What are the benefits of diesel fuel conditioners?

What are the benefits of diesel fuel conditioners?

If you own or use a heavy-duty diesel vehicle and your days are spent driving it around, chances are you want to maximize the efficiency and output of its engine. While there are many small things you can do to help out with that – even making sure your tires are properly inflated can have a positive effect – one of the biggest contributors is simply putting the right stuff into the engine in the first place. Low-sulphur diesel is just the start. Do you know about the benefits of adding a conditioner to your fuel system?

What Does Diesel Fuel Conditioner Do?

Due to modern pollution standards, today’s diesel fuels are very “dry”:

• they lack the necessary additives that would properly lubricate your fuel injection system.
• they carry particulates that build up inside the system.
• the water content inside the diesel is susceptible to Alberta’s wild temperature swings, condensing into drops that can greatly reduce your fuel efficiency. 

Fuel conditioners can assist with all of these factors. This is because of cetane enhancers – compounds that help diesel engines start colder, use less fuel, and prevent sedimentary deposits from building up inside crucial engine parts. They improve the overall lubrication and keep the moving parts of your fuel injection system functioning properly. And they have detergents that are specifically designed to clean your injection system and help water go through without damaging it. 

Is Diesel Fuel Conditioner Necessary?

While not a necessary part of your fuel mixture, diesel fuel conditioner will really help maximize your engine’s efficiency and lifespan in a few different ways. Adding a high-quality fuel conditioner to your diesel fuel system has many benefits (as long as it’s good quality, like our recommended brand, Stanadyne) that substantially improve engine performance across the board. 

Diesel Fuel Conditioners and Fuel Economy

To start with, your fuel economy will go up. In nine separate tests that we did, fuel economy went up every single time (some independent tests got up to a 9% increase, with the average being about 4%). This will be especially noticeable on older, more worn engines with fuel injection systems, because it cleans the engines as it works.

Best Diesel Fuel Conditioner for Winter

Adding a high-quality diesel conditioner to your tank will improve your engine’s ability to start in cold weather, and keep it literally trucking along when you need it to. In the middle of a long, cold Alberta winter, your vehicle sometimes needs all the help it can get – think of it like a shot of morning caffeine for your truck.

We believe that you can’t go wrong with our preferred brand of diesel fuel treatments, Stanadyne. However, popular site The Drive lists their top three additives with pros and cons: Hot Shot’s Secret Diesel Extreme, Howes Diesel Treat Conditioner and Anti-Gel, and Lucas Oil Diesel Deep Clean. Over at MotorTrend, Hot Shot again makes the list, alongside Peak “Blue” Agri-Clean Diesel Additive, Sta-Bil 22254 Diesel Fuel Stabilizer, and others. We are happy to make a recommendation for you based on your needs and driving habits – simply ask the next time you’re in for a scheduled service.

Does Diesel Fuel Additive Work?

We’ve all had the experience of being sold something (usually something expensive) that seems to have no effect. Rest assured that diesel fuel additives are not like that!
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The impact of these compounds are well-proven and easy to see. Your unit will run more smoothly and quietly (cetane enhancers also reduce knocking and noise), and as long as the brand you choose is of high enough quality, you’ll probably notice a boost to your power and torque. If you want your vehicle to be high-performing and efficient for years to come, getting started early and staying consistent with diesel treatment is a widely recommended step that pays off massively as you rack up the odometer.

Does Diesel Fuel Treatment Go Bad?

If you have a case of fuel additives, you’re probably wondering how long they’ll stay effective before they “expire”. We can’t speak for all the brands out there, but for Stanadyne products, you can store any of the bottles for up to 2 years (unopened, in a suitable environment) without losing its effectiveness. After that, they can still be used, but you might not get the full impact. And yes, these additives can be used in bulk storage tanks, though there are some additional steps to ensure it fully mixes throughout the solution – click the link above for details.


This also ties into another point, about when to treat diesel fuel. The easiest way is to figure out the optimal amount of additive for the size of your tank and add that in when you fill up from empty. If that’s not possible, reduce the amount of fuel conditioner you’re adding to compensate for what’s still in your tank.


The ratio and mix will depend on your vehicle, the size of your tank, how much fuel is still left in the tank when you fill up again, and so on. There is such a thing as too much fuel conditioner (which generally won’t harm the engine, so much as decrease performance), so you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the right amount when you fill up.

Getting the Best Results from Diesel Fuel Treatment

In order to get the best results, a concentrated and high-quality fuel conditioner is necessary. At West Tech Mobile, we have many different sizes of Stanadyne fuel conditioner – including bulk 19 L pails that we purchase directly from our distributor, leading to big savings that we can pass on to you when you’re ready to stock up.

To learn more, pick up some diesel fuel conditioner to try for yourself, or ask about some of our many other maintenance services, drop by our shop in Calgary’s industrial area from 8-4:30, Mon-Sat. You can also give us a call at 403-265-5699 or drop a line in our easy-to-use contact form. We look forward to helping you get the most out of your diesel fuel!