what to look for at the pump

whitearrow · May 10, 2006

good morning fellas,i am about to embark on my first purchase of off road diesel.i was going to drive around to different gas stations and check prices.what do i need to look for on the off road diesel pump that would make one fuel "better" than another.i wnat to try to find some high sulfur off road diesel,some say that the higher sulfur will make the engine run smoother,what else do i need to look for to get premium off road diesel for my jd 5203?soemone mentioned cetane numbers or something in the 40-50 range.
thanks,
whitearrow->>>----------------->

NoMo · May 10, 2006

The minimum cetane rating and maximum sulfur content should be listed in your owner's manual. Purchase your fuel based on those values rather than what you've "heard" is good for your engine.

HGM · May 10, 2006

( good morning fellas,i am about to embark on my first purchase of off road diesel.i was going to drive around to different gas stations and check prices.what do i need to look for on the off road diesel pump that would make one fuel "better" than another.i wnat to try to find some high sulfur off road diesel,some say that the higher sulfur will make the engine run smoother,what else do i need to look for to get premium off road diesel for my jd 5203?soemone mentioned cetane numbers or something in the 40-50 range.
thanks,
whitearrow->>>-----------------> )

No idea where you are in the country, but the sulfer content may not be an option... Why would you want hi sulfer??? Its not a good thing.. It causes corrosion, oil contamination and soot, among other things. It is a contaminate... Diesel fuel went low sulfer for a reason, thats why its hard to find the low sulfer..

I recomend buying from a hi volume station, not a mom and pop store with a off road tank on the side of the lot. Condensation is your worst enemy, next to old fuel. Cetane ratings, if you can find them, are a good indication of the quality of the fuel that was put in the tank, but not the condition of the stuff you are getting out of the pump.(due to age and tank conditions). There are MANY threads here about off road(red) diesel fuel and everyones opinions of it.. The thing to remember, is that you are the only one seeing the fuel you buy(look in the can).. Different parts of the country have different concerns..

So, again, I'd recomend fresh fuel and an additve(no alcohol).. Look in your can, you shouldnt see any floaters or black stuff in the bottom(if you do, there are contaminates).. From there, burn it /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif....Happy tractoring..

MadReferee · May 10, 2006

Sulpher content should be a non-issue by the end of summer when all refineries have switched to ULSD and all old supplies have been consumed. You should be more interested in cetane value and moisture content, especially moisture content. As was mentioned earlier, buy from a volume station to avoid moisture contamination and use some type of additive like PowerService. Today's diesel engines were designed to burn today's diesel mixture.

LBrown59 · May 10, 2006

( good morning fellas,i am about to embark on my first purchase of off road diesel.i was going to drive around to different gas stations and check prices.what do i need to look for on the off road diesel pump that would make one fuel "better" than another.i wnat to try to find some high sulfur off road diesel,some say that the higher sulfur will make the engine run smoother,what else do i need to look for to get premium off road diesel for my jd 5203?soemone mentioned cetane numbers or something in the 40-50 range.
thanks,
whitearrow->>>-----------------> )

A service station or truck stop is not necessarly the higher volume dealer.

MadReferee · May 10, 2006

( A service station or truck stop is not necessarly the higher volume dealer. )

Well then, just what is a higher volume dealer (ie. one who will sell any amount to anybody off the street)?? Distributors are typically NOT dealers.

How about quantifying your statements. You are adding absolutely NO value with your statement.

Humbleto · May 10, 2006

Seems to me that most gas stations do not sell off road. I would also suspect that in smaller towns the off road even comes from the same distributor. It is kind off a hassle too if you don't have a "farm." Let us know how your purchase turns out.

Highbeam · May 10, 2006

I did my first purchase a couple of months ago. 50 gallons, but I could have bought one gallon since there was no minimum.

You need off-road diesel, can't be picky about the sulfur or cetane since I have never seen that info on a pump. I look for a station where the off road pump is being used or sees lots of use. It doesn't have to be clean on the outside and in fact spillage tells me that the pump sees use. My fuel depot sees lots of landscapers and excavators filling transfer tanks. You can bet that those small business guys wouldn't be repeat customers if they bought 100 gallons of bad fuel since that is a big hit to their bottom line. I'm not far from needing to buy another 25 gallons of OR and will save another 40 cents per gallon as gravy.

I do not believe that OR diesel is any better than on-road diesel but I do believe that a diesel engine is very flexible in what kind of fuel it can burn so I save my money and time by using off-road.

LBrown59 · May 10, 2006

Distributors are typically NOT dealers.
)
Mover may have been A better word .

LBrown59 · May 10, 2006

( Seems to me that most gas stations do not sell off road. I would also suspect that in smaller towns the off road even comes from the same distributor. It is kind off a hassle too if you don't have a "farm." Let us know how your purchase turns out. )

Why does not having a farm make it a hassle ? ? ?