On 2012-11-04, Bruce L. Bergman (munged human readable) wrote:
On Sat, 03 Nov 2012 21:52:52 -0500, Ignoramus24757
wrote:

At an auction, I purchased a 400 gallon diesel fuel tank for $150. I
thought that it was empty, but turns out that it was not, it is
approximately 1/2 full, so maybe 200 gallons.

It contains dyed fuel, so we cannot use it in our semi truck legally.

I do not need as much off-road diesel fuel, and I need to know if it
is winter fuel or summer fuel. I could use some winter fuel, but not
summer fuel, this is why I am asking.

So, how can I tell them apart? Maybe put some in a bottle and in a
freezer? Any signs to watch out for?

I will sell most of it, the question is now much.

Pour a little into a test tube and swirl it around a bit, then look.

Does it have on a Parka and a Scarf? If it does, it's Winter Blend
Diesel. If it has a Speedo and a Hawaiian Shirt on... ;-P

Seriously, you could probably put a sample in the freezer and see
where it hits the Pour Point - turns to jelly and won't flow anymore
when you tilt the test tube back and forth.

Then take the sample down to well below 0-F and see if any wax
separates and crystallizes - it should be a visible layer(especially
with the dye) if you give it some time to stratify, but you might need
to stick it into a centrifuge to make it separate out within a few
hours.

If all else fails, you blend it 50/50 or 60/40 with known Winter Blend
Diesel to thin it out, and use it up before it gets really nasty cold
outside. If it does give you trouble, you simply warm the fuel tank a
bit (to melt the wax crystals) till it's all used up.

-- Bruce --

Good points, thanks