Diesel at gas station safe for tractors?

Billy NY

Well-known Member
Years ago, I'd more than likely not be concerned, but with ultra low sulfur and or injection pumps, figured it might be wise to see if there is any problems with getting my fuel from a fill station nearby, brand new tank farm and pumps at a local convenience store that was demolished and totally rebuilt. I won't be using that much fuel, for the amount of work I do currently, so I'll likely get some new fuel cans, and pay as I go. I'd like a small transfer tank with a pump, a caddy on wheels, enough for one refill, say 30-50 gallons max, but with just my car on the road at the moment, the cans will do just fine and I can lift them with no trouble. I use a plastic lid for a catch pan, in the trunk, just in case, as spilled gas or diesel will reek. They'll be kept in the garage in winter. I may be able to get off road at the pump somewhere too, have one connection at a large fuel company to speak with, but thought it a good one to post here.

If I just want to fill up near the house, is there any difference besides the dye in it? Tractor is a late 90's 3 cylinder turbo 4630 ford, not sure what injection pump is in this one, but before I embark on field work, be good to know about if there are any issues, should I question the supplier see what it is? Across the road is a 24 hour pump, at the well known diesel repair shop, I could drive it there if need be, but hate going on this busy state road for any length of it with a tractor. I'd also like to avoid going there for repairs, he's the best in the area, but you'll pay for that just the same, been a top notch outfit for 30+ years.

May be no concern at all, but with the expense of these kinds of fuel systems, best to know either way.

Winter conditioner, I'd like to use something in case its real cold or I'm out in it longer than expected, but this one will be parked in a heated garage, only working outside when needed and back into the garage. I have no idea whats out there today for winter conditioning, besides the winter blend. I've experienced froze up fuel systems in extreme cold, its never any fun!
 
Stop in and ask them if its premium diesel fuel-if it isn't--you are on your own. I had to stop getting fuel in town tor the tractors. The tractor fuel filters are 5 micron-the fuel I was getting would not pass thru them winter or summer. If I went to the old 10 micron filters it would work but smoked a lot. I get premium diesel from the local farm Coop and don't have problems with it
 
Not sure of the diesel quality. Not sure what premium diesel is.

My bosses insist I fill the trucks at a certain Mobile station. They insist the mileage is much better than getting it at Exxon, QT, Race Track... I haven't personally tested their theory, but they are adamant that it's true.

Is it filtered finer? A different blend? Bio diesel blend? Not sure, I just don't argue with them! LOL

But! Buying diesel or gas from a brand new or recently upgraded/repaired station is a very dangerous move! No mater how careful they are, "some" trash is going to remain in the lines until it gets flushed with product. If you are first in line, you will be the lucky recipient! Give it a month or so, then it should be fine.
 
I have a John Deere F935 mower with a Yanmar 3TNA diesel. I got fuel at one station regular until one day, their diesel pump was down so I bought at the Co-Op convenience store. It was a few cents higher. I ran about 15 minutes and plugged the fuel filters. Biodiesel they said. I switched back to where I always fill my truck and never another problem. My mower is a 90 something model and still running fine on the Ultra Stuff. I have even ran a 1466 and 1650 Oliver on the service station brand and never a problem.

Where ever I fill up, truck, mower, car, anything, I try to find stations that have a lot of traffic. Fuel might be fresher there.
 
(quoted from post at 10:13:11 08/03/15) Not sure of the diesel quality. Not sure what premium diesel is.

My bosses insist I fill the trucks at a certain Mobile station. They insist the mileage is much better than getting it at Exxon, QT, Race Track... I haven't personally tested their theory, but they are adamant that it's true.

Is it filtered finer? A different blend? Bio diesel blend? Not sure, I just don't argue with them! LOL

But! Buying diesel or gas from a brand new or recently upgraded/repaired station is a very dangerous move! No mater how careful they are, "some" trash is going to remain in the lines until it gets flushed with product. If you are first in line, you will be the lucky recipient! Give it a month or so, then it should be fine.

Not diesel, but gasoline. If we fill the wifes truck at the local convenience store, it seems that the miles per gallon will be less than when we fill up at a Casey's. I can't prove it though. Too many other variables enter into the picture.
 
All of the diesel fuel is now low sulfur. Even the home heating fuel is low sulfur. If you buy the fuel at the local gas station it will be blended for the climate change [winter blend in the late fall]. It doesn't freeze in over the road trucks so it is unlikely to freeze in your tractor. The bad thing about buying clear diesel [not dyed] is that you are paying road taxes on each gallon that you buy.

The idea of buying your fuel in cans is OK if you are careful and only use clean cans. To be safe, when I transport fuel in cans I put a filter in my funnel.

You can buy diesel additives at many stores and they will help with any lubrication problems. Just read the label and add as advised.
 
As others have said, diesel is diesel. The only difference in off road and on road is the dye and the tax. Granted there is a winter weight, and a summer weight, but beyond that, it's pretty much all the same stuff.

