this post was submitted on 01 May 2024
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Does this pump also dispense marked fuels through the same hose?
In my province of residence gas stations near farming communities often sell “marked fuel” (fuel with an added red dye in it) that are taxed less, and which are intended for farming machinery, road work equipment, boats, and other non-highway use only. If you’re caught with red-dyed fuel being used for any other purpose you can be charged with an offence, and levied fines or other penalties.
If you dispense a small amount of regular gasoline after another purchaser had bought marked gasoline, the dye in the fuel remaining in the lines likely isn’t diluted enough to tell the difference — and you could (hypothetically) then be charged with possessing marked fuel without the proper paperwork.
(Anywhere I’ve ever seen marked fuels sold usually has a separate hose for the marked fuel to be dispensed from to prevent this from happening — but I don’t know your gas station or where you live, so maybe they rely on dilution rather than separation to differentiate?)
The rural area i live in has pumps thst give non-ethanol fuel but is not dyed and costs more than the e85 they sell. No placards anywhere stating any federal fueling minimums either. I routinely fill a 2 gallon tank of nonethanol for my old yard equipment and have never had an issue
I don't think marked ~~girl~~ gas necessarily has no ethanol. It's just tax free.
Edit: typo
how often do the police pull people over to check their fuel color though?
It is not uncommon for semi trucks and other heavy haul vehicles to be checked. They can frequently hold several hundred gallons of fuel. So there's a real cost saving using off-road diesel. Though if I remember correctly fine is $10,000 for the first offense so that wipes out your savings pretty quickly.
i am learning so much today
Yeah last time I checked off-road diesel was about 50 cents cheaper than on road diesel. So 50 cents times 100/200 gallons, can save you some money. Especially if you do it regularly. And I totally didn't check to see if it was worth running in my diesel truck, you have no evidence.
Oh and for when they check, it is usually at DOT weigh stations. If they decide to do a random check or they see something wrong with your truck. They will do an inspection and usually dip a tank. Or at a traffic stop, it is usually only a state patrol that bothers, but if you're unlucky enough to get pulled over in a semi truck. It is not outside the realm of possibility the officer will decide to dip your tank.
Hmmm. So if you're a regular driver who's driving a small diesel car or SUV they might never think to check the fuel.
Yep it's very unlikely that they would ever dip a tank on a private vehicle. I've heard of a few people getting their diesel pickups checked, but it's very uncommon. It's also much harder to do you can't directly dip the tank because of anti-siphon devices. You have to open the petcock on the water separator/fuel filter. So you have to know where that is you have to have a little container to catch the diesel in and you're much more likely to get messy. It is not worth a police officer's trouble really.
I'm definitely put off road diesel in my pickup truck a few times. Mostly when I was short on fuel and needed to get to town. Though I have known a few guys who run it regularly without consequence. Though it was mostly due to convenience opposed to tax invasion. They're already on the ranch there's already diesel fuel there and sometimes the boss is letting you fill up for free or more likely they are the boss.
I definitely wouldn't pull up to an off-road diesel fuel pump and just pump it into my truck. That's a little too obvious.
Easier to check driver color.
holy racist
About as often as they check how many gallons of gas you pumped.
I can't say for Canada but in the USA I have never seen or heard of off-road gasoline. And I worked enough farms and ranches that at least one of them would have been using it if it existed. So I highly doubt this is an off road tax reason.
Edit - it seems some people maybe thinking I am talking about off road diesel. I am not, I am specifically referring to only unleaded gasoline.
I talked to a farmer in Kansas (near Colby, iirc) who had his own gas pump for farm/off-road use only, so it does exist here. Probably only found on pretty big farms though.
Just curious are you sure that was gasoline and not off-road diesel? Off-road diesel is very common and almost all farm equipment is diesel.
Good point, it was a long time ago, so I don't recall if he said gas, fuel, diesel or something else related
I know you weren’t directly questioning my assertion, but in case anyone else happens to think I’m just blowing smoke: Coloured Fuel | DriveSmart BC.
Yep definitely not questioning your assertion. I try to do my best to not tell other people how their country works when I don't live there, I'm mostly successful
No, it exists in the States. I used to be a truck driver, and we used marked fuel in our refrigerator units all the time since those engines are not powering a highway vehicle.
Really where? I've straight up asked farm fuel delivery services and they said it was not something they could provide. Interesting, I wonder if they were being lazy or it has to do with state taxes or what.
Edit - your reefers weren't diesel? Most of the reefers I've ever seen had those little three-cylinder Perkins in them. But I've never worked as a trucker so I wouldn't know for sure.
Yes, they were diesel. I don't think it's as common nowadays as it was when I was driving because I don't see the separate off-highway pumps at truck stops anymore. It was always a common thing at smaller, independent truck stops, and those are all but extinct, it seems.
So you are talking about off road diesel not off road gasoline. Correct? I am very familiar with off road diesel, but I can't find any reference to off road gasoline
Off road gasoline is rare and varies by district, here in Canada I grew up in BC and we had "purple gas" and "red diesel" but purple gas was only sold at very specific stations, usually near parks where people would put it in ATVs and boats.
Now I live in SK and we only have "dyed diesel" which is your standard red farm stuff. You can get a discount on gasoline delivered to a farm tank, but there's no colorant added and almost nobody does it anyways, since gasoline goes stale and isn't used in farm equipment.
Myself I converted my remaining gasoline equipment to propane and run heating propane in it. The only gas burners left are lawnmowers, quads and a farm truck.
Yes, I'm talking about red diesel.
I used died gasoline in a boat.
Is it common? I have never been a boat person.
It's not uncommon, but not as common as died diesel of various types. A marina in Orange Beach Alabama sold a died diesel called locomotive diesel that is apparently different in composition from agricultural diesel.
Sadly the tax advantages is absorbed by the vendor as they are located in the water.
Interesting, what color do they dye it.
Looking up locomotive diesel. It didn't switch to ultra low sulfur for 5ish years after over the road diesel. I would bet it has a higher Cetane, probably some closer heavy fuel oil.
It was dyed the same red and slightly cheaper than other marine diesel.