Gas Line Antifreeze

I was walking through a home improvement store, and was reminded that winter is upon us, when I saw an entire shelf dedicated to gas line antifreeze. Commonly called Heet, you can put this product in your vehicles gas tank and it Is supposed to keep your gas lines from freezing when the temperatures drop below zero.

How can my gas lines freeze?

Gasoline is a mixture of many different chemicals and depending on what blend you are getting, the freezing point can be anywhere from -70 degrees to -200 degrees. I know it gets cold in Wisconsin, but it doesn’t get that cold! What freezes is water. Water can get into your fuel from moisture in the air, condensation or from the storage tanks at your local filling station. Once frozen this can cause a blockage and impede the flow of fuel causing your car to start hard or not at all.

How does gas line antifreeze work?

Gas line antifreeze is made up of either Isopropyl Alcohol or Methyl Alcohol. One of the properties of alcohol is it absorbs moisture. When you put it in your gas tank it will absorb the water and mix with the existing fuel, so your engine can burn it.

Do I need gas line antifreeze?

In most parts of the country the gas you buy contains up to 10% ethanol, a type of alcohol that has the same water absorbing properties as gas line antifreeze products. When you consider that 15 gallons of gasoline will contain about 1.5 gallons of alcohol, and a bottle of gas line antifreeze (designed to protect 20 gallons of gas) is 12-16 ounces, I think the fuel you put in your vehicle has you well covered.

It’s up to you if you choose to use gas line antifreeze, but for me, I would rather save my money and get a hot cup of coffee, at least I can enjoy that.