That being said, all diesel fuel now is "crap". The 'industry' can say what they want about the ULSD being as good as the older LSD, or the even older fuel, but it's not. Ask any fuel shop, or equipment mechanic, and we'll pretty much all tell you the same thing, The difference is what we are saying is based on actual field observations rather than what some guy in a lab is telling us.

As far as cleanliness goes, all dispensing pumps have, or should have, a filter to keep trash from getting into your tank. That doesn't mean they are always maintained properly. Nor does it mean that water won't pass through them. I buy at various stations when I am on the road, and have found both trash and water in my filters.

In other words, the last line of defense if yours. The older systems ran much lower pressures, and had looser tolerances than the new systems, so they were more tolerant of contamination. The result is most old systems will run around a 10 micron filter. You can often get a better micron rating on your filter, usually down to around 3, by getting into a filter book, and finding one with compatible size/thread specs, and the finer rating.

The end result is regardless of where you get the fuel, it's going to work just fine in your older machine. The only thing you need to so is run an additive with it to make up for the lubricity lost with the reduction in the sulpher content. If you have an diesel in your pickup, it pays to run additive in that too. I started running it in my service truck right before the switch to ULSD, and picked up around 1 MPG. Given that I average around 5000 miles per quarter, that nets me around 167 extra miles. Given I charge $1.50 per mile, I can make an extra $250 per quarter for an investment of around $75 in additive, and know my injection system is going to last longer because it has the lubricant it needs.
 
Rusty, that's quite probable with gasoline. Depends on the octane additive. If the octane is low, the engine wants to clatter, spark knock. The knock sensor detects it, retards the timing to stop the clatter. Performance and mileage go down.

But, is it worth it to buy premium fuel? Not in my vehicles it's not... Now if I drove a performance car, or a carburated muscle car, maybe.

And then how do you even know it's really in there? Sure there is a test, but go back and argue with them? Ain't worth it to me!
 
Don't know about the quality being different but I do know that I can buy diesel at the station a little cheaper per litre than I can get home heating fuel delivered to the house tank.If you only need a little buying fresh might be competitive with getting bulk diesel delivered and you won't have diesel going stale in your tank.
 
(quoted from post at 12:08:42 08/03/15) As others have said, diesel is diesel. The only difference in off road and on road is the dye and the tax. Granted there is a winter weight, and a summer weight, but beyond that, it's pretty much all the same stuff.

[b:67761ed02a]That being said, all diesel fuel now is "crap". [/b:67761ed02a]The 'industry' can say what they want about the ULSD being as good as the older LSD, or the even older fuel, but it's not. Ask any fuel shop, or equipment mechanic, and we'll pretty much all tell you the same thing, The difference is what we are saying is based on actual field observations rather than what some guy in a lab is telling us.

As far as cleanliness goes, all dispensing pumps have, or should have, a filter to keep trash from getting into your tank. That doesn't mean they are always maintained properly. Nor does it mean that water won't pass through them. I buy at various stations when I am on the road, and have found both trash and water in my filters.

In other words, the last line of defense if yours. The older systems ran much lower pressures, and had looser tolerances than the new systems, so they were more tolerant of contamination. The result is most old systems will run around a 10 micron filter. You can often get a better micron rating on your filter, usually down to around 3, by getting into a filter book, and finding one with compatible size/thread specs, and the finer rating.

The end result is regardless of where you get the fuel, it's going to work just fine in your older machine. The only thing you need to so is run an additive with it to make up for the lubricity lost with the reduction in the sulpher content. If you have an diesel in your pickup, it pays to run additive in that too. I started running it in my service truck right before the switch to ULSD, and picked up around 1 MPG. Given that I average around 5000 miles per quarter, that nets me around 167 extra miles. Given I charge $1.50 per mile, I can make an extra $250 per quarter for an investment of around $75 in additive, and know my injection system is going to last longer because it has the lubricant it needs.
on't know about that.
I get my diesel from my local farm co-op . they deliver it to my farm bulk tanks.
I have not had a single issue with water or trash in my fuel for the last 25 years
I run seventies and newer diesels, the newest is a 07 GMC with D-max (tractors and trucks,13 in total) i hardly if ever have an injector or IP troubles.
I change fuel filters every now and then just because i think i should but never because it was plugged, on some the filter might be 8-10 years old.
I use no additives either but in the one D-max i use injector cleaner in every tank, it got over 250 k miles on it and it hasn't missed a beat yet
 
Biodiesel is a solvent. Regular diesel leaves small wax deposits in the lines, tank, injectors, and pumps. Ordinarily these deposits are harmless but when you switch to biodiesel, it dissolves these deposits for the filter to catch. A switch to biodiesel will typically take several sets of filters before the wax deposits are dissolved and there is no more problem. Nothing wrong with biodiesel, just when you switch to it, realize that several sets of filters will be required for the switch. No problem with a brand new engine.
 
(quoted from post at 12:41:55 08/03/15) Rusty, that's quite probable with gasoline. Depends on the octane additive. If the octane is low, the engine wants to clatter, spark knock. The knock sensor detects it, retards the timing to stop the clatter. Performance and mileage go down.

But, is it worth it to buy premium fuel? Not in my vehicles it's not... Now if I drove a performance car, or a carburated muscle car, maybe.

