Low sulfur diesel fuel - real information

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Yeah - I had read that before and also disussed this with the PR people at the Ameican Petroleum Institue and they asked around with some engineers and got back to me. You notice there is no discussion of flash point or specific explanation as to why the fuel should suddenly start eating gaskets.

That is why I found it so interesting to learn from the tanker driver who was delivering fuel that the trucking company that delivers the fuel is receiving service bulletins about issues relating to cold weather starting and gasket issues and ULSD.

Removing substances from a fuel that has not been causing deterioration of gaskets and seals should not make that fuel a more potent solvent.

So when I learned that they are trying different additives and the truck drivers were advised to monitor for "O" ring deterioration after the recent substitution of a different additive things finally started to make sense.

I should mention that the starting issues with my 300 TDT's engine were intensified because the "O" rings in my primer pump and a small piece of original fuel line deteriorated after switching to ULS, so small amounts of air started to get into my fuel line. But even after repairs have been made I notice a difference between the two fuels relating to starting.

While the difference is sublte, I would estimate that my engine starts now at 0 C (32 F) with ULS with pretty much the same cranking and need for additional heat such as warm air from a hair dryer or a blcok heater as it does at -6 C (22 F) with LSD.

It is puzzling why these issues are not discussed in Europe, but perhaps that is because it has been some time since you have been able to obtain LSD in Europe for comparison. I notice the difference most when I fill up with ULS after a tankful of LSD.

Paul

Take A Guess wrote:

Reply to
heav

With all due respect, getting your info from a truck driver? if he had any real expertise do you think he'd be driving a delivery truck? Maybe if your info came from a scientific orientated person I'd attach some credibility to it. certainly I realize that when something is added or taken away from a formula there will be unintended consequences, that said, I have no solid info to offer other than I've had no issues with the new fuel, no gaskets being burned up and no noticeable drop in MPG, I drive 2-3k miles a month.

Reply to
jdoe

Ditto to that.

My turbodiesel starts and runs well, without any leaks - and it's an old one. But now I know that if it leaks, why it does so.

Reply to
Take A Guess

and seems like diesels have been stinking a lot less lately.......

not that I have gone out of my way to make a determination or anything.....

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Reply to
greek_philosophizer

jdoe, A lot of times when you want to find out the truth, truck drivers, mechanics, etc are your best source of information. Agreed they may not have a PHD in chemistry, but they see a lot of problems on the equipment they deal with. For instance if you want to know the most trouble free car , ask a wrecker driver, not Consumer Repoff. A wrecker driver is paid to get the cars to the repair station. Consumer Ripoff is paid to say that a car is best when it may not be. Take a Ford Taurus for instance. Ask Consumer Ripoff and then ask a mechanic. Sooo, ask the one with experience and nothing to gain and you will get the best answer.

Pmckechnie

Reply to
Paul

In theory, practice and theory are the same thing. In practice they are not.

Reply to
me

And your evidence of this is...?

They don't accept any advertising, so that gives their evaluations quite a bit of credibility, right there.

Geoff

-- "To paraphrase (I believe) Sir John Gielgud, 'To meet a man of his talents, one must ordinarily visit a crackhouse.'" -- Christopher Morton

Reply to
Geoff Miller

but the guy delivering the fuel more than likely has no clue as to the contents of the truck he is driving, now if you were talking to the guy selling the fuel or a mechanic you might glean some useful info, your analogy stinks

Reply to
jdoe

I live in a very rural area of Eastern California. I had better luck with my starting issues after a fill up at a Chevon station. My town has only a Shell station that carries diesel. I was in the next town,

35 miles north, when I was filling up my car and noticed the driver making a delivery.

I started the conversation with him by asking if the fuel at the various stations of different brands was any different or if it all came out of the same tank at the distributor. He said that there was no difference, that all the delivery tankers for our area filled from the same tank. And then he went on to explain that that was also true for gasoline, but since the gas station operators add additives to the gasoline there are some differences in gasoline, and then he began to list the different additives that were added by the dealers depending on which brand the station was, like Tektron at Chevron, etc.

I could tell that this was an intelligent man. So I asked him if he had heard any complaints about starting issues with Ultra Low Sulfur diesel. He pointed to a loosly packed pile of 8-1/2 by 11" sheets of paper that were hanging out of the map pocket on the open passenger door of his tractor and said that he had a pile of service bulletins about the starting problmes with the new fuel and that "we get a stack of new bulletins every time they try a new additive. They are still trying to work the bigs out of this stuff. We just got a new one the other day telling us to watch out for deterioration of the "O" rings in the injectors."

I have a Masters degree. I assure you, some of the people who TEACH at graduate schools are complete idiots, and there are some very intelligent people out there in working class positions and anyone with any sense understands that.

That driver was a good guy with a kind expression and a warm smile. He probably was violating company policy by sharing that information with me, but increased freedom to be yourself is one of the advantages of a job like that.

jdoe wrote:

Reply to
heav

I agree with the person who mentioned the air is cleaner because of the new fuel. I have also noticed that the exhaust from my car is not as hard on my lungs. And those are good things and make a difference for people who live in a city. Here in the Owens valley it makes no difference because this is as rural as outback Alaska.

I just wish the companies would be honest about ULSD's side effects so we could try and ameliorate them from an informed stance.

Their lawyers probably advised them to st> I live in a very rural area of Eastern California. I had better luck

Reply to
heav

Reply to
Paul McKechnie

This implies that the domestic diesel refiners have a motivation to use a formulation that is different from the tried and tested formulations used in Europe.

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Reply to
greek_philosophizer

and may also explain the lack of haste surrounding the introduction of the 2007 Sprinter.

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Reply to
greek_philosophizer

What? Not sniffing tailpipes, then?

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Reply to
Dori A Schmetterling

Mechanics yes (of course, even), but truck drivers?

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Reply to
Dori A Schmetterling

It's certainly a slow tune...

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Reply to
Dori A Schmetterling

Yeah, I'm sure pencil-pushing desk jockeys know more about how well trucks start than the people who actually, umm, start them for a living.

Problems with comprehension are not the OP's fault.

Heh, ironic, eh? "scientfic orientated" coming from an AOLer, doesn't get much better than that.

-tom!

Reply to
Tom Plunket

Only if I ever test drive a 2007 Sprinter to see what they are like, we have not gotten thme here yet....

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Reply to
greek_philosophizer

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It is what I was listening to when I made the Post, it is a 30 year old fairly long concert so if you listen long enough there are some perky parts. The musicianship is superior to the typical popular musical group.....

Reply to
greek_philosophizer

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