A Sprinter van with gelled diesel and a Goal Zero battery too cold to charge

Going into van life, I didn’t know that diesel can gel in freezing cold temperatures. I was quickly educated when a bomb cyclone swept the US in December 2022, and our Mercedes Sprinter van wouldn’t start for a few days.

When I saw a polar vortex in the forecast for this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, I quickly abandoned my plans for three days of skiing and parking lot camping in the Rockies after recalling 2022. Potentially getting stranded in a ski resort parking lot isn’t smart as much more can go wrong in frigid temperatures than just diesel gelling.

I opted to stay with friends at their house indoors while the van sat vacant in their driveway as I anticipated its immobility.

Friday, January 17th – Prepping for the polar vortex

Since local fuel stations weren’t yet offering winterized fuel this season, a friend helped me with an additive. Once poured into the fuel tank, I went for a drive around town for about an hour and 10 miles to get it circulated through the Sprinter’s system. While I felt the additive was necessary, I wasn’t convinced it would be enough protection from the forecasted double digit negative temps.

In addition to prepping the van’s fuel, I topped off our Goal Zero Yeti 6000X battery that charges the house. Our Espar diesel heater and two Dometic coolers rely on the Goal Zero, and I needed all three to stay running for the duration of the polar vortex.

I also purchased enough food to survive about a week.

Monday morning, January 20th

Gelled diesel

When I woke up at 7:00 am, OpenSnow reported a local temp of -14 degrees Fahrenheit, feels like -28. I knew the diesel likely gelled overnight, but I wasn’t about to try and start the van quite yet. I stayed cozy indoors.

At about 10:00 am, just when the sun started shining on the van, it was time to assess. The Sprinter’s dash was showing an outside temp of -11 degrees. My friend’s Subaru was registering -13. And OpenSnow reported -6, feels like -18. My confidence level was low that the van would start, but I tried anyway.

I could hear it trying to turn over, but after a couple of attempts, I gave up. I didn’t need to drive anywhere, so I didn’t feel strongly about forcing it. It was time to move on to the next problem.

A “Cold” Goal Zero

In addition to the diesel gelling, the Goal Zero got too cold overnight. The app was telling me that the battery was only 21 degrees, and the face of the Goal Zero was flashing “Cold”. First time I’ve ever seen that!

According to our heater’s thermostat, which is installed close to the ceiling, the van’s interior temp was 43 degrees. However, I was certain there wasn’t enough heat migrating to the rear of the van where the Goal Zero was situated underneath the bed.

While power was going out to our diesel heater and Dometic coolers, the Goal Zero wasn’t accepting a charge. (We charge our Goal Zero via shore power, alternator when the Sprinter’s engine is running, and solar panels.)

I removed window covers on the sunny side of the van in hopes that the interior would heat up naturally throughout the day and the Goal Zero would return to an acceptable temperature. I wasn’t feeling worried quite yet as I still had 45% or roughly 2.5 days of power remaining before charging would become imminent.

Diesel and battery issues aside, I had good news. Our Dometic faucet was running and the water in our Dometic water jugs was not frozen.

I’m so grateful for our minimalist water solution in our custom Van America van! Unfortunate cold weather experiences in our Winnebago Travato and Winnebago Revel inspired our basic plumbing choices.

Monday afternoon, January 20th

The van still won’t start

To make the most of my day off, I joined my girlfriend for a late breakfast more than an hour’s drive away. Fortunately, her gas-powered Subaru was still functioning.

By the time we got back, it was just after 3:00 pm. The sun was only an hour away from disappearing behind the mountains, so it was my best opportunity to give starting the van another chance. The outside temp was warmer than in the AM but still only 12 degrees.

Upon hitting “Push to Start”, the van sounded better than my morning attempts, but it still wasn’t turning over after a couple of tries.

I chose to accept that the diesel wasn’t going to degel until outdoor temps increased or I added a degelling solution. I would try starting the engine again the next day as the forecast showed highs in the mid-20s and mostly sunny.

Heating up the Goal Zero

Next up was checking the status of the Goal Zero. The heater’s thermostat was set to 70, but the van’s interior temp wasn’t moving past 66 degrees. The sun didn’t do much to warm the van, and unfortunately, the Goal Zero was still flashing “Cold”. With outdoor temps plummeting again, I was worried that the battery temp would keep decreasing and stop outputting.

I needed a way to blow warm air toward the battery, so I took a portable USB fan and pointed it at the Goal Zero while also pointing our diesel heater vent toward the rear of the fan. The van’s insulation also needed improvement, so I lowered a cover between our bed and the rear doors, which I really should’ve done before the polar vortex arrived.

