Howes Fuel Additives

[Musicman]

This is probably going to sound like an advertisement, but it's a hell of a way to save some bucks if you use this stuff.

I don't know how many of you out there use Howes Meaner Power Kleaner or Howes Diesel Treat, but if you do, surely you have noticed that the price has doubled in the last two years. Just this last month Meaner Power Kleaner has gone up to $17 a quart just about everywhere. I'm not sure about Diesel Treat because I don’t use the stuff, but I'm sure it has skyrocketed as well. I hate it when prices go up (except my own rates, that is) and it caused me to do a little research.

Yesterday, for $1800 I got a 55 gallon drum of concentrated Meaner Power Kleaner delivered to my house. With the concentrated stuff, one gallon treats 1500 gallons, so that's equivalent to getting a quart of the retail stuff for $5.23 a quart, or about 70% off retail. The distributor I used also carries the Diesel Treat, but I didn't get a quote from them on that.

Anyway, if you're willing to drop a little money up-front, you can save a pretty penny on any of the additives you use. You can e-mail Howes and ask for the distributor in your area like I did or if you live anywhere from MN to Atlanta to IA to OH you can contact the place I used, LBB Sales & Service (the owner, Terry, was great to deal with, if you can catch him when he’s not hunting, that is) at hillterry@sbcglobal.net.

Hope this helps somebody save some cash. Mostly I like feeling like I'm giving the truck stops a little of the screwing back they give to all of us. Every time I get fuel now I think I'll leave the diesel island with a slight smile on my face.

[Rev.Vassago]

Where do you keep it all in your truck? You must get home on a regular basis to refill your additive supply.


Then again, the only legitimate fuel additive that you should have to use is an anti gel. Anything beyond that is simply wasting money.

[lowrange]

Where do you keep it all in your truck? You must get home on a regular basis to refill your additive supply.


Then again, the only legitimate fuel additive that you should have to use is an anti gel. Anything beyond that is simply wasting money.

Ah gee, some people will just repeat anything Kevin Rutherford says.

[allan5oh]

Then again, the only legitimate fuel additive that you should have to use is an anti gel. Anything beyond that is simply wasting money.

I agree.

[solo379]

I agree.

http://www.prurgent.com/2008-06-05/p...lease12751.htm
Ever heard about this one? I've actually tried it, and it at least, paid for itself in a fuel savings alone, not to mention a benefits of running the cleaner engine.

[Musicman]

First, we usually stay out for four to six weeks at a time. Three gallons will treat 4500 gallons of fuel, for us that’s about 31,000 miles, which is about what we run in six weeks. Finding room for three gallons in a truck isn't very hard.

I'm not so sure about additives not being worth adding. Over the last four years and about 1.2 million miles, I have experimented with both Howes and Lucas, and nothing at all. I found that in our old truck with a C15, Lucas seemed to give us an increase of about 4% to 8% over nothing at all, and Howes seem to offer a negligible improvement. With our new truck and an ISX engine, it appears that Howes offers an improvement of about 6% over nothing at all and a bigger gain over Lucas. I do know that Cummins has done some testing with Howes and seems to like it. I also know of some fleets that swear by one or the other of these products.

I also know through dyno testing that Lucas added 13 HP in the fuel injected bike that I had (a 2004 Suzuki VZ1600). I have a 1997 Chevy Venture van with 171k miles on it, that I use Lucas in and see an improvement of about 10% or more in the fuel economy. This van will get 28mpg if driven sensibly with Lucas. Without Lucas, I can get 21 - 24 mpg at best. Even with all city driving I can expect at least 20mpg from the van. It is an improvement that is hard to dispute.

I understand that some people think that all additives are snake oil. In many cases they are, but I believe my own math and will continue to use what I think works.
I was not trying to get into a debate on fuel additives, as that will go on and on and on once it gets started. I do know that others also use these products and was trying to save them some money. I’m happy to be paying $5.28 a quart as compared to $18 a quart at the Flying J and thought some others might enjoy saving money as well.

[partssman]

Then again, the only legitimate fuel additive that you should have to use is an anti gel. Anything beyond that is simply wasting money.

