Another Diesel question

SkyPup · Oct 13, 2004

That is absolutely correct, the contaminated or adulterated fuel is always shunted out of the marketing mainstream to the off road construction-agriculture equipment markets where it is easy to dump on unsuspecting consumers and the sulfur levels average 5,000ppms minimum with some being over 15,000ppms.

Our state agriculture department condems 5% of all diesel fuel shipments (that is 5 out of every 100 deliveries or 1 in 20) due to GASOLINE contamination (which is super easy to check for due to the dangerous elevated flash point).

Diesel fuel contaminated with gasoline and/or water is guaranteed to trash your FIE in a hurry...

MadReferee · Oct 13, 2004

( Our state agriculture department condemns 5% of all diesel fuel shipments (that is 5 out of every 100 deliveries or 1 in 20) due to GASOLINE contamination (which is super easy to check for due to the dangerous elevated flash point).)

Probably because the haulers are trucking diesel in tanker holds that were previously used to haul gasoline. When I had my station, the distributor had one tanker that was used exclusively for diesel to avoid this type of contamination.

Additionally, gasoline and diesel are pumped thru the same pipeline. I would guess that some amount of diesel and gasoline would become contaminated while in the pipeline. I have no idea what becomes of this mixture when it gets to the storage farm.

BTW, for all areas that are serviced by the greater Boston Mass and Portland Maine tank farms (most of New England), all diesel and home heating fuel, no matter what brand, comes from the same storage tank(s). Some independent dealers have off road trucked in special but those dealers are few and far between.

MaineGuy · Oct 13, 2004

( Here, The farmers just drive their tractors to the country store for a fillup of high sulfur offroad diesel. Sit an tell lies for a while, drink a bit of Ale8 (a favorite local beverage) eat some biscuit and gravy, then back off to work. A nice life /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ben
)

Ale8 from good ole Winchester, KY, that takes me back to my college days at EKU. No Ale8 here in Maine but we've got MOXIE which farmers have been known to use as fuel.

I filled my 5gal can Saturday with off road. The pump is right next to the on road at Mobile, only difference RED DYE legal warning and you can't swipe your credit card...pay at the pump. You've got to go inside to pay. And one other difference of cource the price.

cp1969 · Oct 16, 2004

(

Probably because the haulers are trucking diesel in tanker holds that were previously used to haul gasoline. When I had my station, the distributor had one tanker that was used exclusively for diesel to avoid this type of contamination.

Additionally, gasoline and diesel are pumped thru the same pipeline. I would guess that some amount of diesel and gasoline would become contaminated while in the pipeline. I have no idea what becomes of this mixture when it gets to the storage farm.

) That mixture is called 'trans-mix' and is separated from the good product at the distribution terminal.

( When my "off road" fuel was delivered last week, the truck had run out of the dyed fuel. He simply pumped the "non-dyed" fuel into my tank, took a reading of how much fuel he put in, and then put in whatever appropriate amount of dye was needed for that amount. Based on that, I'm fairly certain that at least in my area, there is no difference other than the dye which is simply an indicator that "road tax" has not been paid on that fuel. )

I point out--again--that if this is happening, it is a violation of the Federal law which instituted dyed fuel. The law states that the dye, which itself has a rigid set of specs it must meet, must be injected at the refinery or distribution terminal. Neither retail nor wholesale sellers were given the option of changing the taxable status of fuel. Given that the wholesaler could NOT have received clear (undyed) fuel on which the tax had not been paid, it makes no sense for him to add dye to it and then sell it for less than he paid. That was the whole purpose of the dye--to make sure that untaxed fuel was clearly identified every step of the way, from the refinery to the customer. Any other option opens up the possibility for the reverse situation to the above (which at least makes sense), that the dealer would sell undyed, untaxed fuel as taxable and pocket the difference.

LBrown59 · May 9, 2006

I was told that the only difference was the red dye placed in the off-road to designate it as such otherwise it is the very same.

*********** 
 It's more like the red dye is placed in the on road designating it as off road there fore both are the very same thing.

The only difference in that case is the color and the highway taxes.