Originally Posted by
john398
Wow I did not realize fuel could freeze, I know my Absolute does not freeze
This was described pretty extensively in 'The Day After Tomorrow' almost 10 years ago. It does happen.
Originally Posted by
TravelGuy_2007
Just some FYI stuff for those who are interested:
FSII is an agent that is mixed with jet fuel as it is pumped into the aircraft. The mixture of FSII must be between 0.10% and 0.15% by volume for the additive to work correctly, and the FSII must be distributed evenly throughout the fuel. Simply adding FSII after the fuel has been pumped is therefore not sufficient. As aircraft climbs after takeoff, the temperature drops, and any dissolved water will separate out from the fuel. FSII dissolves itself in water preferentially over the jet fuel, where it then serves to depress the freezing point of water to -43°C. Since the freezing point of jet fuel itself is usually in this region, the formation of ice is now a minimal concern.
Large aircraft do not require FSII as they are usually equipped with electric fuel line heaters that keep the fuel at an appropriate temperature to prevent icing. However, if the fuel heaters are inoperable, the aircraft may be still be declared fit to fly, if FSII is added to the fuel.
This happened to my oldie 2000 Chevy Prizm a month or two ago. It didn't start because it was the fuel line froze and the fuel level was too low. I didn't own an airplane or perform any maintenance to the aircraft so I wasn't entirely sure, but it's a great read, which my personal experience applied to this too.