D Team Brothers
Expert Expediter
Recently told to use D2 deisel (ULSD) in our new truck. Can someone explain what different types of deisel fuels are out there, what the differences are?
Deisel Fuel grades
- Thread starter D Team Brothers
- Start date
greg334
Veteran Expediter
I don't think there are any other grades that you can get on a regular basis.
http://www.chevron.com/products/ourfuels/prodserv/
They have some explanation about Diesel, they used to have a really good book that you could download but it is gone.
http://www.chevron.com/products/ourfuels/prodserv/
They have some explanation about Diesel, they used to have a really good book that you could download but it is gone.
Diesel fuel is refined from crude oil. During the refining process, different hydrocarbon compounds are distilled from the crude. On one end of the spectrum is the barely-there light gases such as methane and propane, and at the other end is the thick, gooey fun stuff like heavy tar and asphalt.
In between are naphtha (cleaning solvent), gasoline, kerosene (jet fuel), diesel fuel (D1, D2, D4), heating oil (D5, D6), and lubricants (motor oil, grease), and so on.
D1 diesel is very close to kerosene, while D2 is a slightly heavier (thicker) distillate, and being heavier than D1, that makes D2 a little cheaper, as well as it having more lubricity. D1 has about 95% of the heat energy of D2, so you'll get better fuel mileage with the D2 diesel. D1 has more volatility, so in the winter you can mix D1 (or kerosene) with D2 to lower the cloud point of the fuel, which is essentially winterizing the fuel.
D2 is cheaper to manufacture than D1, which is cheaper to manufacture than is kerosene, which is cheaper to manufacture than is gasoline. So why is diesel more expens.... never mind. I digress.
D4 diesel (generally referred to as marine diesel) is used in larger, low speed engines, and in applications requiring a constant speed and load, like irrigation pumps, many of those hammer-rocker oil pumps you see out in the fields of Oklahoma and Texas, river boats and large ship engines, stuff like that.
So basically, D2 diesel is what you find out there in all the pumps. D2 diesel is designed to give trouble-free performance at temperature of 14F degrees and above.
At temps between -4F and 14F, winterized D2 or regular D1 should be used, or, regular D2 with a fuel flow improver.
In the absence of D1 or winterized fuels, a mixture of 70% D2 and 30% kerosene gives you the same thing (just make sure to add the kerosene to the tank first, then add the diesel).
At temps below -4F, a 50/50 mix of D2 and kerosene can be used.
In North America, places where winterized fuel is needed, that's what will be sold at the pumps, so for the most part you aren't going to have to worry too much about D1 or kerosene mixtures. Of course, if you buy fuel in Nashville, TN and then take a load to Havre, MT, the fuel in your tank won't be Montana winterized, and that's where a fuel flow improver, like Power Service, Howes, etc., comes in handy.
Don't load up with D1 and than add kerosene to that, too. Kerosene will cut D2 down to what amounts to, essentially, D1 diesel. But the compounds made when cutting D1 with kerosene make is something much closer to gasoline, and you don't want to put gasoline, or even something that close to it, in your diesel engine.
Slow and steady, even in expediting, wins the race - Aesop
In between are naphtha (cleaning solvent), gasoline, kerosene (jet fuel), diesel fuel (D1, D2, D4), heating oil (D5, D6), and lubricants (motor oil, grease), and so on.
D1 diesel is very close to kerosene, while D2 is a slightly heavier (thicker) distillate, and being heavier than D1, that makes D2 a little cheaper, as well as it having more lubricity. D1 has about 95% of the heat energy of D2, so you'll get better fuel mileage with the D2 diesel. D1 has more volatility, so in the winter you can mix D1 (or kerosene) with D2 to lower the cloud point of the fuel, which is essentially winterizing the fuel.
D2 is cheaper to manufacture than D1, which is cheaper to manufacture than is kerosene, which is cheaper to manufacture than is gasoline. So why is diesel more expens.... never mind. I digress.
D4 diesel (generally referred to as marine diesel) is used in larger, low speed engines, and in applications requiring a constant speed and load, like irrigation pumps, many of those hammer-rocker oil pumps you see out in the fields of Oklahoma and Texas, river boats and large ship engines, stuff like that.
So basically, D2 diesel is what you find out there in all the pumps. D2 diesel is designed to give trouble-free performance at temperature of 14F degrees and above.
At temps between -4F and 14F, winterized D2 or regular D1 should be used, or, regular D2 with a fuel flow improver.
In the absence of D1 or winterized fuels, a mixture of 70% D2 and 30% kerosene gives you the same thing (just make sure to add the kerosene to the tank first, then add the diesel).
At temps below -4F, a 50/50 mix of D2 and kerosene can be used.
