Diesel engine winter lube

Budgets are tight, but the quality of lubrication that you put into your diesel equipment will be what you get out of it, especially during winter. As oil moves through your engine, the stress and pressure can affect the oil's viscosity over time, leaving critical engine parts exposed to metal-on-metal contact. The thicker the oil, the more resistance on the bearings and moving parts.

Erin Wroge is a marketing manager with CHS lubricants. She says if you're not using a quality product, the cold can give your engine fits.

"If you're having problems, you're going to experience some of maybe the wear in your oil, the equipment's not going to perform to its peak performance, and in the cold winter months, you want those quick starts," says Wroge. "You don't want to be out there any longer than you've got to be to get the job done, right? So, you want to make sure you're getting up and ready as soon as possible."

Thickened, crystalized oil won't circulate through your engine's key components on startup. The lubricant should flow quickly and maintain viscosity.

"We recommend our Maxtron family of heavy-duty diesel engine oils. We like to compare the performance of those products to a Gatorade versus a water. So, you think of Gatorade and a high-performance athlete, that really strong product with all those key additives and nutrients to help them perform, our heavy-duty diesel engine oils do the same," she says. "We formulate them for optimum performance regardless of temperature."

As you consider the needs for your own operation, also be sure to follow what the equipment manufacturer recommends.