15 PPM ULSD Available Anywhere?

retmil46 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 05, 2005 1:25 pm

OK, here's a potentially a stupid question. After reading some of the posts on the thread concerning engineers, engines, and morons, I checked the owner's manual. And on page 281, under fuel requirements, there is a big note that says DC recommends using diesel fuel with a sulfur content of 15 ppm or less when available.

OK, I know that other than CA the refineries aren't required to start making ULSD until June of '06, and that straight B100 biodiesel is essentially sulfur-free.

My question is, are there any brands of regular #2 dino out there that are already selling essentially ULSD, 15 ppm sulfur or less, someplace other than CA?

If not, has anyone done any research to see which if any brands already have a significantly lower sulfur content than their competitors? If you can't get ULSD, and you can't get bio, at least you could get something with the lowest sulfur content possible when you're on the road.

oldnavy · **Posted:** Sat Nov 05, 2005 2:26 pm

There are several places all over the country, TX, NJ and few others, were it's being used in a commercial market that have their own fuel centers. That however doesn't help us much, because these places don't sell to the public. As a general rule we are just stuck till next year and we can only hope that nothing screws up till then. I really don't thiong you have any thing to really worry about for that short of a period of time as long as you use the cetane boosters and stay away from the mom & pop stations and buy at places that have a high turnover of fuel like truck stops.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 05, 2005 2:51 pm

Yeah, that and stick with my B20 blend.

Been considering a possible change in where I'm buying B20. Place right now is 20 miles to the east, a convenience store setup that's been there for years, underground tanks, only one pump. However, they also provide fuel to all the city, county, and state vehicles in the area, so probably a high turnover on their fuel. And they're also part of the NC state program for promoting biodiesel and therefore have to meet all the applicable quality standards.

Other place is 20 miles to the north, close to where I-40 and I-77 cross, right off an exit on I-40. Big truck stop, high turnover rate, but don't know if they're part of the state program yet (ie quality of fuel). Might run up there this weekend and check them out.

Found a bio distributor in the same area as the convenience store, says they carry all blends, might give them a call and see if they'd be willing to deliver a 55 gallon drum of B100 every few weeks.

spoonplugger1 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 05, 2005 2:57 pm

ConocoPhillips everywhere has had low sulphur fuel for some time now.

oldnavy · **Posted:** Sat Nov 05, 2005 5:06 pm

spoonplugger1 wrote:

ConocoPhillips everywhere has had low sulphur fuel for some time now.

Everyone has low sulfur fuel now for quite a few years, (450<>550 PPM sulfur) but not the new Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (15<>55 PPM sulfur) that becomes manatory next June. It's only available to the public in CA and I have heard there was some in TX but I not sure if that's correct.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Sun Nov 06, 2005 3:21 am

Checked on the Chevron website. According to their info, the TxLED requirements still allow up to 500 ppm sulfur. But, on the bright side, they're requiring it to be a low aromatic blend with a minimum cetane number of 48. Was supposed to take effect back on Nov 1st, but they delayed it by at least a month due to the effects of the hurricane double whammy. Only affects 100 counties in the eastern part of the state (basically I-35 corridor and east from there)

Down side? The biodiesel producers now have to start from scratch, have their biodiesel tested by the state and certified as meeting the new emissions requirements, before it can be blended with TxLED (Texas Low Emission Diesel).

Next year they'll fall in line with everyone else and go to 15 ppm ULSD.

Well, at least my friends down in Texas will be happy to hear about the cetane rating. They live 30 miles southeast of Austin, in one of the 100 counties affected.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Sun Nov 06, 2005 3:58 am

Made it up to the truck stop on I-40 this afternoon. In the truck diesel area, they had 20 pumps, with 10 of them set up for B20!!!

Price was the same as at the convenience store I'd been previously, 2.99 for B20, 2.89 for rotgut #2.

And being a large truck stop, inside their store they had all the appropriate Power Service additives in stock. I was quite the happy camper.

I was down to 3/4 tank, so out of courtesy after spending several minutes quizzing the attendant about their setup, and to show them there was someone locally who wanted B20, I decided to go ahead and top off.