In North America, places where winterized fuel is needed, that's what will be sold at the pumps, so for the most part you aren't going to have to worry too much about D1 or kerosene mixtures. Of course, if you buy fuel in Nashville, TN and then take a load to Havre, MT, the fuel in your tank won't be Montana winterized, and that's where a fuel flow improver, like Power Service, Howes, etc., comes in handy.
Don't load up with D1 and than add kerosene to that, too. Kerosene will cut D2 down to what amounts to, essentially, D1 diesel. But the compounds made when cutting D1 with kerosene make is something much closer to gasoline, and you don't want to put gasoline, or even something that close to it, in your diesel engine.
Slow and steady, even in expediting, wins the race - Aesop
It's actually a federal offense to use anything but ULSD in a new truck with a DPF . The problem is while refineries are required to have ULSD 85% of their production stations aren't required to sell it until 2010 . Where there are 2 Pilots at the same exit usually 1 will have ULSD , the other won't . No Pilots in NC have ULSD . The Challenge magazine Pilot gives away has a directory in the back telling which Pilots have ULSD .
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Turtle,
Kind of funny thing here, the Exxon processing manual I got from Exxon says they thin diesel with gasoline or Naphtha depending on the end use. Are they wrong or did I mis-read the book?
I know of several people who use gasoline as an additive in their trucks for very cold weather ops. One lives up west of Prudhoe Bay and does not shut his truck off unless he really has to.
Something I do know is when bio-fuels are created based on Sunflower seeds, Olives and Avocados, the use of Gasoline is a must to thin out the oil and to add some needed ingredients needed to stabilize the oil for long term use which the Gasoline used is pump or consumer blended grade. Gasoline however is not used with WVO or bio-diesel based on VO.
Kind of funny thing here, the Exxon processing manual I got from Exxon says they thin diesel with gasoline or Naphtha depending on the end use. Are they wrong or did I mis-read the book?
I know of several people who use gasoline as an additive in their trucks for very cold weather ops. One lives up west of Prudhoe Bay and does not shut his truck off unless he really has to.
Something I do know is when bio-fuels are created based on Sunflower seeds, Olives and Avocados, the use of Gasoline is a must to thin out the oil and to add some needed ingredients needed to stabilize the oil for long term use which the Gasoline used is pump or consumer blended grade. Gasoline however is not used with WVO or bio-diesel based on VO.
Greg, no, they aren't wrong, and you didn't mis-read the book. More likely, I didn't word what I was trying to say properly. Thinning diesel with gasoline is one thing, but putting pure gasoline into your diesel engine is quite another.
When you thin D2 for cold weather operations, you can do it with anything thinner, usually D1 or kerosene, because you on't lose as much lubricity when you cut D2 with something that's already as close to D2 as possible. But you can certainly go thinner with something like gasoline or naptha. The thinner you go (kerosene, gasoline, naptha) the more lubricity you lose, which is why you want to thin D2 with D1 if you can, then kerosene, and then work your way up the line of thinner distillates that way.
Slow and steady, even in expediting, wins the race - Aesop
When you thin D2 for cold weather operations, you can do it with anything thinner, usually D1 or kerosene, because you on't lose as much lubricity when you cut D2 with something that's already as close to D2 as possible. But you can certainly go thinner with something like gasoline or naptha. The thinner you go (kerosene, gasoline, naptha) the more lubricity you lose, which is why you want to thin D2 with D1 if you can, then kerosene, and then work your way up the line of thinner distillates that way.
Slow and steady, even in expediting, wins the race - Aesop
Broompilot
Veteran Expediter
You stated you have a new truck?
If it is a 07 Engine or 08 you had better make sure you use only .15 per million or ULSD which is the same. Otherwise its gona be expensive repair.
I saw this myself last year at the Kenworth Dealer. A salesman took a brand new T-2000 and filled it for a customer less than a mile down the road. It never made it back, the repairs????? But the General Mgr in charge of Service the look on his face said enough.
Brand new truck was still in the repair bay three days later when I got my truck, (needed parts).
If it is a 07 Engine or 08 you had better make sure you use only .15 per million or ULSD which is the same. Otherwise its gona be expensive repair.
I saw this myself last year at the Kenworth Dealer. A salesman took a brand new T-2000 and filled it for a customer less than a mile down the road. It never made it back, the repairs????? But the General Mgr in charge of Service the look on his face said enough.
Brand new truck was still in the repair bay three days later when I got my truck, (needed parts).
D Team Brothers
Expert Expediter
Thank you everyone f0r the informative information. Yes, we have an 08 Western Star with a MBE 4000 engine - and we will only use USLD! One thing we are finding (as mentioned) is finding USLD is not always easy, so we fuel up frequently so that if we find ourselves in an area without USLD we're not caught in a bind. Thanks again.