Mix gasoline to diesel

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One hears again and again that when it is cold you should mix gasoline with diesel so that the fuel does not "freeze". There are good reasons not to do it, even if it used to be the right thing to do.

Differences between gasoline and diesel

  • You might be surprised, but chemically speaking, the difference between gasoline and diesel isn't that big. Both substances are a mixture of different hydrocarbons. They mainly consist of alkanes, cycloalkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons. The difference is due to the chain lengths. Diesel consists of hydrocarbon chains with 9 to 22 carbon atoms, gasoline consists of shorter chains of 5 to 11 carbon atoms.
  • Technically, the main components of gasoline and diesel are distillates of crude oil. Petrol is distilled out in a temperature range from 25 ° C to 210 ° C, diesel boils at temperatures from 170 ° C to 390 ° C. As you can see, there is even some overlap.

Due to the long chains, diesel is heavier and more oily than gasoline. When it is cold, the fuel tends to flocculate. The paraffin flakes created in this way clog the lines and injection nozzles.

This is something to consider before mixing

If it were only about the main components in both fuels, the mixing of gasoline and diesel would result in a product that would be more similar to crude oil. Engine problems are hardly to be expected. But fuels are not just made up of the main components. When gasoline and diesel only consisted of hydrocarbons, it was common to use gasoline as a flow improver in the winter add the diesel. Today you shouldn't follow these recommendations.

  • Modern gasoline engines require fuels with additives. Among other things, substances are added to the gasoline to ensure better anti-knock properties. Few motorists are aware that there is also a winter gasoline in which an increased proportion of ether is added to improve ignition.
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  • Diesel is no longer just a mixture of the hydrocarbons mentioned. It contains ignition retarders so that the fuel does not ignite immediately during injection. It also contains substances that increase the lubricating properties of diesel.
  • In winter, manufacturers add kerosene to the diesel fuel, which is a gasoline. Unlike conventional gasoline, the added kerosene does not contain any additives. In order to prevent ignition too early, more ignition-retarding substances are added at the same time as the kerosene.

What happens when you mix the fuels

Suppose you mix winter gasoline with winter diesel, just as gasoline used to be mixed with diesel on a regular basis to prevent gelling. At that time almost only hydrocarbons were mixed, which was not a problem.

  • Today you mix more gasoline in the diesel fuel that already contains kerosene. This gasoline contains ether to improve ignitability. The amount of ignition retarders in diesel is matched to the amount of kerosene, not to the additional gasoline and certainly not to the ether. The mixture will ignite much too early. The performance of the unit decreases. Of the engine begins to nail. There is a risk of engine damage.
  • The addition of gasoline dilutes the additives that improve the lubricating properties of the diesel. At the same time, the lubricity of the diesel decreases when it is mixed with gasoline. Modern diesel engines, the fuel pump and the injection system are dependent on the lubricity of the fuel. There is a risk of damage if the fuel cannot lubricate sufficiently.
  • If you accidentally add a liter or two of gasoline to your diesel while refueling, it will hardly have any harmful effect. Automobile clubs advise, if less than 10 liters of gasoline has been poured into a diesel tank, to fill the tank completely with diesel and to be careful not to nail the engine. If your car makes this noise, have the tank empty immediately. Otherwise, fill up with diesel again and again as soon as possible.

Mixing gasoline with diesel in order to keep the fuel flowing in winter is not only superfluous, but as mentioned even dangerous.

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