Problem was, I pulled into the middle set of B20 pumps. First pump i tried had the large nozzle with a ring on the end, wouldn't even begin to fit. Next pump had the same size nozzle but no ring on the end, so the last 2 inches of the nozzle would just barely fit. Then had to just barely squeeze the handle, only pumping something like a gallon per minute or less, any more and it would shut off. Took something like ten minutes to squeeze in 8 gallons, developed a major cramp in my hand.

And to top it all off, just as it was getting up to 8 gallons, like an idiot I was watching the gallons display on the pump and thinking "this thing ought to be cutting off any time now" (had 200 miles on the tank). Just as it hit 8.1 gallons I heard the sound of liquid splashing on the ground.

Sure enough, I was pumping so slow the auto shutoff on the nozzle didn't work, and B20 was running out of the filler neck down the side of the CRD. :cry:

Fortunately, I carry a roll of shop towels in the back to clean up any spillage when adding Power Service, and wiped everything down, while at the same time resurrecting some of that choice vocabulary I learned during 20 years in the Navy.

As if to add insult to injury, while walking to the store to pay, I noticed that the pair of B20 pumps closest to the store had the smaller automotive nozzles on them. If I'd bothered to spend a couple minutes checking out the pumps, I could have saved myself a major PITA.

It was nearly dark when I got home, so I'll have to wait until first thing tomorrow morning to get out and give the beast a good washdown, so the residual B20 doesn't affect the plastic and paint.

oldnavy · **Posted:** Sun Nov 06, 2005 7:41 am

retmil46 Welcome to the world of diesel shipmate. Here is a link to the VW diesel forum I have been a member of for several years and this is a thread about funny things that happen at the pump.
VW TDI Forum

fireman1028 · **Posted:** Sun Nov 06, 2005 10:05 am

retmil46,
Do you ever venture down to Charlotte? There is a Fuel Land Station in Pineville that is selling B20, They just started about 1 month ago and not many people have figured it out yet (no lines).

Its funny how we can have full discussions on gas stations to buy fuel at. That is one of the funny things of owning a diesel. I had a VW Jetta TDI about 5 years ago and even before I got the CRD I would get excited when I saw premium Diesel or Bio at a station.

ITS GOOD TO BE BACK!!

retmil46 · **Posted:** Sun Nov 06, 2005 12:19 pm

fireman1028 wrote:

retmil46,
Do you ever venture down to Charlotte? There is a Fuel Land Station in Pineville that is selling B20, They just started about 1 month ago and not many people have figured it out yet (no lines).

Its funny how we can have full discussions on gas stations to buy fuel at. That is one of the funny things of owning a diesel. I had a VW Jetta TDI about 5 years ago and even before I got the CRD I would get excited when I saw premium Diesel or Bio at a station.

ITS GOOD TO BE BACK!!

Thanks, I'd heard about that one and wondered which part of Charlotte it was in. Unfortunately, it's on the wrong side of Charlotte to be of any use to me, and the wrong direction as far as commuting to work. I'm 25 miles north of Charlotte, and work is another 20 miles further northeast.

Would have been a nice setup back in the day, when i was stationed in Charleston for a few years and it was only a 4 hour drive to get home on the weekends.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Sun Nov 06, 2005 12:42 pm

The one silver lining about the overflow experience, with that beast starting to overflow just as it hit 8 gallons, is 200 miles/8 gallons = roughly 25 MPG, another 1 MPG increase over last tank. Might even be better than than, because I don't really know much of that ended up on the ground. That's what really pissed me off about the whole experience, not spilling diesel down the side of the CRD, but not being able to do an accurate MPG calculation.

Another silver lining - this was the first time I'd had this CRD on the interstate, 25 miles up I-77 and I-40 to get to this place. I was all grins from ear to ear, this beast was made for hauling butt down the interstate. I might start going to this place to refuel just so I have an excuse to take it out for a good fast run. At least next time I'll know which bloody pump to use!!!

15 PPM ULSD Available Anywhere?

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