Colour difference between petrol and diesel ?

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Hi all,

Right I will cut to the chase here to save you having to read the details if you cba - what is the colour appearance of diesel compared to petrol?... I had a search on google and have had no luck..


Detailed story ;)

Couple of days ago I posted this thread: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18059545

I had some helpful responses but had no luck - mechanic was stumped and thought he could smell diesel - I 100% did not put diesel in but I do not have a receipt to prove it (its a petrol car) but its a dodgy looking garage (however I have seen plenty of cars go there).

The Mechanic after spending money on parts could not figure out the problem and so drained the tank and put some petrol in and the car started but was very smoky.

So I went down there with a jerry can and filled that up and this time got a receipt - I poured a small amount into a jam jar along with some petrol my dad had in another jerry can but has been sitting there for about 10yrs.
They were completely different colours the older petrol being much darker - (looked like **** tbh :D) and the other one looked very diluted in comparison.

So basically is the older petrol darker because its older? is one petrol and one diesel - is one dodgy petrol ? lol sorry for the essay :p
 
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Drop a match into the jar. If it goes out, it's diesel - if you end up with no eyebrows it's petrol*

*Please don't do this, maybe pour a bit on the floor outside and try and light it. You won't be able to ignite the diesel.

They also smell completely different as well!

I seriously doubt if it is diesel though, the garage would have had loads of people complaining half a mile down the road as their car grinds to a halt. Also most car enthusiasts (or do we call these people with unnatural obsessions with cars now) would smell it straight away as they pumped it.
 
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Soldato
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1 Jan 2008
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I don't recommend smelling either, they're both quite nasty.

Best test is trying to light it with a naked flame, though I can't really recommend that either!

The old petrol was probably full of gunk it had dissolved over the years in the garage, that's why it looked like ****.
 
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