Question: Can you tell when someone is using residential fuel oil in their diesel vehicle?

[TheBlackAdder]

I grew up in a home that used fuel oil heat. My sister bought the home and replaced it with another fuel oil system a decade ago. There is a distinct odor to fuel oil which separates it from the low-sulfur diesel fuel sold for autos and trucks.

There are a group of trucks down by me that, when passing or standing by, smell like a residential heater, instead of a standard diesel vehicle or tractor trailer. The odor of these vehicles is quite pungent, leaving little doubt they are trying to evade a motor vehicle gas tax.


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In a pinch, some heating companies will say you can use automotive-grade diesel fuel in your home's heating system if you can't get your fuel oil delivered on time or don't want to pay for an emergency delivery.

Some cars, like an Audi, might know if you are using high-sulfur home oil as they also have a special additive to reduce emissions.

I'm not sure if simpler delivery trucks and tractor-trailers would work the same way.


Most fuels are colored differently to prevent accidental misuse while others produce different odors so you can tell them apart when they are being burned.


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Can you really tell the difference if you burn the two variants of oil in a truck or older diesel car?

[Egalitarian Thug]

1. Sure, in any diesel vehicle older than 2007. n/t

[dipsydoodle]

2. Here in the UK they use different colours

so's if it came to it the police / HM Customs could detect other than automotive diesel being used in a car or truck - considerably different tax/duty bands on differing fuel types. Never heard of a car getting a spin - trucks yes.

Odd notes here for example
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071130014800AA1LRmQ

Had a friend with an old VW van who ran it at times using vegetable oil from Costcos. Used to get funny looks when stationary in traffic at bus stops whatever. Not nearly as funny as back in 1963 when we used to run neat RedX fuel additive through a tube into the carb while stationary - made the entire bus queue disappear in white smoke when we pulled away. Managed to make an entire filling station disappear on one occasion.

[longship]

3. The only difference is the color.

Fuel oil is fuel oil, whether you call it diesel or heating oil.

I heat by fuel oil. It's the same shit that truckers pump into their tanks to drive cross country with WalMart goods. The difference is that diesel fuel is taxed (like gasoline) and heating fuel isn't.

But it's the same shit. But they color it so that one can tell the difference. I know. It's mind boggling.

[TheBlackAdder]

4. Vehicular diesel fuel is low-sulfur.

It they are putting residential fuel oil in their trucks, they're skirting highway taxes and adding to the pollution.

Also, home heating oil is not held to the same purity standards, introducing impurities that could damage a vehicle. You could get stuck with junk oil or older oil.

[Demo_Chris]

5. They also sell agricultural fuel for farm equipment and vehicles....

Same diesel, but a different color or something. Apparently someone decided that big rig owners could afford monstrous taxes but farmers and ranchers could not. Taxes are the main reason diesel fuel is so expensive.

[TexasProgresive]

7. The tax on gasoline and diesel fuels used

in cars and trucks is a road tax. Ag equipment rarely uses the roads and are therefore exempt. Boats are probably exempt as well.

[Archae]

6. My Dad used to deliver fuel oil for Kerr-McGee.

And there was a running gag there, the lighter kerosene-type fuel oil was called "#1 fuel oil."

The more commonly used, heavier fuel oil was called "#2 fuel oil."

(You're seeing this one coming, right?)

The guys Dad worked with said it was called "#2 fuel oil" because it smelled like shit.

[solarhydrocan]

8. Maybe if the Government hadn't forced Chrysler to abandon their turbine car

it wouldn't matter.

See, the Chrysler Turbine Car could run on unleaded gasoline, kerosene, JP-4 jet fuel, vegetable oil, peanut oil, French perfume, brandy and even tequila. Almost anything flammable.

And there was no radiator, no antifreeze, no carburetor, no pistons, no smog, and only one spark plug. And no oil changes. Ever.

But when the Feds bailed out Chrysler in 1980, a condition of the bailout was the termination of the program.

The US could be energy independent if DC wanted it so. But they do not.