I have a bunch of O/O's who would disagree with you Rev....

I sell a bunch of Lucas Fuel Treatment. One driver buys it 3 gallons at a time and all swear to better fuel mileage.

I plan to use it in the truck I just bought along with the oil stabilizer.

We built a C15 and the driver uses Lucas oil at every service. His engine had about 500,000 on it at tear down and the main and rod bearings still had an amazing amount of "batting" the matte finish still on the bearings. Didn't nobody tell me about it, no friend read about, I saw it first hand. It sold me on the oil stabilizer.

Reckon to each his own

[GMAN]

I have one truck with over 900,000 miles and never use additives in it. I dropped the oil pan a few months ago and had the lower bearings checked. They could not believe that I had never replaced the bearings with that many miles on it. About the only thing I add is transmission fluid to the fuel every now and then to clean the injectors. And I don't do that on a regular basis any more. I just change my oil every 15,000 miles. Personally, I think that putting in additives is a waste of my money. I had one driver who tried some Lucas a few times in that truck. I don't recall seeing any improvement in fuel mileage or performance. I did notice it costing more for a fill up using the additives. The only time I will add additives is when I have water in my tanks. That rarely happens.

[partssman]

Be careful about adding ATF to your fuel...some over zealous DOT ofiicer may think you have off road diesel in your tanks

[GMAN]

That actually happened to me some years ago, partssman. Fortunately, I still had the empty container with me. Of course, an analysis would have confirmed what I told him. I think that was the last time that I had my fuel checked. I think that if you had your fuel receipts with you it would not be a problem any way.

[rgordon212]

Only time I use Howes is when I buy fuel down south and run up north for anti-gel purposes only. I live in the Chicago area, and every time I buy fuel in FL or MS and run back up north (espically with the ULSD) i always have problems so I add Howes to the tanks on fill-up if need be.

I can say if you want to clean t=your fuel system use Bio-diesel. I tried it once and had to change my fuel filter 3 times in 7000 miles!!! I was a bit crazy. Well worth the money but untill it;s more readily available, i will stick to locations with LSD though. Although I did notice at the Road Ranger that there ULSD is a 20% Bio-blend?

[Rev.Vassago]

I can say if you want to clean t=your fuel system use Bio-diesel.

ULSD has an almost "solvent" quality to it, and works quite well for mucking up a fuel filter from cleaning the system. ATF is not a fuel system cleaner any more than a bottle of laundry soap is.

[wildkat]

I dunno, with the extreme cold I deal with Howes is no good for me...we just keep it around our truck stops & stuff for you guys. Howes is no good for anything below about -25. I personally used a conditioner made by Kleen-Flo, it's an anti-gel to -70, a an ULD conditioner as well. 1 quart does most of the winter, a few ounces in each tank each fill does the job. But then in winter we run Diesel 50, which means it will not gel above -50, in reality it's heating oil.

[belpre122]

Although I did notice at the Road Ranger that there ULSD is a 20% Bio-blend?

Close Gordo. That is a 2% blend.

[belpre122]

ULSD has an almost "solvent" quality to it, and works quite well for mucking up a fuel filter from cleaning the system. ATF is not a fuel system cleaner any more than a bottle of laundry soap is.

Trying to follow you Rev. ULSD is simply sulphur reduced diesel. Were you referring to ULSD blended as 98% ULSD and 2% bio-diesel?

I can tell you from working with straight bio-diesel that it is some nasty stuff. Bio-diesel uncut will eat through Goodyear high pressure transfer hoses that we use in the fuel industry. It will eat the bottoms off of your boots. If it gets on your skin, it is similar to the sensation of battery acid on the skin. It burns and burns and keeps spreading as you touch your face, arms ummm you get the idea.

Rough stuff that bio-diesel. I'm just glad that I don't have to handle it anymore.

[belpre122]

But then in winter we run Diesel 50, which means it will not gel above -50, in reality it's heating oil.

Down here that is called #1 ULSD. It is virtually the same as heating oil (kerosene) but has 'lubricity' additives that are for motor vehicle (engine) use. Many do however use the heating oil/kerosene interchangeably.

