Which Diesel Fuel Additive Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 6 diesel fuel additive options head to head. Hot Shot's Secret Diesel Winter Anti-Gel Additive came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Hot Shot's Secret Diesel Winter Anti-Gel Additive
Price shown in test: $13.95 for 16 oz
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Stanadyne Performance Formula Diesel Fuel Additive
Price shown in test: $7.99 (no volume stated in transcript)
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“Hot Shot Secret did very good as well as Stanadyne. I would use both of those products for sure when it comes to providing that winter protection.”
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Corrosion resistance
- 1Hot Shot's Secret Diesel Winter Anti-Gel Additive
did extremely well, finished second place, just behind the two-stroke oil (Amsoil)
- 2Amsoil Synthetic Two-Stroke Dominator Racing Oil
phenomenal job, finished first place, best of all products tested
- 3Stanadyne Performance Formula Diesel Fuel Additive
not too bad, less corrosion than several other brands, finished third
- 4Howes Lubricator Diesel Treat Diesel Conditioner and Anti-Gel
quite a bit of corrosion but still not too bad; narrator's own hedge: probably a fourth place finish
- 5Power Service Diesel Fuel Supplement
did not do too well, but better than Power Service Diesel 911 (fifth place)
- 6Power Service Diesel 911
corroding badly; final summary confirms it finished worse (last) than Power Service Diesel Supplement
Lubricity (wear scar test)
- 1Hot Shot's Secret Diesel Winter Anti-Gel Additive
did very good, came out in first place, barely beating Amsoil
- 2Amsoil Synthetic Two-Stroke Dominator Racing Oil
did exceptionally well, finished second place, barely behind Hot Shot's Secret
- 3Stanadyne Performance Formula Diesel Fuel Additive
did a great, respectable job, finished third place
- 4Howes Lubricator Diesel Treat Diesel Conditioner and Anti-Gel
worse than untreated ultra-low sulfur diesel; narrator retested twice to confirm, untreated diesel outperformed Howes both times
- 5Power Service Diesel Fuel Supplement
did a pretty good job on film strength and added lubricity; also described as doing very well, ranked behind Hot Shot's Secret, Amsoil and Stanadyne
- 6Power Service Diesel 911
large wear scar, a lot of bearing damage; just barely beat untreated diesel
Gelling prevention (-20F, 24hr)
- 1Hot Shot's Secret Diesel Winter Anti-Gel Additive
lowest cloud point level of all products, indicating slightly better protection than the others; final summary states it performed the best of all products for preventing gelling
- 2Amsoil Synthetic Two-Stroke Dominator Racing Oil
not designed to prevent gelling and did gel, but still did better than the untreated control
- 3Stanadyne Performance Formula Diesel Fuel Additive
cloud point about the same level as Howes; final summary ties Stanadyne and Howes for second behind Hot Shot's Secret
- 4Howes Lubricator Diesel Treat Diesel Conditioner and Anti-Gel
cloud point about the same level as Stanadyne; final summary ties Howes and Stanadyne for second behind Hot Shot's Secret
- 5Power Service Diesel Fuel Supplement
did fairly well, reached cloud point but stayed liquid and only slightly cloudy; final summary ranks it a notch below the Hot Shot's Secret / Stanadyne / Howes tier (did a pretty good job as well)
- 6Power Service Diesel 911
gelled; narrator surprised it did not keep the fuel from gelling, failing at its stated re-liquefying purpose in the main test
Flammability
- 1Hot Shot's Secret Diesel Winter Anti-Gel Additive
did a fairly good job, about equally flammable to Stanadyne
- 3Stanadyne Performance Formula Diesel Fuel Additive
did a fairly good job, about equally flammable to Hot Shot's Secret
- 4Howes Lubricator Diesel Treat Diesel Conditioner and Anti-Gel
does not seem very flammable
- 5Power Service Diesel Fuel Supplement
more flammable than untreated diesel
- 6Power Service Diesel 911
seemed the most flammable of all products tested
- 2Amsoil Synthetic Two-Stroke Dominator Racing Oilnot tested
All measurements (2 more)+
Gel recovery (2 oz dosed into already-gelled fuel, retest)
- 6Power Service Diesel 911
did a fairly respectable job breaking up the gel, probably just needed more time to fully re-liquefy
- 1Hot Shot's Secret Diesel Winter Anti-Gel Additivenot tested
- 2Amsoil Synthetic Two-Stroke Dominator Racing Oilnot tested
- 3Stanadyne Performance Formula Diesel Fuel Additivenot tested
- 4Howes Lubricator Diesel Treat Diesel Conditioner and Anti-Gelnot tested
- 5Power Service Diesel Fuel Supplementnot tested
Gasoline substitute test (RV with gasoline 454 engine)
- 6Power Service Diesel 911
engine ran surprisingly well, no pinging or knocking, top speed about the same as running on gasoline
- 1Hot Shot's Secret Diesel Winter Anti-Gel Additivenot tested
- 2Amsoil Synthetic Two-Stroke Dominator Racing Oilnot tested
- 3Stanadyne Performance Formula Diesel Fuel Additivenot tested
- 4Howes Lubricator Diesel Treat Diesel Conditioner and Anti-Gelnot tested
- 5Power Service Diesel Fuel Supplementnot tested
How it was tested
- diesel gelling prevention (treated fuel jars held at -20F for 24 hours, cloud point/gel state observed)
- corrosion prevention (treated vs untreated steel exposed to a hydrogen peroxide, vinegar and salt mix)
- lubricity (wear scar test on a bearing using 40 ml of ultra-low sulfur diesel treated with each additive)
- flammability (treated diesel vs untreated diesel)
- gel recovery retest (2 oz of Power Service Diesel 911 added to already-gelled fuel to see if it re-liquefies)
- gasoline substitute test (Power Service Diesel 911 run through a gasoline-powered 454 RV engine, timed run down an airstrip)
“Hot Shot Secret did very good as well as Stanadyne. I would use both of those products for sure when it comes to providing that winter protection.”
Data notes and caveats
6 products tested across gelling, corrosion, lubricity and flammability; Power Service Diesel 911 also got a bonus gel-recovery retest and an RV gasoline-substitute stunt test not shared by the other brands. The closing verdict names two products (Hot Shot's Secret and Stanadyne) as joint recommendations rather than declaring one strict winner, but Hot Shot's Secret is named first and is the more consistent top performer across all three quantified tests (1st lubricity, 1st gelling, 2nd corrosion vs Stanadyne's 3rd, 3rd, tied-2nd), so it is recorded as winner with Stanadyne as runnerUp. Amsoil (two-stroke oil) ranked at or near the top of the corrosion (1st) and lubricity (2nd) tests but is not a diesel anti-gel product and is excluded from the closing recommendation and from winner/runnerUp consideration; it was included only because viewers requested the comparison. Chapters only distinguish the two Power Service products and do not have dedicated chapters for Howes, Stanadyne, Hot Shot's Secret or Amsoil, so chapterMap is false despite the transcript itself being clean and well-attributed (no significant brand-name caption mangling in this video, unlike some other Project Farm uploads).
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