I left the van unattended for a couple of hours while I cooked and ate dinner. When I returned, the interior temp had dropped almost 10 degrees to 57, and outdoor temps were back in the single digits. But, my solution worked! The Goal Zero was no longer flashing “Cold” and the battery’s temp was 46 degrees.

At this point, I probably could’ve plugged the van into a 110-volt plug to top off the Goal Zero again. However, I wasn’t confident that the unit would stay warm enough overnight. Maybe if I kept the portable fan running, but I wanted to keep it off. I would’ve lost sleep worrying about my cheap fan catching fire. If the battery temp got too low again, I could just turn the fan back on the next day.

Feeling optimistic before bed

Upon going to bed at 9:00 pm, OpenSnow was reporting the current temp at 4 degrees, feels like -13. The good news was that temps were expected to warm to 10 degrees by 6:00 am on Tuesday morning. And the high of the day was forecasted to be 25 degrees by 1:00 pm.

Tuesday, January 21st – Back to normal

At 8:30 am, I went out to the van and the Espar’s thermostat was registering 59 degrees. The Goal Zero was still warm. And Mercedes was showing the outside temp was 21 degrees.

The van might’ve started in the AM, but I decided to wait until the warmest part of the day. OpenSnow said it was going to be 25 degrees around noon.

At 12:15 pm, the dash said the temp was 28 outside and the van started right up. I ran the engine for more than 30 minutes, and after work, I took a 35-mile drive going as fast as 70 mph. There was no sputtering or other concerning behavior.

I plugged the Goal Zero into shore power for the evening, and by Wednesday morning, I was charged up to 92%.

Afterthoughts

My MLK weekend was shot, but I surely would’ve been stranded had I moved forward with my ski plans. Plus, some ski areas were closed on Monday due to the dangerously cold temperatures.

I also find skiing groomers in single digit temps miserable. Skiing powder keeps me warm, but unfortunately, there was very little powder in the West over MLK weekend.

Besides, I never want to be stuck on a broken chairlift in those kind of conditions. That would be risking hypothermia or worse!

What if the van hadn’t started on Tuesday?

My friends have a kerosene heater with a blower that we would’ve used to try and thaw out the van. If that didn’t work, I carry Diesel 911 for degelling. And if that still didn’t work, friends would’ve helped me find a garage.

Why didn’t I drive to a warmer locale?

When the polar vortex was a week away, I looked at forecasted temperatures all around the West. There were no options within a day’s drive of my location in the Rockies to help me avoid negative temps.

I considered places that looked like they would be in the single digits, but forecasts aren’t always accurate. It’s not uncommon to see temps fluctuate 5-10 degrees either way and wind chill can introduce an extra level of cold.

I also work five days a week and I don’t like wasting my days off just driving. Van life is more fun when driving time is kept to a minimum, and committing to three hours in a single day is about my limit.

I could’ve slowly worked my way to a warmer locale by driving short distances after work each day. However, I don’t believe in driving at night unless it’s absolutely necessary. By the time my work day ends, there isn’t much daylight left and sometimes I get stuck working late unexpectedly.

Plus, it’s exhausting to keep up with normal life routines and responsibilities when you add traveling to the end of a work day. I’m pretty sure I was happier and more well-rested staying in place.

How can I prevent diesel from gelling in the future?

The diesel never gelled in our 2019 Winnebago Revel that sat on the 2018 Mercedes Sprinter, even in temperatures down to -20. I believe it had to do with the specific Espar heater system that was installed in that RV, so I’ll have to research whether or not the same solution can be applied to our custom van. I also need to learn more about installing block heaters in a Sprinter.

How can I prevent the Goal Zero from getting too cold in the future?

Our Goal Zero has a heating pad underneath it, but it never kicked on. I need to contact Van America to find out how to troubleshoot any potential issues. It’s supposed to turn on automatically when the battery temp gets too cold.

Embarrassingly, I don’t know much about the heating pad other than there is one. My bad for not knowing more and testing it before the polar vortex. Though, I’m not sure how I would test it without simulating cold weather anyway.

Sunday, January 26th – An update

Temps dropped to -1, feels like -12 according to OpenSnow at 4:30 am this morning.

I tried to start the van at 9:30 am when the dash showed 3 degrees, but it wouldn’t turn over. I really need to figure out how to keep the diesel from gelling! Ideally, I would migrate to a warmer snowy corner of the country, but life isn’t allowing me to move at the moment.

At least the Goal Zero was warm even though the diesel heater was only keeping the van warm to 54 degrees.

Fortunately, this upcoming week is going to be full of sunshine with highs in the 40s. It looks like a sizable storm is lining up to hit the Rockies on Saturday with highs and lows in the 20s. It might finally be safe enough for me to go skiing!