'Red' Diesel Temptation ?

[8ob]

I was told by a mechanic a while ago that red diesel was slightly thicker than standard white and a lot of farmers suffered with Isuzu trooper 4x4s with blowing seals and injector issues.

There have always been summer/winter grades of diesel but we dont experience the kind of temperatures to warrant winter grades in this country ( not darn sarf anyway ), winter grade diesel in places like Canada is only one step away from kerosene. . When low sulphur diesel was first introduced it lacked the lubricity of older diesel fuel and it was killing all the older injector pumps, thats since been rectified and it now excedes that of the older fuels. We used to tip five gallons of engine oil in the holding tank to overcome this , it worked for us. Red and white diesel is now all the same gear because a lot of plant and machinery run the same engines as cars/trucks with common rail,cats and add blue. Some of the oil companies have had the chemists at work playing about with cetane levels and addding in oddsnsods to run cleaner which reflects on the price but your common old diesel ( supermarkets) is just that and no different to the red diesel.

Bob

 

[fizzy]

Cooking oil is great for adding the lubricity that Kero lacks over diesel.
In the Gulf War the Yanks wanted a one fuel policy - basically they ran everything on jet fuel - or kero. In that heat it can be a problem in diesels so they used an additive to help with the lube - but cooking oil or atf does the same job.

 

[Justme]

You can get duty free petrol as well which is also dyed. I believe the steelworks in port Talbot uses it for site vehicles.
You can also claim back fuel duty on petrol in certain cases. Commercial boats and landscape gardeners etc as the petrol is not being used on the road.

Any details on the duty free petrol?

I am on lots of forums that have people with jobs (grass, arb, landscape, builders etc etc) that use petrol off road but none of them know about this as its always coming up that they are paying road duty when its not for road use.

 

[Farside]

Any details on the duty free petrol?

Just ask the local C&E bods, because they'll be happy to illuminate you on the rights and wrongs of it.
I've always found them to be quite helpful.
Regarding duty-free petrol, I think it's blue. But then again, some Avgas is blue, too, iirc, and that's not particularly duty-free. Maybe lower duty for aviation use only.
I certainly recall Mad Phil the Pilot having to account for differing rates of petrol (Avgas) duty on Continental trips and sometimes he'd get a rebate from the C&E.
That's another source of information - your local flying club. Somebody there will likely know the rates. Of course, you'll find somebody who says he knows, but that's not the same thing at all.

 

[Aesgarth]

The Maltese were very cross!

I feel this was under appreciated

 

[fizzy]

Any details on the duty free petrol?

I am on lots of forums that have people with jobs (grass, arb, landscape, builders etc etc) that use petrol off road but none of them know about this as its always coming up that they are paying road duty when its not for road use.

Duty free dyed petrol only exists on certain large sites.
The way it works for the people allowed to use it is you just buy normal petrol and fill in the forms with HMRC. They then send you a cheque!
There was a company in Cornwall who were done for claiming over £2 million of duty back because it turned out they were running diesel trawlers not the petrol ones they claimed!

 

[dannyp]

Someone I used to work with was a big fan of helping himself and filling up from the red tank when he though no one was watching