Premium diesel fuel: is it worth it?

[Man With A Gun]

Or does it cause problems?

[Man With A Gun]

Premium diesel fuel around here costs 45¢ more per gallon than the regular stuff.

Has a higher cetane rating and more detergents. I'm curious what you other diesel fuel folks are buying, and what you try to avoid when out on the road on a long trip.

[Man With A Gun]

Nobody?

[SKR]

I wouldn't bother with it. I don't have any science to back that up, but I've never felt let down by regular diesel. I wouldn't expect premium diesel to have any difference in power that you can feel, and mileage varies so much depending on load, terrain and weather that I don't think you'd be able to measure an increase.

[rideair]

Yes, I've used and have two friends as well.

Myself and one friend like it in our 2000/2002 F250 7.3 diesel, more pep, a little better mileage.

My other friend will only use it if he plans to run it out quickly and not let it for a long period of time. He claims, the higher cetane diesel will grow algae clogging up filters, etc... if it's allowed to sit for a long time (a year or more).

I've also heard the higher cetane stuff both "off-road" and "on-road" will work great in your household furnace to heat your house in the winter time!

Were I live, Southern States sells the 50 cetane for the same price as others do the regular stuff, so we fill up whenever passing by, but don't go out of the way to get there.

Hope this helps,

[buffydores]

Originally Posted by rideair

Yes, I've used and have two friends as well.

Myself and one friend like it in our 2000/2002 F250 7.3 diesel, more pep, a little better mileage.

My other friend will only use it if he plans to run it out quickly and not let it for a long period of time. He claims, the higher cetane diesel will grow algae clogging up filters, etc... if it's allowed to sit for a long time (a year or more).

I've also heard the higher cetane stuff both "off-road" and "on-road" will work great in your household furnace to heat your house in the winter time!

Were I live, Southern States sells the 50 cetane for the same price as others do the regular stuff, so we fill up whenever passing by, but don't go out of the way to get there.

Hope this helps,

If it has some of the bio-diesel stuff in it, your friend is right. It will grow algae. We had this problem with our tanks at work. We actually switched vendors over it because the vendor was adamant that it wouldn't. We battled with them for the years over the matter. Haven't had an ounce of problems since going away from bio diesel.

[j hannah]

I deliver fuel, I work out of the Tulsa area. The bio in the diesel is mostly used fryer oil from restaurants. It is filtered and they have it in a separate tank by the loading rack. We load it first, usually about a 10% mix if I remember correctly, then pull on the rack and load the diesel into it. It mixes as it loads so they say. I won’t run it in my personal truck (84 k1500 with a 6.2). My truck sits for extended times, and it will clog the fuel system. Beware where you buy your fuel if you don’t want bio. Some stores only place small decals on the dispenser stating it contains bio. Large truck stops like pilot/flying j, loves and t/a have onsite bull bio tanks and blend it onsite.

[Man With A Gun]

Thanks for the help guys.

I'd never heard of the stuff until I bought this diesel Dually. There is only a few places to get ethanol free which is what I use in my gassers. When I got this diesel I went to the station I normally use and the premium diesel is all they had.

It does seem to get about 10% better mileage than the other cheaper stuff. That's just a guesstimate. Haven't tried it under load yet.

For an extra $14-15 per tankful I don't know if I'll keep buying it.

[68longhorn]

Make friends with a transmission shop and get all their old atf. Filter it and run that.

[DieselSJ]

Originally Posted by 68longhorn

Make friends with a transmission shop and get all their old atf. Filter it and run that.

Bad idea. ATF was not designed to burn and leaves lots of soot and ash and carbon.

Run regular pump diesel and add about 1/2oz of 2-stroke oil per gallon of diesel and NO other additives. It has been proven several times that this more than makes up for the lack of lubricity from removing the sulfur. You pump and injectors will love you for it.

[Tom]

I fill up cars at least 4-5 times a day for work. I've never even heard of different diesel fuels. Mind = blown.

[kwmech]

Marvel Mystery oil is also a good additive