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Today:
It all leaves the Refinery as 85 Octane.
87, 91, 93, 99, 101, 130
are all the result of Ethanol being added to the base 85 octane stock.
the days of buying 97 Octane Real Gas disappeared when the new laws came into effect.
the Exception is Aviation fuel, 100 Octane is Real Gas, no Ethanol, which is why it is more Expensive... costs a lot of money to refine 85 octane gasoline to 100 octane.
I do NOT have any insight as to how Diesel is refined, I just worked around the refineries for 30 years, repairing their Communications Equipment.
I always heard the delivery trucks just carried "regular" 87 octane in one tank and "premium" (varies by locality) in the other and 89 "midgrade" was really just a mixture of the two the pump would do you for you. I have seen this with 50/50 pumps of #1 and #2 diesel in Montana where you could literally see the color change back and forth between the clear #1 fuel and the greenish/blue tinted #2.
Today:
It all leaves the Refinery as 85 Octane.
87, 91, 93, 99, 101, 130
are all the result of Ethanol being added to the base 85 octane stock.
the days of buying 97 Octane Real Gas disappeared when the new laws came into effect.
the Exception is Aviation fuel, 100 Octane is Real Gas, no Ethanol, which is why it is more Expensive... costs a lot of money to refine 85 octane gasoline to 100 octane.
I do NOT have any insight as to how Diesel is refined, I just worked around the refineries for 30 years, repairing their Communications Equipment.
Stations carry all grades of pure gas with no ethanol added, some stations carry recreational fuel which is I believe 90 octane with no ethanol. I don't see how the ethanol can create the varied octane ratings when they are using the same percentage in all grades at the pumps that have ethanol mix.
Funny how a forum on diesels is fixated on gasoline.
you are getting ripped off if you buy fuel from the big truck stops; there's a huge markup at those places. There's nothing wrong with buying fuel from the smaller fuel stations. I have used fuel all over the country, driven over a million miles in the past 10 years and mostly get my fuel at smaller stations with truck pumps.
you are getting ripped off if you buy fuel from the big truck stops; there's a huge markup at those places. There's nothing wrong with buying fuel from the smaller fuel stations. I have used fuel all over the country, driven over a million miles and mostly get my fuel at smaller stations with truck pumps.
I understand your logic though.
100% agree with you here. Doesn’t need to be a big rig truck stop, but does need to have a good turnover in fuel.
I got bit by the mom and pop bad diesel last year.
Shoulda seen what was in the tank, the pump, and even what made it into the fuel bowl.
Wow
that's a bad deal right there. That's probably exactly what John was talking about. Definitely needs a good turnover rate and they need to keep up on their filtration. I guess I've been lucky and probably helps that the stations I have gone to have semi's on a regular basis (so turnover is higher)
years ago I watched a show proving that higher octane fuel does not reach it's claim...similar to what John mentioned yesterday. I believe here in Colorado we have 85/ 87/ 91. We used to have a couple stations with 93 but they don't exist anymore. I have run all 3 grades and haven't noticed any benefits...at least in butt dyno respects as well as engine running any different. Maybe internally there is a difference but I think that's more the additives than octane. They also say the octane boosters are a similar comparison to gas octane ratings. it's mainly marketing BS IIRC.
here, all fuel seems the same but different additives. up north you start getting into bio blended fuels ( I think that's what they call it) looks like crap but seems to work. In my semi, it didn't make any differences in performance or economy, but crap mileage can't get too much crappier can it
Anyway, like John said...we only have a few sources of petroleum, similar to batteries and other things....A few companies that supply all companies. So how could there be different tiers
one is Phillips66 and the other is a little mom and pop convenience store.
I see people buy fuel there, but I have the P66 Discount fuel app on my phone, and get a 15c/gallon lower rate than the mom and pop can do...
the closest place is Talala 6 miles north, and they are always 25 to 35 c/gallon higher.
next closest is Claremore/Owasso with a lot of major brands including Sams Club and Walmart... the fuel cost to go there offsets the lower price though, it is 40 mile round trip.
Somewhere I read that top tier diesel was sold at the big names like Exxon, Chevron, Shell, Texaco etc. I don't really know if it's really any different though. I normally buy Chevron except in CA where Chevron went with biodiesel as their "renewable" while the other names went with R95 and R99 which is not biodiesel and it a superior fuel. When I travel I look for busy places and I avoid biodiesel. In AZ that tends to be Chevron or Shell, in NM it is Phillips 66 and Maverick for me. The two things I pay attention to the most are avoiding biodiesel and buying from busy places. I know our old trucks could care less about biodiesel but I can't use it in my 2 newer diesels so I avoid it altogether, mostly because of it's reduced btus and it's tendency to collect moisture. Biodiesel is anything B20 or higher, ULSD can contain up to 5% biodiesel which isn't an issue and adds lubricity.
Some places in Oregon like T/A and Petro sell R99, and I have no idea what it actually is. I know that bright yellow B20 crap they typically sell in OR and MN during the summer is a good way to lose noticeable power and MPG. Montana on the other hand has really good quality Cenex fuel. You do notice these little details hauling over the road for long enough. The fuel is crap in some places and fantastic in others.
Some places in Oregon like T/A and Petro sell R99, and I have no idea what it actually is. I know that bright yellow B20 crap they typically sell in OR and MN during the summer is a good way to lose noticeable power and MPG. Montana on the other hand has really good quality Cenex fuel. You do notice these little details hauling over the road for long enough. The fuel is crap in some places and fantastic in others.
At the Sprinter forum we did a ton of research on R99 to the point of even contacting refinery engineers and one Zoom call. I can say with confidence R99 and R95 are excellent fuels for any diesel and they meet or exceed the ASTM D975 specification for diesel fuel, which biodiesel does not. The Sprinter owners that live in CA, WA and OR actually prefer it to ULSD. So don't fear it.
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