Premium diesel keeps farm equipment running strong

When you’re investing in a new state-of-the-art tractor or combine, it pays to invest in top-quality diesel fuel.

“The high-performance engines in today’s farm equipment need fuel that’s formulated to provide optimal power, performance and protection,” says Charlie Carter, product quality and additives manager with the refined fuels team at CHS.

“Premium diesel fuels like Cenex^® Ruby Fieldmaster^® help keep new engines running cleaner longer and clean up engines in older equipment to help them work better.

“Understanding the tough environments on farms and seeing common equipment maintenance issues helped us enhance the qualities of Ruby Fieldmaster and Cenex Roadmaster XL^® so they deliver even better performance.”

Carter points to enhancements in four key areas:

1. Better cleaning. “Our latest diesel formulation is 40% more effective at breaking down engine deposits compared to the previous generation of Cenex premium diesel fuel, due to an advanced aggressive detergency package,” says Carter. “That delivers more power, better fuel efficiency and improved engine performance.”
2. State-of-the-art total water management system. “A new two-phase process first uses a demulsifier that separates out the majority of water that can get into fuel so it settles at the bottom of the storage tank for easy removal,” he explains. “Any remaining water is then entrained by the detergency package to pass safely through the combustion process.”
3. More complete burn. “Our enhanced fuel formula produced 25% lower exhaust cylinder temperature deviations compared to the previous generation of Cenex premium diesel fuel, which results in improved fuel efficiency, increased power and balanced engine performance,” says Carter. “A more complete burn also means less soot production, reduced regenerations and decreased wear and tear on the exhaust system.”
4. Exceptional filterability and 20% better biostability compared to typical #2 diesel fuel. “The improved formula reduces filter blocking by up to 75% compared to #2 diesel, which extends the life of diesel particulate filters,” he says. “To account for increased use of biodiesel, we improved our detergency package to reduce fuel degradation and extend storage life.”

Less downtime

For David Loberg, the biggest benefits of upgrading to Cenex premium diesel fuel have been better overall fuel quality and reduced maintenance costs. On the fifth-generation Carroll, Neb., farm he runs with his mother, Kris, and sister, Beth Lutter, Loberg says he is hands-on when it comes to equipment maintenance and repair. “We do nearly all our own work, so fewer repairs save us mony and time.”

He says they switched to using Cenex premium diesel fuels more than a decade ago. “We were tired of dealing with water issues common with #2 diesel, as well as frequent fuel injector plugging and occasional fuel pump issues.”

To cover the operation’s 4,500 acres of corn, soybeans and hay, the Loberg Farms fleet includes four semi tractor-trailers, three tractors, a self-propelled sprayer, a self-propelled fertilizer spreader, several pieces of earth-moving equipment and four diesel-powered irrigation rigs.

“We have replaced fewer fuel injectors since switching to premium diesel and we see less carbon buildup,” he says. “When using #2 diesel, we had to replace fuel injectors in irrigation engines every three to four years because of plugging. Since we’ve been using Ruby Fieldmaster, if there was an injector problem, it was due to mechanical failure and not fuel-related issues.”