Where to buy diesel?

[Randy_the_Hack]

OK... so you buy your first diesel powered vehicle. Congratulations! It's a whole new world. You'll need to start watching for those green signs that say "Diesel sold here" and you'll need to start watching for those yellow signs that indicate where the diesel pumps are. You'll quickly learn the difference between diesel and kerosene. Sometimes the handles are green, other times they are yellow. You'll get to enjoy the frustration of there being only 2 diesel pumps at the local station and they're both blocked by people buying gas... even though there are several other gas-only pumps open and available. But one of the biggest concerns is - or should be - where do you buy good, reliable diesel fuel?

Unlike gasoline, you don't just go anywhere to fill up. Yes, you can... but you probably shouldn't. Diesel engines are very susceptible to contaminated fuel. Contaminated fuel can turn your high performance diesel engine into a frustrating, stranding, hard starting, very poor running engine, and a very expensive repair bill.

Something I learned a long, long time ago was to buy diesel fuel where the fuel is fresh - where they sell a lot of it. Truck stops are the first and easiest answer, but not the only answer. Watch for where the commercial vehicles fill up. Dump trucks, trash trucks, snow plows, UPS or FedEx trucks, construction contractors, etc... these guys know this too, and their diesel engines are critical to their business. They know where to buy diesel. If you're hungry and you are looking for a local restaurant, you look for the construction trucks in the parking lot of the local restaurants. You know those guys go where the food is good. Diesel is no different...

So while the Speedway, Marathon, Shell, or Mom and Pop station down the road may sell diesel, if they sell a thousand gallons every other month, you'll be better off looking elsewhere. Statistically, you can probably go anywhere in a pinch, but you will be miles ahead finding a high volume source for diesel, one that sells several thousand gallons a month.

Does this guarantee you're not going to get a bad tank of diesel? Nope. Does it minimize the risk? It does. And why does this belong in the Maintenance forum? Because if you are careful about the fuel you put in your tank, you will keep your maintenance costs on your fuel system low. Your fuel pump, injectors, injector rail, etc. will last you much, much longer, and your new diesel powered car won't leave you stranded at home, on the side of the road, or anywhere else.

Good luck out there...

[70AARCUDA]

...follow the truckers, they know where all the diesel pumps are.

[bartonmd]

Nice thing about the midwest... Any place that sells diesel usually sells quite a bit of it... I get fuel at about any station that gets decent traffic, in my 1st gen Cummins, and it's been fine..

Mike

[Farmer Fran]

Ahhh yes, yet another reason to just get a gas vehicle.

[horsehaulin]

Ahhh yes, yet another reason to just get a gas vehicle.

That makes no sense. You should be just as particular about the fuel going into the tank of your gasser.

You wouldn't buy gas from a mom and pop shop that has four cars fill up a day and might fill their tank once every two months, would you? Thats right, the gas would start the varnish process already and could harm your injection system.

Same for us diesel guys, buy instead of varnish, the fuel can get nasty in other ways. If we want a good running car/truck, we must be picky about our fuel. Buying it from a place with a high turn over means it is fresh and clean.

Remember this, my truck weighs in at all most three times the weight of your car and gets 23MPG on the highway. Want to do a percentage comparison on MPG per pound?

[keveburd]

MPG per pound?

MPGPP! I love math!

[cruzin2012]

Had a diesel Jetta. Never had an issue getting diesel, finding diesel, or waiting for a diesel pump.