Farm Fuel Use

[DieselDavy]

Question for Electronic 6.5 guys. My brother uses his 97 6.5 on the farm. Don't bother to give me the routine on ethics. He asked if there was any info here concerning ill effects of using farm fuel on the electronic IPs. I didn't do a search yet, just thought I would ask here. I seem to remember reading about it's use here some time ago. Something about an optical sensor inside the pump could be effected. Any useful info would be welcomed.
Thanks,
Dave

[catmandoo]

the red and green fuels are supposed to be the same just with a different dye but i swear that the farm or red works better the only drawback to using it is a 25,000 fine.don't know about indiana butyears ago here in iowa the dept of ag if i remember correctly used to go around to livestock auctions and check the pickups in the lot for farm fuel i've heard of several people that got charged for it but never heard the outcome whether they got fined or not.but most farmers use it anyway.

[autocrosser]

In NC the DOT folks have taken to stopping ALL diesel vehicles at check points and looking for farm diesel. the fine is very stiff according to a DOT guy I talked to. There is a federal fine, a state fine and a fine for each gallon of fuel in the vehicle and they can go back and check your storage tank and also check to see how much you have bought from the distributor and issue a fine based on that.

My neighbor buys the farm diesel but pays the taxes on it so he runs it in his powerstroke and tractors.

I have heard that the red dye can cloud the optical sensor on the pump after a period of use and cause it to not read correctly but don really know if that is true.

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

I ran ≈ 200 gallons of dyed through my 95 pickup back in September & October of 2001, for completely legitimate reasons. I had no ill effects, but maybe I got lucky.

I intend to do the same next spring, so this information will be of interest to me also.

I'm doing this to burn fuel we have at work for our backup genset (I have a letter saying I paid the road use taxes). I thought it might be a good idea to do this every couple of years. What do you think?

Blessings!

Brian Johnson, #5044

'82 6.2 1500 4X4 1/2T pickup, 4spd man w/ OD, bone stock, 335K+, "In Rust We Trust"
'89 6.2 4X4 1/2T pickup, bone stock, 146K+
'95 6.5TD 2500 4X4 heavy 3/4T pickup, Gear Vendors Aux. OD, 184K +
'95 6.5TD 1500 4X4 3/4T Suburban, Kennedy exhaust, 200K +

[DieselDavy]

I knew this post would generate all the "watch out for the fine routines"! Don't bother, I run "no dye fuel" exclusively. My brother is a big boy and can make his own mind up about the risks. He may pay the taxes on what he uses in the truck. (I doubt it) He farms in Ohio, so I don't know how the police handle the issue and I really don't care.
I recalled threads here about the optical sensor issue but I can't recall if there were ever any definite problems with them or just conjecture on the part of use common folks!
BTW, we here in Ft. Wayne have a big farm show at the largest venue in the area. During one of the farm shows several years ago, DOT folks came into the parking lot and were harassing visitors about doing fuel samples while parked in a county owned lot. The manager of the venue was informed of the DOT's presence. Much to his credit, he immediately ejected them from the property. He told them that if they wanted to set up a roadblock on the state owned highway that went by the venue and check trucks there that was their business, but it was not going to happen to his guests on his lot! No roadblock was set up!

[Kidd]

Where I live it is legal for farmers to run dyed fuel.. all my trucks including my 98 GMC 6.5 have always run farm fuel, never any problem.
Have read about warnings about the optical sensor, but don't know of anyone having problems due to that. Checked with my fuel dealer, he tells me it is a non-issue.

Perhaps they use a different dye south of the border?? :confused:

K.D.

[DieselDavy]

K.D.
Thanks, Thats the kind of answer I was looking for!
Dave

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

I'm sorry you were offended by my answer. I thought I answered in the same spirit as K.D.

Blessings!

Brian Johnson, #5044

[DieselDavy]

;) Brian,
No offence taken here! Actually, none of it offends me, I have pretty thick hide. Anyway, I didn't see anything in your post warning me about fines!
I just tried to steer the subject away from fines and toward the question at hand. Looks like K.D. has just the answer both of us were looking for! Thanks all for the good conversation.
Dave

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

I love this place! The best people, unparalleled tech assistance.

I'm hoping to update my topic "DTC 35 - Help!" pretty soon. It looks like the news is good.

Blessings!

Brian Johnson, #5044

[charliepeterson]

In my shop we run about 30 light duty diesels, 6.2's and 6.5's. The oldest ones are almost fifteen years old. Since day one it's 100% red died fuel. No issues. No fuel addatives either.