Different colour of diesel

[bismillah]

Am I the only one who looks at these things? How is it possible that the diesel fuel bought in different places have different color and smell? here are three samples made in the same day

there will also be differences in quality?

 

[Shannow]

Mine is blue...

Had a former colleague ring me s few years ago, as he'd filled his diesel, and it didn't foam out the filler, then he looked in and saw blue, and thought that it was premium unleaded.

Your middle one looks like it has biodiesel with left over glycerine in it...take a jar full, and put in the freezer if the better half will allow such activities.

 

[Kira]

Hello, "How is it possible that the diesel fuel bought in different places have different color and smell?"

I realize some difference in keyboard signaling created the "&#8203" in the original post but what does it stand for? Kira

 

[eljefino]

8203 is a zero width space, probably caused by an Italian language keyboard.

OP, I'm firstly impressed by your translucent cans; ours are all blue or green for fire safety/ easy identification.

Are they all the same brand or refinery? The stuff on the right looks almost like vegetable oil.

Can you describe the smells?

 

[bismillah]

I'm sorry for the literary artifact, it is my fault doing copy and paste to put the photo in the post

 

[bismillah]

Thanks for the replies. The diesel fuel in the three tanks come from different brand's retailers. All three are sold as regular diesel fuel in my area but actually have different characteristics.

I say something more: the tank on the right should contain better fuel than the other and also smells better (classic or typical smell). The one on the left is average, while the one in the center smells very sour and acrid and also has this dark color.

Here in Italy the automotive diesel is yellow, red one is for heating and the blue-green one is for agriculture

 

[TiredTrucker]

Fuel refinery source will dictate colorization sometimes, because the feed stocks to produce the diesel were different. As was also mentioned, biodiesel will tend to have a richer color. And I might be willing to concur, that the middle jug does look like a biodiesel that has a higher level of glycerin in retention. If that is the case, it will cloud and get up pretty quickly in a freezer.

 

[bismillah]

I will do the test as soon as possible by putting in the freezer three small samples of every tanks

 

[Errtt]

Last tanker load of diesel received at worked had a bluish/greenish color to it.
Somewhere years ago I seen red color diesel.

 

[Garak]

Up here with the dyes, you definitely don't want to be running dyed agricultural diesel in a non-agricultural application. Last time I checked, the fines were close to $1000.

 

[bismillah]

is this legal? I pay for the yellow one (champagne for the price) and they give me the brown one (like poo).

 

[justinh384]

Here in the states diesel for off road applications such as mining, construction, and agriculture is dyed red. This red colored diesel is nontaxable so you could get into a good bit of trouble for running in on road equipment. The diesel used for highway typically has a greenish tint to it. The off road fuel is typically called "red fuel" and the highway fuel is typically known as "clear fuel".

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: Errtt
Last tanker load of diesel received at worked had a bluish/greenish color to it.
Somewhere years ago I seen red color diesel.

Red is included to mark that diesel or kerosene sold strictly for off-highway use. This would include home heating oil, farm equipment, or locomotives.

Quote:
http://www.amref.com/products/fuels.aspx

Grade No. 2 Diesel S-500 Dyed Red #2 Low Sulfur Non-Road Dyed Red

Grade No. 2 Diesel S-500 Dyed L-M #2 Locomotive - Marine

Grade No. 2 Diesel S-15 NR Dyed Red #2 ULSD Non-Road Dyed Red

Grade No. 1 Diesel S-15 Dyed Red #1 ULSD Non-Road Dyed Red

Grade No. 1 Diesel S-15 Dyed Red-Yellow #1 ULSD Dyed Red-Yellow (Heating oil)

Heating Oil Home Heating fuel, Heating Oil, Heating Oil (dyed red), Yellow Marker Added


And the IRS is very interested:

Quote:
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p510/ch01.html#en_US_2013_publink1000116888

Dyed diesel fuel and dyed kerosene are subject to $.001 per gallon LUST tax as discussed below, unless the fuel is for export.

The excise tax is not imposed on the removal, entry, or sale of diesel fuel or kerosene (other than the LUST tax) if all the following tests are met.

• The person otherwise liable for tax (for example, the position holder) is a registrant.
• In the case of a removal from a terminal, the terminal is an approved terminal.
• The diesel fuel or kerosene satisfies the dyeing requirements (described next).

Dyeing requirements. Diesel fuel or kerosene satisfies the dyeing requirements only if it satisfies the following requirements.

• It contains the dye Solvent Red 164 (and no other dye) at a concentration spectrally equivalent to at least 3.9 pounds of the solid dye standard Solvent Red 26 per thousand barrels of fuel or any dye of a type and in a concentration that has been approved by the Commissioner.
• Is indelibly dyed by mechanical injection. See section 6 of Notice 2005-80 for transition rules that apply until final regulations are issued by the IRS.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: bismillah
is this legal? I pay for the yellow one (champagne for the price) and they give me the brown one (like poo).


Sounds like the inherent color of the fuel and not some dye. The primary dye used is a shade of red for off-road fuel.

 

[bismillah]

I do not think it's a dyes problem. As already said here in Italy automotive diesel fuel is yellow , red one is for heating and the blue-green one is for agriculture. I had the opportunity to see all three but one is decidedly yellow, one is red and the third is blue, no doubt.

What I want to understand, explore and go beyond it because in some resellers diesel fuel is yellow (as it should be), in others more turbid and in others it is brown and stinks.

It is not the first time that I find diesel pump selling the brown one; who knows how much I've put into the car without realizing, anyway I never noticed any difference and my car has no problem.

But if the diesel fuel has always been yellow why now it is brown and has a strange smell .

!! I'm not talking about special diesel fuels , those that is sold with higher price saying that it is cleaner and more refined. I'm talking about regular diesel.

My doubt is the percentage of biodiesel ...

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: bismillah
I do not think it's a dyes problem. As already said here in Italy automotive diesel fuel is yellow , red one is for heating and the blue-green one is for agriculture. I had the opportunity to see all three but one is decidedly yellow, one is red and the third is blue, no doubt.

What I want to understand, explore and go beyond it because in some resellers diesel fuel is yellow (as it should be), in others more turbid and in others it is brown and stinks.

It is not the first time that I find diesel pump selling the brown one; who knows how much I've put into the car without realizing, anyway I never noticed any difference and my car has no problem.

But if the diesel fuel has always been yellow why now it is brown and has a strange smell .

!! I'm not talking about special diesel fuels , those that is sold with higher price saying that it is cleaner and more refined. I'm talking about regular diesel.

My doubt is the percentage of biodiesel ...

It could just be a different blend of hydrocarbons. I mean - what is and isn't diesel fuel is subject to any number of different variables. Diesel engines can be extremely tolerant of the makeup of the fuel. There isn't just a single way to make a diesel fuel that's acceptable. In the refining process they make so much of this, so much of that, and someone can blend these products in any number of ways to arrive at something that works. I do understand that theoretically diesel engines can be run on pure kerosene, although usually it needs to be blended with regular diesel in order to properly lubricate the fuel system.

 

[scurvy]

I've had diesel fuel everything from crystal clear, dark yellow, light amber, bright florescent yellow, medium greenish-yellow and very pale yellow with a slight blue iridescence to it.

Here color is no way to determine anything about the fuel except for what dye they put in it. Heating oil & off-road diesel is dyed red, but AFAIK every other color is available for use.