The most common blend in Indiana is 90% #2ULSD and 10% #1ULSD. Although I have delivered loads that I have blended at customer request as high as 60% #2ULSD and 40% #1ULSD.

Makes sense Kat, the further one would go north, eventually the #2ULSD element is completely gone and you are running 100% #1ULSD (heating oil/kerosene).

[wildkat]

Down here that is called #1 ULSD. It is virtually the same as heating oil (kerosene) but has 'lubricity' additives that are for motor vehicle (engine) use. Many do however use the heating oil/kerosene interchangeably.

The most common blend in Indiana is 90% #2ULSD and 10% #1ULSD. Although I have delivered loads that I have blended at customer request as high as 60% #2ULSD and 40% #1ULSD.

Makes sense Kat, the further one would go north, eventually the #2ULSD element is completely gone and you are running 100% #1ULSD (heating oil/kerosene).

Yup bel, you're right. I remember when I used to run down south we NEVER used #2 fuel only #1, your #2 is like our summer fuel...even winter fuel here is higher than your #1, but in a pinch #1 will do. I can recall putting just enough in to get across the border then get our winter stuff. I think the normal winter fuel would be good to -30, but haven't hauled fuel for probably 15 years so I don't recall what the blends are anymore...I just know that our winter fuel comes on-line around mid-October.

[Rev.Vassago]

Trying to follow you Rev. ULSD is simply sulphur reduced diesel. Were you referring to ULSD blended as 98% ULSD and 2% bio-diesel?

I got my information regarding ULSD directly from one of the chemists who was initially involved in producing it for one of the major oil companies (Chevron Texaco, if I remember correctly. I moved her family back when I ran HHG.). I had asked her about the concern that many drivers were having regarding plugged fuel filters when they were changing over to the new fuel. She stated that they were having the same issues with their pipelines, that the ULSD was "stripping" them of residue, and acting almost as a solvent. At that time, there were many drivers who were swearing that putting used engine oil was "adding lubricity" to the fuel. She was shocked to hear this, and empathetically stated that they were likely recreating the problem over and over.

[partssman]

That actually happened to me some years ago, partssman. Fortunately, I still had the empty container with me. Of course, an analysis would have confirmed what I told him. I think that was the last time that I had my fuel checked. I think that if you had your fuel receipts with you it would not be a problem any way.

When drivers come in the shop giving me a hard I threaten them with doing it and calling DOT and tell them they're running "switcher" fuel They know I wouldn't do it, but they wonder off to go pester somebody else.

Good thing your DOT man had a bit of common sense. A $10,000 fine would have messed up the months profit margin.

[GMAN]

When drivers come in the shop giving me a hard I threaten them with doing it and calling DOT and tell them they're running "switcher" fuel They know I wouldn't do it, but they wonder off to go pester somebody else.

Good thing your DOT man had a bit of common sense. A $10,000 fine would have messed up the months profit margin.

I wasn't too worried about it. I knew that I hadn't done anything wrong. I have never put off road diesel in any of my trucks. I suppose a DOT guy could hassle you if they wanted but most won't hassle you much as long as you don't give them an attitude. We didn't have all the additives when I started driving. We had to improvise. Some used to put their old motor oil in their fuel. A lot of us used transmission fluid to clean our injectors. Alcohol works to help get rid of some of the water in your fuel. You need to use the highest alcohol content you can find. I have also used alcohol to stop gelling once. I was in the mountains of New York late one night and it was the only thing that I had. I wasn't sure that it would work, but it did. I still keep rubbing alcohol in my truck. Nothing works as well if you have ice in your air lines. It only takes a few minutes to open a line clogged with ice. Just pour some in your glad hands and pump your brakes and work everything with air. As soon as you can you need to evacuate your lines to get the moisture out. It is cheap and works very well. I have helped a lot of drivers over the years with rubbing alcohol. It saved them a lot of money on road calls. I know some drivers and owner operators who regularly use various types of lubricants. I don't. I have found the simple things work best for me.