cleaning a gas can to use diesel fuel?

[GoldDot40]

...and might even get transported in the same tankers. Of course after they've been emptied. There's inevitably a little bit that gets mixed and it's never a problem as long as it's a tiny amount.

I can confirm this is common practice. We haul diesel in the very compartments that had gas in them the pervious load and vise versa. Depending on the terrain at the previous unloading area where the tanker is not level, we may retain anywhere from barely residue up to several gallons.

If I know I retained more than a few gallons, I'll drain it off at the terminal before I load a different product. However, there are a LOT of loading terminals that won't allow you to drain off retained product and I'm sure the products gets mixed way more than people realize.

The only things you're not allowed to haul in a tanker that had gasoline on the previous load are kerosene and jet A. Most Jet A tankers are strictly dedicated though unless it gets washed out beforehand.

If your last load was diesel, you cannot haul a load of pure ethanol. The ethanol terminal here actually asks for the manifest for your previous load to verify. They are extremely strict about that.

 

[JavierH19]

Not at all. same for vice versa. Trace amounts of either in either wont do squat. i fill gas cans with diesel then back up with gas.

 

[y_p_w]

I can confirm this is common practice. We haul diesel in the very compartments that had gas in them the pervious load and vise versa. Depending on the terrain at the previous unloading area where the tanker is not level, we may retain anywhere from barely residue up to several gallons.

If I know I retained more than a few gallons, I'll drain it off at the terminal before I load a different product. However, there are a LOT of loading terminals that won't allow you to drain off retained product and I'm sure the products gets mixed way more than people realize.

The only things you're not allowed to haul in a tanker that had gasoline on the previous load are kerosene and jet A. Most Jet A tankers are strictly dedicated though unless it gets washed out beforehand.

If your last load was diesel, you cannot haul a load of pure ethanol. The ethanol terminal here actually asks for the manifest for your previous load to verify. They are extremely strict about that.

So do you know what's done with the drained stuff? I get that pipeline companies don't like to separate loads with pigs and just send off the intermix to places that re-refine that stuff.

Isn't all fuel ethanol denatured with gasoline? I guess mixing in a little bit of gasoline would be no big deal.

 

[GoldDot40]

So do you know what's done with the drained stuff? I get that pipeline companies don't like to separate loads with pigs and just send off the intermix to places that re-refine that stuff.

Isn't all fuel ethanol denatured with gasoline? I guess mixing in a little bit of gasoline would be no big deal.

Whatever I drain off the truck at the terminal goes into the same container as the transmix. Certain common carrier tanker companies are paid to haul this product from the loading terminal to refining facilities set up to refine and reclaim the product so there's very little waste.

You're right, a little bit of gas mixed a small ratio of diesel isn't an issue. There IS a percentage threshold...though I'm not sure what that magic number to be. State agencies randomly test the product in the retailer's tank and determine whether the quality falls within their guidelines. A diesel tank that is too "hot" gets shut down and has to be pumped out and cleaned before recieving fresh diesel.

Yes, fuel ethanol is denatured using a petroleum product...usually gasoline, but that may differ per region.

 

[y_p_w]

Whatever I drain off the truck at the terminal goes into the same container as the transmix. Certain common carrier tanker companies are paid to haul this product from the loading terminal to refining facilities set up to refine and reclaim the product so there's very little waste.

You're right, a little bit of gas mixed a small ratio of diesel isn't an issue. There IS a percentage threshold...though I'm not sure what that magic number to be. State agencies randomly test the product in the retailer's tank and determine whether the quality falls within their guidelines. A diesel tank that is too "hot" gets shut down and has to be pumped out and cleaned before recieving fresh diesel.

Yes, fuel ethanol is denatured using a petroleum product...usually gasoline, but that may differ per region.

I remember there was some talk about how some sellers were mixing in more than 10% fuel ethanol because there was a certain amount of gasoline in fuel ethanol and then it would still legally be under the 10% ethanol requirement.

This has a lot of jargon about what can legally be mixed. Doesn't mention diesel, kerosene, or jet fuel. What I recall about the Colonial Pipeline hack last year was that they had a separate pipeline for gasoline and another for everything else.

What options are available to pipelines for dealing with interface material, i.e., mixtures of two different types of product that result when the different products are adjacent during pipeline movement? | US EPA

Interface Mixtures Involving RFG or RBOBFirst, the pipeline must minimize ...

www.epa.gov

 

[The motor guy]

A few drops of gas in your container probably will not hurt anything BUT if your cans are like mine they leave more than a few drops in the bottom. I would wash it out with diesel. Gas will lower the Cetane rating of the diesel and most off road pump diesel is already at the lower end of what is recommended usually 40.

There's probably a couple ounces left