One of the features of diesel fuel is the tendency of this type of fuel to lose fluidity in negative temperatures. Freezing diesel oil becomes cloudy, followed by active crystallization (waxing) and further solidification. The fuel turns into a thick and viscous gel. This increase in viscosity means, that pumping diesel fuel through filter elements and fuel lines of the diesel engine power supply system is complicated or becomes completely impossible.
We also recommend reading the article about it, how to make a diesel heater with your own hands. In this article you will learn about the methods of heating diesel fuel in some parts of the fuel supply system of a diesel engine.
To counteract the active freezing of diesel fuel, special diesel heaters are installed on cars and diesel trucks.. These heaters are divided into two main types:
- diesel preheater;
- marching diesel heater;
The first type of device works before starting the engine and warms up the thickened diesel fuel, dissolving the formed paraffin crystals and returning the diesel to proper fluidity. Use of preheating of diesel fuel provides the further confident start of the cold diesel engine in the conditions of low temperatures.
As for the march heating, then these solutions provide a constant temperature of diesel fuel in parallel with the engine running. This need may arise due to icing of the fuel system when driving on the highway, etc..
Among the various devices available today are also widely available combined solutions, which combine the possibility of pre-heating and further maintenance of diesel temperature in motion. Such complex schemes are called diesel heating system.
heaters
Most often, diesel fuel can freeze in the fuel tank, in the filter-separator, in the fuel line, in the fine filter. The list of preheaters includes devices and solutions, designed to heat the above elements of the fuel supply system:
- fuel intake with heating and heaters in the tank;
- fine filter heaters;
- bandage heaters (in the form of a flexible tape);
- device for heating the filter-separator;
The basis of all these solutions is a built-in heating element, which runs on electricity. Power for the heater is supplied from the car battery.
Bandage heater
The most important area is the fine filter. The stability of fuel supply to the fuel equipment directly depends on its capacity. At negative temperatures, diesel fuel is likely to freeze in this area.
Heating of the fine filter is often realized by means of an overhead heater of bandage type. The driver turns on the heater with a special button, taken to the car. Then the device will warm up the filter for a few minutes and turn off automatically. After such preheating, the engine can be started in the cold -35 degrees Celsius and below.
Tape type heating
Tape type heaters can be installed in different parts of the fuel system of a diesel engine. This is especially true when it is necessary to implement heating of fuel lines on the sections from the fuel tank to the separator filter, and after the separator to the fine filter. Such heaters heat the highway before starting the engine and maintain the temperature while driving.
heating of the fuel intake
Fuel intake with the possibility of pre-heating is the most common solution. The main advantage of the device is the supply of heated diesel fuel to the fuel line. After starting the engine, the positive temperature in the fuel intake can be maintained due to the receipt of heated diesel fuel from the "return".
We also recommend reading the article on additives-antigels in diesel fuel. In this article you will learn about warehouses, which prevent freezing of diesel fuel at negative temperatures.
Heating diesel fuel while driving
Constant heating of diesel fuel is realized both by means of an electric heating element, and by installing liquid heat exchangers. This heat exchanger is a solution, allowing the liquid heated in the cooling system to circulate in that place, where constant fuel heating is required.
Among the electric heaters, allowing to heat elements and sites of fuel system in motion, allocate instantaneous heaters of diesel fuel and heaters of tape type.
The place of installation of the instantaneous heater is the section of the fuel line in front of the fine filter. Similar devices are powered by a car generator. Circulating coolant heaters are special piping ??forms, which can be sent to the fuel intake or other parts of the fuel system.
Combining pre-starting electric heaters with solutions for fuel heating while driving allows to implement a complex diesel fuel heating system. Such solutions are equipped with a controller unit, which analyzes the outside temperature outside and the temperature of diesel fuel, then in the automatic mode activates or disconnects heaters on various sites of fuel system of the diesel engine.