Cheap diesel fuel ok?

Clb

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Fair amount of f.u.d still surrounding fuel these days....
We only have 3-4 refineries here, seems like old @powersmoke ( long off the boards) was our guru.
Seems there was talk of diesel not going bad like gas once.
But we also had Sulphur
sigh big sigh
 

Black dawg

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There is something that does change with old diesel, but I have really only noticed a difference in exhaust smell, no driveability difference........but this is really only dealing with stuff that has sat 10 years or less.
 

Booyah45828

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You can buy different blends/additive packages from the refinery and they'd all be considered diesel fuel. That's likely where the cost difference comes from, as your cheaper stuff would likely come from cheaper base stocks and less additives. Then you can include them cutting it with bio diesel and make it even more complicated.

The moral of the story is that an old engine like an idi will likely not care whether what grade of oil was used, so long as it's a liquid without water present. Run a good filter/water separator, throw some anti-gel/anti wax and lubrication additives in it and you'll likely be fine.
 
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Olds64

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I try to buy diesel from high volume stations (On Cue, Sam's Club, VP, etc.). There are the higher volume truck stops (Loves & Flying J) but they're out of my way.

Right now B10 diesel is running $3.89/gallon in OKC. That's cheaper than the last time I put diesel in my tank, but more than last summer <$3.00/gallon.
 

94turbocrewcab-lb

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Cumberland farms is a pretty large chain down that way..I wouldn’t think to much about it. If you’re over that way get fill it up..but it’s not like some hokey round tank on the back of some ole stop up north.
 

Brody

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This may not apply but I used to drive a 5.0 Bronco and had a Costco membership. I filled up at the Costco pump which was 20 cents a liter cheaper so nearly 80 cents a gallon difference and that tank was empty at 80% of my normal mileage. I did the math and it wasn't worth it. With my truck I just fill up wherever and don't really think about it. Always useful to keep track of your mileage .

If you're really concerned you could always just fill only one tank so if it does become a problem you can still drive around / flush it out.
 

Greenie

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In Maine diesel fuel is currently $2.00 a gallon more than heating oil. Heating oil and diesel fuel is the same product - except for the dye and the road tax. In Maine diesel fuel's combined state and federal road tax is .555 cents per gallon. I'm pretty sure heating oil in Maine has been required to be ultra low sulfur since 2018. Why is the same product $1.50 more for motor fuel?
Kerosene and Jet-A fuel is also the same product. Prices are similar (kerosene $5.75, Jet-A $6.18 per gallon) Jet-A is taxed at .078 per gallon combined (that's 8 cents per gallon). I tried to find how much Maine taxes kerosene but couldn't find a clear answer other than sales tax might be charged (5.5% = .32 on $5.75).
 

TygreII

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I have some simple rules for filling stations. Never at the bottom of hills. Busy stations only. This only works in areas in the city.

My parents got fuel from a truckstop in Iowa in their motorhome quite a few years back. The got a 1/4 tank of water. They fought those guys for a couple of years over a need for a engine rebuild.
 

Booyah45828

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In Maine diesel fuel is currently $2.00 a gallon more than heating oil. Heating oil and diesel fuel is the same product - except for the dye and the road tax. In Maine diesel fuel's combined state and federal road tax is .555 cents per gallon. I'm pretty sure heating oil in Maine has been required to be ultra low sulfur since 2018. Why is the same product $1.50 more for motor fuel?
Kerosene and Jet-A fuel is also the same product. Prices are similar (kerosene $5.75, Jet-A $6.18 per gallon) Jet-A is taxed at .078 per gallon combined (that's 8 cents per gallon). I tried to find how much Maine taxes kerosene but couldn't find a clear answer other than sales tax might be charged (5.5% = .32 on $5.75).
No doubt I'd be using heating oil then. I wouldn't care about the sulfur content, an IDI sure won't.

Heating oil likely won't have the lubricity and winterization additives that pump diesel "might" contain. But you can add them yourself. Actually, one should be adding them regardless unless they're certain the pump fuel they buy already contains them.

We see bad fuel every now and again. The common denominator often times seems to be one local fuel supplier, who ironically brags about being the cheapest around. The last injection pump I had rebuilt was for a cummins powered generator. It quit running and wouldn't restart. It actually ran a db2 pump and the pump shop told me the plungers had seized up and that fuel quality was the issue, I changed the filters and passed the info about the fuel on.
 

nelstomlinson

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Gas is a blend of volatiles, and a spark ignition engine requires gas _be_ volatile, and as they evaporate, they leave behind gum and varnish.When gas gets old, it gets bad.
Diesel is oil. It shouldn't have volatiles, There isn't much to evaporate, and your fuel system is sealed anyway. When it gets old, it doesn't have the same scope to go bad.

Make sure there's no water, add some lubricity additive and some anti-gel, and don't worry about it. As long as it's flammable, it's fine.
 
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