Fuel Question

[DucksnDiesel]

Ok - This is my first diesel, so why not start off with a stupid question.

I understand the difference between off-road diesel (high sulpher/dyed/no-tax) and what I get at the corner Texaco. My question is - what is the difference (other than cost) between diesel fuel at a truck stop and the corner Texaco?

Thanks.

[bluenote]

Most likely, there is no difference, unless one or the other claims to be a premium diesel. Most stations don't advertise the cetane rating of their diesel fuel, but you MAY get a higher rated fuel if it is premium. As long as the corner station has a decent turnover in their fuel, you should be OK. The advantage to truck stops is that they generally will have a very high volume of fuel pumped daily, and hence, a high turnover to their fuel.

[MaxRock]

DucksnDiesel, bluenote is 100% correct. Another note about a truck stop. If they pump crappy fuel, the word will get out to the truckers and out of business they go. The truckers really stick together and bad advertisement travels fast.

Play it safe and go to a station that has a lot of business.

Good luck with your new purchase and I hope you enjoy your baby as much as I do mine.

MaxRock

[DURA-MAX3]

The sulfer content is more on off road fuel than it is on regular #2 diesel fuel...

[FirstDiesel]

The other difference is that the truck stop has high speed pumps. Unless they also have an "RV Island" or you have installed a high speed fill neck you might have problems getting the fuel in your truck. I did last weekend. Have a high speed fill neck on order now.

[TBC]

I have filled up at several big truck pumps on my recent trip and used the high speed nozzle in the truck tank and my add on aux tank. It does not take long to fill up my tanks with it either. I have made no mods to the tanks.

[AOPA Roger]

High Sulfer, Off road diesel is died a dark blue/purple color and is not allowed on the roads. It is only for off road equipment and cannot be sold at the truck stops. They sell low sulfer, no tax fuel.

[jlog]

in Canada and I can't see any reason for it to be different south of the border the diesel fuel is the same dyed or not. The dye signifies the fact that there is no road tax on the fuel. The fuel is all delivered in the same tanker and the dye is added in the customer storage system.
jlog

[dieselburb]

Okay fellas, I own a fuel dock for boats and all we pump is red diesel. Red diesel has just the same characteristics as regular road diesel, as long as you order it that way. The fuel is dyed at the refinery and shipped that way too. The only difference is you can only order red fuel as high sulfur (at least in CA anymore) or EPA, which is Environmental Protection Agency certified for a cleaner burning high sulfur diesel fuel, where clear diesel is LOW SULFUR ONLY. Look on the fill cap door and you will see a LOW SULFUR FUEL ONLY sticker indicating that too much sulfur (added for lubricity) is probably not a good thing for this motor (DAMMIT! Let's see, $.64/gallon road tax avoided per year...). If you get caught with red fuel in your tank, it's $300 per gallon in fines, not to mention towing and the fix it ticket (how did I know that?)!
Anyway, no red fuel for the DMAX, too much sulfur, ain't supposed to run like that. Be careful with additives too. Good luck, and yes, use a station with high turnover, to give you an average, we pump approximately 3000 gallons per day to boats in the summer. Should be about close to that in a couple of hours at a truck stop.