Red diesel

MofoKilla

MofoKilla

MofoKilla

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Joined
28 Nov 2005
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hey folks i was having a chat with a work mate who told me that red diesel will ruin a car engine as it aint designed to use it is he telling bs or is it true??

what are the in's and outs of running a car on red ?

will any car of any age run on it or just older engines?

does it damage the engine at all?

for the subject i have a petrol car and dont plan on trying it :)
 
Genuine question as I am too lazy to google, why is it coloured red if it is regular diesel then? What's special about it?

EDIT: So I googled as curiousity got the better of me:

In the United Kingdom, "red diesel" is dyed gas oil for registered agricultural or construction vehicles such as tractors, excavators, cranes and some other non-road applications such as boats. Red diesel carries a significantly reduced tax levy than un-dyed diesel fuel used in ordinary road vehicles. As red diesel is widely available in the UK, the authorities regularly carry out roadside checks, highly unlikely in a metropolitan area but much more likely in a rural area. Unauthorized use incurs heavy fines but despite this spot checks have occasionally found as many as one in five motorists using red diesel.[1] Red diesel can also be used in road vehicles which are registered as SORN with the DVLA provided they are only used on private land. There is also no need to tax a vehicle that is not used on a public road.
 
jaybee said:
Genuine question as I am too lazy to google, why is it coloured red if it is regular diesel then? What's special about it?
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It's illegal to use on normal day to day cars etc, so when customs dip test tanks to catch people who shouldn't be using it, they can prosecute them. Red diesel is a lot cheaper if you can get hold of any!!
 
I wouldn't stick it in my car, apparantly it's lower in Sulphur?? and can damage the engine,

It also tends to sit in ***** old tanks which gather condensation so you end up with water in the fuel.

This is coming from a Farmer ;)
 
Red diesel is exactly the same as gas oil, which is regular diesel. The only difference being red dye as mentioned above.
I was a laboratory technician for Castrol for 16 years, we used the regular un-dyed version for the manufacture of mould release oils and other products.
 
In the news last week

This week, customs officers supported by armed gardaí raided a commercial premises in Glaslough, Co Monaghan. They found an underground tank that was being used to remove the green dye from up to 40,000 litres of agricultural diesel a day. The facility was using a bleaching agent to wash out the dye.
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;)
 
I can't see how it's exactly the same as regular diesel.

IMO Pump Diesel and Red Diesel smell different.. The stuff from the Pump reminds me of the smell you get from the Millers diesel additives that clean your injectors,
 
TaKeN said:
I wouldn't stick it in my car, apparantly it's lower in Sulphur?? and can damage the engine,

It also tends to sit in ***** old tanks which gather condensation so you end up with water in the fuel.

This is coming from a Farmer ;)
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There's no difference it will run in any diesel engine fine. The only damage that wil come is when C&E catch ya on the road and crush your car.
 
When I filled up a tractor when on placement (factory who builds them) in August 2010 it was (iirc) 129p for white diesel and 56p for red diesel.

Hardly suprising that people use red is it. I am not sure what the fine is but it would have to be a big one to make up for the money saved. A taxi driver could be saving £10,000 per year by using red diesel so the punishment must be huge.

I started a thread on fuel theft (covers red diesel too).
 
Lower in sulphur is a good thing lol.

Its not red diesel that ruins your engine, its the bleaching that goes on to remove the dye that is supposedly harmful to your engine.

I have heard that a little old oil in with the red diesel is a favourite amongst the travelling community. I don't think it achieves anything however.

I will be considering the purchase of red diesel in the near future, but only for the pressure washer.
 
TaKeN said:
I can't see how it's exactly the same as regular diesel.

IMO Pump Diesel and Red Diesel smell different.. The stuff from the Pump reminds me of the smell you get from the Millers diesel additives that clean your injectors,
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It is exactly the same bar the additives put in it to identify it.

Chemical markers etc, legal to run diesel farm machinery, fishing boats, etc etc but not to be used on the road except where road use is incidental to normal use (ie a farm tractor that uses the road to get to his fields not the farmers Land Rover that he goes to town in).

It is also legal in construction vehicles such as dump trucks and diggers.

You can also achieve similar by having LPG heating fuel and using it in an LPG vehicle. Think about the fork lifts with a tank of LPG on the back, replaced with a heating grade lpg tank.
 
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jaybee said:
So how does one legally obtain it and be allowed to buy it?
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If you dont know how I guess you shouldn't be using it.

If you want to find out, phone your local fuel supplier. If you're a new customer they're going to want to know what you are using it for and probably provide proof, you just cant role up and say I want 50 litres of your finest red.
 
jaybee said:
So how does one legally obtain it and be allowed to buy it?
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Get a fuel oil heating tank installed in your garden, and call the local heating fuel company to come fill it.

Then hope the HMRC inspectors don't come and dip your tank :D
 
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