07-23-2017, 11:53 AM
I've said time and again on this site that diesel fuel additives are a waste of money. I may have to alter my view a bit in light of recent events.
Since losing my wife to cancer I've been gradually reducing the inventory of "stuff" accumulated over the years. In the garage were a few quarts of transmission fluid that weren't going anywhere. Rather than take them to the recycling center I decided to dump them in the Newell's main fuel tank.
On the first leg of the trip it seemed I was seeing higher fuel mileage reported on the VMSpc and the FuelPro on the dash inched up slightly from 5.35. Before returning home I dumped 2 more quarts of transmission fluid in a full tank of diesel and on the trip home it seemed the VMSpc was generally reporting higher numbers, The FuelPro ended up at 5.83. It has always hovered around 5.35.
There is not enough volume of btu's in 2 quarts to make this difference. My GUESS is that the fluid is doing some kind of cleaning that doesn't happen with ordinary fuel that impacts my fuel mileage. My inclination is that eventually this rise will level off and the mileage will stay at that level even if I quit adding the fluid. It's either that or magic. I'll confirm this when I refill the tank.
So, if confirmed, this experience suggests there may be occasions when adding something to the fuel for a period could be beneficial. CAW, CAW! Why are all the crows scattering?
BTW: I've had a goal recently to get my fuel mileage up to more than 7 from the 6.7 I've experienced since I bought the coach. If the figures I've just seen are reflected in further reality then that goal will need to be revised upwards since it will be already exceeded. What good is a goal without some stretch in it?
Since losing my wife to cancer I've been gradually reducing the inventory of "stuff" accumulated over the years. In the garage were a few quarts of transmission fluid that weren't going anywhere. Rather than take them to the recycling center I decided to dump them in the Newell's main fuel tank.
On the first leg of the trip it seemed I was seeing higher fuel mileage reported on the VMSpc and the FuelPro on the dash inched up slightly from 5.35. Before returning home I dumped 2 more quarts of transmission fluid in a full tank of diesel and on the trip home it seemed the VMSpc was generally reporting higher numbers, The FuelPro ended up at 5.83. It has always hovered around 5.35.
There is not enough volume of btu's in 2 quarts to make this difference. My GUESS is that the fluid is doing some kind of cleaning that doesn't happen with ordinary fuel that impacts my fuel mileage. My inclination is that eventually this rise will level off and the mileage will stay at that level even if I quit adding the fluid. It's either that or magic. I'll confirm this when I refill the tank.
So, if confirmed, this experience suggests there may be occasions when adding something to the fuel for a period could be beneficial. CAW, CAW! Why are all the crows scattering?
BTW: I've had a goal recently to get my fuel mileage up to more than 7 from the 6.7 I've experienced since I bought the coach. If the figures I've just seen are reflected in further reality then that goal will need to be revised upwards since it will be already exceeded. What good is a goal without some stretch in it?
Jon Kabbe
1993 coach 337 with Civic towed