Off Road verses Marine Diesel. Question...

[Captned]

Is there a difference in additives or anything else between the diesel you buy at a gas station and the diesel you by at a marine fuel dock?? Other than price. I know about the color, etc...

Just thinking....

Captned

[Avenger]

No.

[TopHattandTails]

Other than the current debate on cetol ratings... not sure there is a difference - other than the tax man not getting his cut! I've "heard" of 3 or 4 boats sharing the cost of a terrestrial diesel tanker and finding an "out of the way" dock to fill up from... These delivery guys usually have the correct fitting to dispense directly to your boat's tank from the tanker truck. Of course, if the authorities were to test your fuel (large dipstick) you might have an issue...

[SKYCHENEY]

Over the road diesel is now all USDL (ultra-low sulpher). Most off-road (marine) diesel is still low sulpher. Eventually all diesel will be USDL. If you use USDL, make sure you add a cetane booster and lubricant as it does not have the lubricity of the old LSD.

[J's Dream]

Other than the current debate on cetol ratings... not sure there is a difference - other than the tax man not getting his cut! I've "heard" of 3 or 4 boats sharing the cost of a terrestrial diesel tanker and finding an "out of the way" dock to fill up from... These delivery guys usually have the correct fitting to dispense directly to your boat's tank from the tanker truck. Of course, if the authorities were to test your fuel (large dipstick) you might have an issue...

I have a tanker fill me up at the dock. He pulls up in front of the house, and drags the hose around back, no problem. Why would anyone have a problem with this? The fuel is dyed red..same as at the marinas. The tanker company makes me pay sales tax on it, so I'm totally legal.

[Avenger]

It's all ULSD. The only difference is in the handling. On-road is certified ULSD which means it has been tested and all the tanks, trucks, hoses etc. are free of sulfur and not re-adding it to the fuel. Off-highway fuel is made from the same stocks but the handling hasn't been tested and certified. It is pretty likely that anybody with a high enough turnover could pass UL criteria since any sulfur in their equipment has probably leached out by now.

So, in short, unless you live near a really small refinery that is still making low-sulfur fuel you are getting the same fuel that everybody else is. The only variation is between brands. And Sky is right, you should be using a quality lubricity additive no matter where you get your fuel.

[Captned]

"And Sky is right, you should be using a quality lubricity additive no matter where you get your fuel."

What is the suggested additive?

Just curious,
Captned

[Avenger]

There's a number of them. My personal preference is Stanadyne Performance Formula. Power Service DieselKleen is popular with some of the members here, FPPF is another. 34Hatt a.k.a. Dan sells A.J.X. which I'm sure he can tell you more about too.

There are many additves out there that are snake-oil too, so I'd try to stick with the ones listed above. If you have another in mind you can always ask here if anybody has any experience with it.