Oil & Fuel What are the best brands of diesel fuel?

[Mosey]

I've been using Biodiesel from the local Co-op for about 6 months now, but the tractor doesn't seem to have as much power, so I want experiment with other brands. There's a Citgo station next to where I work, so it would be the most convenient place to get diesel. Is it a good brand? What brands do you use and what ones do you stay away from and why?

 

[kevinj]

I have run Amoco Premier for about 30 years. If you check Chevron and BP Amoco you will find good descriptions of the premium diesel products. A lot of people use furnace oil or cheap diesel and add treatment to it.

 

[MikePA]

Instead of looking at the brand, I'd look at the traffic the station gets and how much diesel they sell. The more they sell, the fresher the fuel, the less likely water will condense in their tanks and the sooner the winter additives are available in the fall.

 

[MadReferee]

In many areas of the country every brand of diesel comes from the same storage tank at the tank farm. Brand A may put additives in the fuel but it is done when the tank truck is loaded. Same for gasoline.

If you live in New England most fuel comes from the Boston/Revere storage facility. Its all the same.

Now off road diesel may be a little different. My local supplier has theirs trucked in from somewhere in upstate New York or even Canada.

 

[kevinj]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( every brand of diesel comes from the same storage tank )</font>

This was one reason I like the Amoco Premium. When I worked for the Amoco distributor that fuel was always in seperate tank at the terminal.

 

[carluman]

Nothing against Biodiesel as it is great for our Ag economy and environment but Soy diesel doesn't produce as much heat as standard diesel. I'd say give any non-Biodiesel a try and see what you think. As for brands I have no idea.

 

[jayhawkRoy]

Have used Phillips 66 off road diesel almost exclusively (that's who sells it around here and closest to my house). Also used Citgo and Amoco road diesel and can't tell any difference. I do believe in getting diesel from relatively high volume sales outlets, not from just any retailer.

 

[rambler]

How it's handled & how long it sits around is a lot more important than any particular brand, as others are saying. More about the local vendor than about the label on the sign.

--->PAul

 

[Egon]

It may also depend on the refinery. The type and efficiency of their process equipment have a lot to do with final product quality.

Egon

 

[_RaT_]

In California, we have 13 refinerys. Some in Southern California, some up here. All must refine low sulfur diesel. My understanding is that Chevron only allows Chevron products at their stations. The rest be it Shell, Union 76, ARCO etc.,will get it from the lowest refinery. I was asking a fella delivering fuel one day about the process and this is how he explained it.

It does seem that there is sometimes a difference in the quality of diesel only noticeable to me by the miles I get per tank(s) full driving the same route. My Kubota seems to burn the same amount regarldless of the refinery. My fuel consumption goes up when I mow, down with loader work.

 

[yellowsocks93]

I too used Amocco Premier until the station switched to Marathon. Never had a problem with either and the fuel is always fresh since it is at a busy truck stop.

 

[KiotiJohn]

First, as I understand it, Biodiesel works best in conjunction WITH diesel fuel, sort of like an additive, or diesel stretcher.
I personally used to buy from local stations, but because of the high price, I researched and found that I could get off-road (higher sulphur content) diesel or "red dyed diesel" for much less. I bought two 55 gal. drums and had them filled at a local fuel oil distributor. The difference was $1.25/gal as opposed to $1.75/gal. If you would not use up that much fuel over a fairly short period, you would need to treat it with a biocide to keep bacteria from turning it to muck. Not a big problem. You can ask the dealer what the cetane rating is for the diesel, sort of equivalent of the octane rating. I think brand doesn't make a lot of difference. John

 

[TheKid]

I've been using Citgo for about 2 years in my truck, and yes they have good diesel. An added bonus is that they always have the lowest prices in my area.

 

[MadReferee]

There was a recent documentary on the History or Discovery channel that was about pipelines. Amazing what they do.

Even though some brands may have their own private storage facility, they all get fuel from the same pipeline. When the refinery puts x gallons in the pipeline system then the storage facility gets to draw x gallons out. Not even, in fact NEVER, the same x gallons.

It takes up to 2 weeks for fuel to go from Texas to the east coast.

The only difference between brand A and brand B is the additives put in at the tank truck rack. Your best bet is to find a local station that does large volume business and buy there. There will be less moisture and other contaminates like algae, etc. mixed in the fuel.

 

[TBAR]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( In many areas of the country every brand of diesel comes from the same storage tank at the tank farm. Brand A may put additives in the fuel but it is done when the tank truck is loaded. Same for gasoline.

If you live in New England most fuel comes from the Boston/Revere storage facility. Its all the same.

Now off road diesel may be a little different. My local supplier has theirs trucked in from somewhere in upstate New York or even Canada. )</font>

Yep, that is what my fuel supplier tells me. They all draw from the same tank battery. He also tells me the only difference between on road and off road diesel is the red dye pack that is thrown in when the truck is being loaded.

On the other hand........here is a good article on diesel fuel you might be interested in.

http://www.chevron.com/prodserv/fuels/bulletin/diesel/


TBAR

 

[RalphVa]

This is all about to change. By 2006, all on-road diesel is supposed to have a drastic reduction in sulfur. They'll likely market their off-road diesel as the same material to avoid extra costs of tank segregation.

In Louisiana even as much as about 6 years ago, I tanked up at Citgo. It was water white and sulfur free at that time.

Otherwise, my Benz seems to get the best mileage off Exxon diesel. Get my retired employee discount buying it, too.

Ralph

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

To echo some of the others, look for the busiest truck stop station you can find. They move through a lot of fuel and so you should be okay. Sometimes smaller stations don't sell the fuel fast enough and it can be a problem.


Steve