I know that heating fuel is just ordinary diesel with a red dye.

Someone has suggested to me that this is an inferior and generally dirtier fuel to regular non dyed vehicle diesel, is this the case?

..........and before anyone asks


I do NOT have access to, or would ever use heating fuel in any of my vehicles 

_________________

Currrent: 2005 FF Range Rover L322 Vogue TD6
Gone: 1999 Range Rover P38 HSE TD6
Gone: 1985 Land Rover 90 SWB diesel

Red diesel is simply diesel which has had dye mixed in to prove it's not had Vat paid.

I know many people who've run this in cars with no problems!!!

And if the Vat man reads this no it's not personal experience as I've two petrol cars ! Lol TDV8 HST Sport **Current**

4.4 V8 Autobiography and 22" wheels **Gone**

Yes, it's the same stuff.

I've been stopped twice near industrial estates (when driving different Land Rovers) and had my tank dipped by the police to check if I'm using the red stuff.

Although it will work fine on most diesel engines, red diesel is not of the same quality or cetane value as white. There are differences in the flash time and the amount of lubricant additives, not enough to prevent it running most engines but there IS a difference.

Not only a red dye either. This can be overcome quite easily but there is also a chemical tag, invisible to the naked eye but it does show up in the soot which can be scraped from your exhaust and subsequently analysed in a lab. This remains in the exhaust system for a very long time, long after any traces of dye have been flushed through.

Last there is the matter that just buying the stuff is near impossible unless you are VAT registered (farmer, haulage firm with fridge trailers etc) or you have oil fired central heating. Even then HMRC do keep a record of quantities used. I buy it for my pressure washer and have had them round once to ensure I actually did have a diesel fired washer. Bear in mind that despite the supposed merger of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs they still operate largely independently. off the taxman by all means but NEVER screw with VAT or Customs. They have more powers than the Police and are infinitely more efficient than any other public body.

And no, I've never been caught doing it, mainly because I never have. If I had I WOULD have been caught, no question. But I do know a couple who have been caught. To say the least, it was not pretty !!

Generally speaking, 1st time you get a fine and a stiff warning. 2nd time the car gets crushed. 3rd time (if you're stupid enough = Jail.

mzplcg wrote:

Generally speaking, 1st time you get a fine and a stiff warning. 2nd time the car gets crushed. 3rd time (if you're stupid enough = Jail.

A mate of mine used to run his daily shed, (Escort TD) on a mix of red diesel and cooking oil, had a few funny looks coming out of Costco with 2, 20l drums of oil then pouring it straight into his car It even ran quite well too, was quicker than my mates Focus TDCI company car  2006 Mercedes CLS
1991 Retro-style Mini
But really finding it hard to fight the urge for a S/C...

I always thought that red diesel being of lower quality was an urban legend. I'd been told it was just dyed diesel by a customs friend of mine. It makes sense to be fair, farmer giles isn't going to put crap in his £100k massey ferguson tractor......

I think you'd be unlucky to get a pull and have your tank dipped but it does stay detectable in the system for ages apparently. My Previous RR's!
2018 P400e Autobiography
2008 TDV8 Vogue
2006 TD6 Vogue
2007 TDV8 Vogue
2007 RRS (I know, it doesn't count!)
2005 4.4 Vogue on LPG
2005 TD6 Vogue
2003 4.4 Vogue
2001 4.6 HSE
2000 2.5 DHSE
1999 4.6 HSE
1997 4.6 HSE on LPG
1995 2.5 DSE
1989 3.9 EFI classic
1988 3.5 EFI classic

Fishermen also get red diesel for their trawlers, just like my employer who gets all the fuel for his fleet of 560 ships duty and VAT free (think how much better off the treasury would be everytime we fuel up at 10,000 tonnes at a time, and the go juice we use is $550 a tonne and is thick black tar!), and airlines who don't pay duty or VAT on their fuel. 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

I know of someone who used to run his LPG RRC on household LPG bottles in the 80's. I think there was a bigger price difference then, nowa days it's not worth the risk.

On an unrelated note, anyone know where I can get a calor gas adaptor? (JOKE) 

Tim in Scotland wrote:

Fishermen also get red diesel for their trawlers, just like my employer who gets all the fuel for his fleet of 560 ships duty and VAT free (think how much better off the treasury would be everytime we fuel up at 10,000 tonnes at a time, and the go juice we use is $550 a tonne and is thick black tar!), and airlines who don't pay duty or VAT on their fuel.

hoppy_70 wrote:

farmer giles isn't going to put crap in his £100k massey ferguson tractor.......

Kurt, my ship does 94rpm flat out on it's 12 cylinder Sulzer. Fuel consumption at 28mph flat out is a problem at 460 tonnes a day though. The fuel is heated to 60c just to make it flow from the storage tanks in the hull to the fuel purification system in the engine room. I don't think we have ever tried to measure the torque - Rolls Royce never used to disclose the torque of their engines, stating that it was "sufficient" - I would say the torque of my ships engine would be described as enough! There is so much that we have to have a speed up program that above 65rpm the engine is computer controlled to speed up at 1rev every 3minutes and from 85 to 94 rpm it's 1 rev every 6minutes!
&feature=youtube_gdata_player 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

95,000hp?

Here's me happy with circa 75-80bhp in the Mini  2006 Mercedes CLS
1991 Retro-style Mini
But really finding it hard to fight the urge for a S/C...

They've managed to up the same model to 115,000hp now by increasing it from 12 to 14 cylinders and 4 turbos (each about 2m in diameter!). 95000hp is so last year............................. 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Tim in Scotland wrote:

4 turbos (each about 2m in diameter!).

Think of the throttle lag.