And then how do you even know it's really in there? Sure there is a test, but go back and argue with them? Ain't worth it to me!

Just for the record, we buy the E10 everywhere we go, so I ASSUME I am comparing apples to apples, but who really knows?
 
(quoted from post at 11:26:57 08/03/15) I add power service to all my diesel fuel and also antigel in the winter

Ditto - except I use Schaeffer's DieselTreat 1000 (PowerService, too[depending on what I have on hand]) - good insurance to add some lubricity with ULSD in older diesels - call it 'snake oil' if you want but it's cheap enough when you look at replacing injectors, pumps, etc., PLUS with anti-gel it doesn't matter if you've still got 'summer blend' fuel in your tank and the weather turns cold, with a bit of anti-jel you're 'set-to-jet'! 8)
 
I do the same in my VW Diesel Jetta. 250ml of outboard 2 cycle oil (200:1) in every 50 litres of fuel. Car has 340,000 km on it now.
 
My supplier picks up his fuel at one of the Syracuse area terminals. With a card he has 24/7 access to the facility. The same card allows him to get the fuel. He can buy heating oil, or diesel fuel. The only difference is an additive which is injected into the diesel as he loads. He does furnace work, has a gas station, as well as runs his own farm. He has seen enough benefit from the additive that he won't buy ANY fuel, including "heating oil" without it. All that to say- that any heating oil you might buy probably doesn't have any additive, and, I suppose a dishonest dealer could buy heating oil, and sell it as diesel.
 
Agree, different fuel at diff stations. Grabbed 15 gal (3 clean 5 gal buckets)from local BP once and noticed really foamy while filling. Got back to shop and took lids off to pour into tank and bottom 1/3 was dark green and top 2/3 was clearer. My usual fuel supplier looked at it and said BP was mixing animal fat instead if soy oil and calling it Bio. Called the BP Headquarters to complain, they said their fuel was good and I was breaking the law using unapproved containers. Not only was it unusable but I paid road tax to boot. At least it burned in my furnace, glad I don't have a diesel pickup.
 
(quoted from post at 14:33:53 08/03/15) Biodiesel is a solvent. Regular diesel leaves small wax deposits in the lines, tank, injectors, and pumps. Ordinarily these deposits are harmless but when you switch to biodiesel, it dissolves these deposits for the filter to catch. A switch to biodiesel will typically take several sets of filters before the wax deposits are dissolved and there is no more problem. Nothing wrong with biodiesel, just when you switch to it, realize that several sets of filters will be required for the switch. No problem with a brand new engine.

Could you give a reference for these statements?
 
My concern is the ultra low sulfur diesel is lack of lubrication. I add a quart of any brand or type of ATF (cheaper the better) to every 15 gals of diesel I buy at the local store. Seems to work Ok
 
Additives for both gas and diesel are added as the tankers fill at the terminal. Different companies used different amounts and something different additives. I have a C store about a mile west of me. If I gas up there I get about -5MPG right away. If I gas at Holiday or Sinclair I get +5 over the other C store. And all it is, is amounts of different additives. Same with diesel. I am very careful where I buy gas and diesel.

The information about additives is from 2 sources. The wife's boss who owns a C store/auto repair/outdoor power equipment business and my SIL who drives for a fuel delivery company. He mostly haul fuel with no additives but sometimes will do short run deliveries to gas stations.

Rick
 
I had an issue like that once-my truck suddenly started using almost a gallon more per fillup at the same station I used for years.I took my 5 gal can in there and it "held" almost 7 gal instead of the usual 5.5 gal.I also crosschecked by filling up there and then filling up somewhere else,and my mileage was back to normal.I also filled up somewhere else and then back at regular station=still took more gas.I always drove nearly exact same miles so my test was pretty accurate. THEIR PUMPS WERE OVER CHARGING THE AMOUNT OF FUEL I WAS PUTTING IN.I called them out on it with my 5 gal can,but was told,the manager is not in.I found another station doing the same thing.I pay real close attention to my mpg ever since and go where it is the best.Mark
 
(quoted from post at 14:33:53 08/03/15) Biodiesel is a solvent. Regular diesel leaves small wax deposits in the lines, tank, injectors, and pumps. Ordinarily these deposits are harmless but when you switch to biodiesel, it dissolves these deposits for the filter to catch. A switch to biodiesel will typically take several sets of filters before the wax deposits are dissolved and there is no more problem. Nothing wrong with biodiesel, just when you switch to it, realize that several sets of filters will be required for the switch. No problem with a brand new engine.
ere in Canada we have straight diesel in winter and 10-15% bio mixed in in summer.
I never had a problem with plugged filters.
And most of my diesels are 18 to 40 years old.

But maybe we have better fuel up here?
 
Not anymore. We were designing a Public Safety Building about 8 years ago and the local government wanted LEED certification. One of the LEED points we got was for using Biodiesel for the Standby Generator. I found a couple of sources on the topic but while I remember that the Biodiesel was a solvent, I do not remember the actual source. I do remember the Caterpillar rep confirming the information at the time. I believe we were looking at a 50-50 blend.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top