that is easy to fish through the firewall. At 60 below they will not heat up the cab but they will raise the temp a bit and every little bit helps at those temps.

A remote start is one of the best things you can do for yourself. You really do get what you pay for with these. I recommend waiting until you get up there to get one so you'll have installers who know what they are doing for cold weather units. The good ones have a range of at least 1/4 mile. No, you don't need 1/4 mile, but that increases the odds of being able to start the rig from inside whatever building you work in. They can be set up to wait until the glow plugs are ready. You can also set them up to trigger the high idle. You will not always be able to park somewhere that has plug ins for vehicles. The better auto starts can be programmed, by you and quite easily, to automatically start the engine when the temp drops below a point you set. Most have 3 different run times you can select. So the truck will start on its own and run for a predetermined amount of time then shut down. This will keep the battery charged and stop the engine from freezing up. It won't run long enough to heat the cab but it will cut down on how long it takes for the cab to get warm once you start to drive.

I ran my antifreeze at a 75/25 mix and used synthetic fluid in everything. They also make synthetic grease, use it!

There is no wind in the Fairbanks area in the winter. That is a good thing for wind chill but it is bad for air quality. Cold air layers settle in and do not move. This traps pollution so air quality cab get really bad in the winter. This also traps fog, ice fog. Good quality, low mounted, fog lights can really be a life saver in the winter.

That's all for now. Respect the weather and you will do fine. Disrespect it and you can end up dead real quick!

http://i46.tinypic.com/17zvw9.jpg

I didn't have a problem with my Nicktane kit and 1 micron filter last winter here in Minnesota, and it didn't get above -20 for almost two months straight.

Tom

Wow that's a cold snap. We did have 2 cold snaps last year. Each lasted almost a week that tickled the -20's a few of the nights but not every night. You must live in the COLD part of Minneapolis