I've got a chance to get somewhere between 100 and 150 gallons of mostly biodiesel mixed fuel for around $2 a gallon. Only one catch. It was put into a home heating oil tank that had some red-dyed offroad diesel (furnace fuel) still in the tank.

It doesn't have that really red ATF-looking color to it like straight off-road diesel. It only has a reddish-brown tint to it - about as dark as regular LEADED gas used to look (for those of you - like me - who are old enough to remember what leaded gas looked like). I'm guessing it had around 10%-20% red-dyed diesel left in the tank when it was refilled with biodiesel.

So, since I just picked up 3 of those 275 gallon plastic totes (the kind inside a steel cage made out of 3/16" wire) and a 12 volt transfer pump, I'm thinking of buying it off the guy.

If I buy it I figure I'll be pretty safe running it in my Mercedes, but I'm a little more concerned about running it in my truck. I mean, who's ever even heard of a Mercedes getting it's tank "dipped"? Since I'm getting ready to make a 2200 mile trip, to Moab hauling my camper and towing my Jeep, I'd love to figure out a way to take it with me, but I'm afraid that with my luck, I'd end up encountering a roadblock where they're dipping truck tanks.

I'm wondering, if I put some green t-stroke oil - or maybe some filtered WMO into it, will that "disguise" the red coloring? I obvioulsy can't afford to get nailed for burning dyed fuel.

Any thoughts?

 

I think I would pack a few bottles of ATF behind the seat. Used to clean the upper cylinders, a few bottles of 2 cycle oil to help lube because of course the sulfer is almost non existent in today's fuel.

Years ago there used to be Burns Bros truck stops in a few places around the west. They sold a premium grade fuel that was......RED. Of course it was additives but sure was some great fuel to run. Better power, more mileage, engine ran smoother. Fuel anymore is bad and then worse.

 

My idea was same as mistakenID's. Carry empty ATF bottles.

 

MistakenID's idea is a good one,, cary empty and full bottles... and hope that you dont get dipped....how often do you see anyone get stoped...

 

I think if you poured a bottle of ATF in the tank for legitimate reasons it would mask the little bit of dye left over. I could be wrong!

 

Well, I got the fuel home tonight. It is a little redder in bulk than it looked in a sample jar.

The fuel that came out of the underground tank was a little bit dirty so my jeans-leg sock filter ended up being a good idea - it caught a fair amount of rusty looking powder. I'm definitely going to have to filter it really well before putting it into my fuel tank.

The fact that it was a little dirty enabled me to talk the seller down on price - ended up getting 160 gallons for $250 - $1.56 a gallon. Not bad...

 

As far as I know and other people I have talked to, we don't know of anyone who has been stopped and had fuel checked in Idaho or Utah. I have not talked to anyone who has been checked in the western states. California would be high on my suspect list for being a state to get serious about checking but I would think it would be more around the agricultural areas.

I talk to quite a few truck drivers and my wife works for a company with over 5,000 trucks. So far, getting fuel checked has not been a problem for anyone that we have heard.

I have to wonder what the problem would be if a guy used off road or alternative fuel, kept records and sent in the taxes to the appropriate agencies? If you are not evading the taxes, there is no problem. I think it's stupid anyway to waste the amount of resources to check fuel for the no doubt small amount of people who use the fuel "the wrong way". If I need fuel and that's the only tank around to get me going, I'm going to use it. I have filled up more than once off the equipment storage tank when the other tank got empty earlier than expected and fuel delivery was days away.