I am a newbie diesel engine owner and I am just wondering who sells the best quality diesel fuel for heavy duty pickups? Unlike regular gasoline where the price is indicative of the quality and usually the more reputable stations have better quality fuel, does this also hold true for diesel fuel?
Where I live, the diesel prices vary as much as $0.35 a gallon from station to station. If all diesel is created equal, I am not gonna waste my money buying it from a "Premium" station.
Here is a list of the most common stations in my area and their current prices:
The only thing I have seen listed on the pumps are the disclaimer that they are ULSD and are 15ppm or less sulfer content. I haven't looked at the B-20 pumps yet but am not sure if I can run that in my truck or not (2010 6.4L) anyways so I haven't considered it.
Any advice or feedback from you fellow diesel owners would be greatly appreciated.
Do not use B-20 bio-diesel. Your engine is rated for B-5. As far as "best quality" goes, it's a crap shoot. Premium diesel fuels generally have more additives in them for lubricity, detergents for injectors, etc. It doesn't necessarily mean that the cetane # is higher. Industry standard minimum cetane in the US is 40. Typical cetane #'s are 42-45. You won't see the sticker on the pump for cetane rating like the gas pump has for octane. God only knows why not. To put it in simple terms; No, it probably doesn't really matter which station you go to. Get the best price fuel and use your own fuel additive.
Your best bet is to fill up with whatever station sells the most and therefore gets replinished the most frequently. What I have found with the differences in prices per gallon is prices change when they get a new load in. If prices drop and the station gets a new load, their prices will generally drop.
Gas stations that don't sell a lot of diesel are best to stay away from as they are likely to have water or debris in the fuel. Same is true with gas.
Thanks for the feedback guys. I think I will stick with getting it from the cheaper stations as I know they sell quite a bit of it and out here in Idaho, it is so dry, we normally don't have to worry about water in the fuel. I might try supplementing it with some PM-22-A Cetane booster and see if it effects performance and/or regen frequencies.
On a side note, can anyone tell me why Shell is $.20 a gallon higher than anyone else and has the same cetane rating as Diamond Shamrock? (Valero)
That is basically what I was asking.....sounds like the big names (i.e. Chevron, Mobil, Shell, etc....) can charge more because of the reputations of higher quality gasolines and people feel comfortable paying more for their diesel even though it sounds like it is all the same....
That is basically what I was asking.....sounds like the big names (i.e. Chevron, Mobil, Shell, etc....) can charge more because of the reputations of higher quality gasolines and people feel comfortable paying more for their diesel even though it sounds like it is all the same....
I'm in Colorado and will never buy Diesel from King Soopers as there's not a high enough turnover. I'd rather buy it from the place I see all the other trucks getting theirs from...Diesel sitting grows bugs....I don't see how they charge what they do...They treat it like wine imo....
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