Stupid regulations- Diesel Cap Color

[Rmay635703]

This is more of a why.

But in some areas the cap on a diesel fuel tank now must legally be green. (I know because we have to paint some this color)

In my area you must use a yellow can for diesel (I was prevented from filling a red gas can with a fraction of a gallon to do a spot fill at home) I ended up with a yellow tank I will likely never use again.

In this state it used to be all things diesel matched including the yellow fill handle.

Why now is there a motivation to change diesel tanks, cans and caps to green when it's always been yellow for like 70 years?

http://nasdonline.org/917/d000760/storing-gasoline-and-other-flammables.html

Further why can the gas station use any color fill handle they want? One place had PINK on one of the handles alongside green gasoline handles.
If not even the fill station needs be bothered to follow the law why do I?

https://wavianusa.com/blogs/news/gas-can-color-designations

I guess you have to wonder about the politics of fuel color coding and why it's unevenly enforced with state to state differences.
Also why did gas stations stop properly color coding pumps?
They were all properly color coded when I was a kid, now they seem to be based on asthetics.
Green gas, purple diesel?

And don't get me started on methanol

 

[ragtoplvr]

make up problem
patent solution
lobby congress, spread money around, think of the kids
stupid law passed.
PROFIT
Roberts conservative supreme court, money is speech.
Rod

 

[opus1]

I hear you on this. My sister got freaked out at a BP station one time because she realized after the fact that the nozzle had a green covering on it and thought she put diesel in the tank of Mom's car. She's not used to BP stations and didn't take into account that green on almost everything there since it's a color in their logo.

 

[John_K]

My wife's car takes E85 and the cap is yellow. Maybe people are confusing with diesel being yellow?

 

[MasterSolenoid]

I remember once on the Local News, someone filled a kerosene heater with gasoline (blue can was filled with gas).
Didn't end well …… I'm all for using standard colors.

So if Gas, Kerosene and Diesel each have a color, maybe it's confusing for people if the different octanes have their own color.

 

[Alfred_B]

The colors should be determined on the federal level but that would suppress our freedoms.

 

[blupupher]

I never knew diesel was yellow, I thought it was green (I have never owned a diesel, but have driven them at work, and they had green caps in the late 90's to mid 2000's when I did fuel them up).
All the diesel pumps I see are green handles, with the yellow handle pumps being E-85.
I have also seen blue pump handles at a local station for their e-0 gas.

For containers, blue for me has always meant potable water.

 

[Lyman]

Here in CA the green pump handles are diesel. At least all the ones that I have used. The fuel can I use for diesel at work is yellow so we don't mix it up with the red gas cans.

 

[Superflan]

Here diesel fuel pump handle is either YELLOW, unleaded gasoline is GREEN.

 

[mk378]

There is no federal standard for color but the writing on the container has legal significance. Always read the label and don't put liquids into mis-labeled containers.

Diesel fuel usually looks pale green in the tank. And ethanol is made from corn, thus yellow handle? I never understood blue for kerosene considering that as @blupupher said blue containers are common for water.

 

[Donald]

Light blue cap is DEF.

 

[BeerCan]

Mostly green for diesel when I buy. Every once in a while I see yellow and seldomly I see black.

 

[nthach]

Cars and trucks with flex-fuel engines use yellow caps. The majority of OEM-level caps are green. German diesels still use a black cap.

I've been seeing DEF ONLY stickers on big rigs lately - shouldn't a trucker know which is which by now? I mean, on some Mercedes and VW models with SCR/Bluetec the DEF filler is next to the fuel pipe but German cars tend to use a Kruse bottle to prevent DEF going into the fuel tank or vice-versa.

 

[Rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Blkstanger
Here in CA the green pump handles are diesel. At least all the ones that I have used. The fuel can I use for diesel at work is yellow so we don't mix it up with the red gas cans.

Originally Posted by John_K
My wife's car takes E85 and the cap is yellow. Maybe people are confusing with diesel being yellow?

Which brings up the question if states require a green cap for diesel, why is the tank yellow in those same states?

Further alcohol has always been dayglow green or blue, why put a yellow cap on something that goes into a green container?

Seems stupid

 

[P10crew]

Who is stopping you from putting what ever you want in what ever colored can with what ever colored cap. When It says diesel on the pump it usually means diesel. The dispenser nozzle for diesel is green at all the places that I have been to.

 

[Rmay635703]

Originally Posted by P10crew
Who is stopping you from putting what ever you want in what ever colored can with what ever colored cap. When It says diesel on the pump it usually means diesel. The dispenser nozzle for diesel is green at all the places that I have been to.


They shut off the pump and said I had to get a yellow can

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted by Rmay635703
They shut off the pump and said I had to get a yellow can

Wow where was that here in Wisconsin?

 

[P10crew]

That is amazing. The dude had nothing better to do than to look at wth color your gas can was....., no way!