Colorless (?) #2 Diesel Fuel

5030 · Nov 16, 2003

Steve:

I don't know what part of the Wolverine you live in, but if you travel up and down I-75 between Toledo and Detroit everyday like I do (more than once), you'd see some interesting prices for diesel versus gasoline. I have seen, though not lately, the price for diesel at least a dime higher than regular unleaded at the Pilot at Nadeau Road.

AndyM · Nov 16, 2003

It has just flip-flopped out here in the past week--
Gas is down to $1.359 but diesel is up to $1.499.

It seems like they both can't be cheap at the same time.
What gives? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

SageBrush · Nov 18, 2003

They increased the Diesel taxes here. So, Diesel is about the same as mid grade gas now. The average price is $1.35, not too bad.

I'm getting a few hundred gallons of red diesel tomorrow at work. Maybe the price is still in the .80's. I've been buying road Diesel for a 120 and a 200 JD excavator using 5 gallon cans untill we could get a tank set up. What ever the price, it will be better than those cans..... /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Rimmer · Nov 22, 2003

"Last week I bought five gallons of fuel from the local Citgo station. When I put it in the tractor, it was dyed blue, as I expected."

Fascinating discussion -- I appreciate all the input, and learned a lot. Well, today I finally needed to refuel the BX23. (It was down about three gallons after an additional nine hours of mostly light-duty operation.) When I poured the yellow fuel from my yellow can with black spout into my black fuel tank, the fuel again appeared to be blue -- apparently a result of refraction of light through the stream of fuel. So, I did indeed see blue, but in the same way that a Bluejay appears blue: no blue pigment, just a refraction phenomenon.

/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Junkman · Nov 22, 2003

All this time I thought that the blue feathers on a blue jay were actually blue...... now you tell me that it is a refraction of light...... what color are the feathers if not blue?????? Inquiring minds want to know........ /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Rimmer · Nov 23, 2003

Glad to help! Please see the following:

http://www.wnrmag.com/stories/2003/feb03/jays.htm

/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Junkman · Nov 23, 2003

Thanks for the link........ Now I consider myself educated......... I had a Scarlet macaw once and a lot of people called it a Military macaw.... then they also called my Hyacinth Macaw a crow...... Those birds really know how to screech!!!!...

cp1969 · Feb 1, 2004

Blenderman stated above that low sulfur fuel is 50 parts per million (ppm) sulfur. The limit, now, is actually 500ppm with most fuel running in the 300-350ppm range. The new low sulfur limit will reduce this to 15ppm soon ('06, I believe).

It was also stated by someone else that older equipment was designed around high sulfur fuel. Sulfur is not a lubricant and never has played any part of lubricating any injection system components. It is a tramp element contained in crude oil that, until now, has not been worth the effort to remove it. Today's fuel is no more or less 'lubricated' than before the sulfur reduction began.

It serves no purpose in combustion, either, and combines with water to form sulfuric acid in the crankcase. It also plays a role in the production of smoke and soot, much to the detriment of the new technology being proposed for new diesels. That is why ultra low sulfur diesel (15ppm) is needed.

The sooner sulfur is gone, the better, but I hope it doesn't raise the cost too much.

The Chevron web site has an excellent write up about diesel fuel for those who wish to study up.

RalphVa · Feb 2, 2004

The clearest (like water) diesel I've seen go into my Benz tank was from a Citgo station in La. With the advent of lower sulfur specs for on-road diesel, it'll all start becoming "water-white" (e.g. clear). The adjacent lube oil cuts are like this if they're processed to remove essentially all the sulfur. Even heavy lubricating oil is clear if it is processed to remove all the sulfur. Synthetic lube oil is clear unless they put a coloring agent in it.

Like one poster mentioned, sulfur is not a lubricant. It was to valve gear in leaded gasoline, but it isn't in diesel.

Ralph