Type of Diesel

[ReturningToAlaska]

I am sure this is covered in previous posts, but I haven't been able to locate it through searchs.

My fuel tank on my 1978 MC-8 says to use #1 diesel only! I could only find #2 when I went to do my first fill-up on my bus. So that's what I used.

Bus seems to run a little better and less smoky on #2, but I am planning on topping off my fuel tank with #1 this morning. Figured I should run #1 as much as possible.

With the modem blends with low sulfur, does it actually matter for this engine? Or should I try harder to only use #1 diesel?

[birdarchitect26]

I would only use #1 in the cold months, or whenever you feel fit. You'd get better economy with #2

[Oonrahnjay]

      If you could find anyone at a service station who really knows what "#1 Diesel" and "#2 Diesel" means, you'd find that the definition varies by locality and user group.   Is some places, #2 Diesel is ordinary diesel fuel from the distributor and #1 is ordinary diesel fuel that's blended for winter use.  Other places, #2 is ordinary diesel fuel and #1 is 100% kerosene that you're supposed to buy and add to #2 so that it doesn't gel in the winter (this is the case in places where there's lots of farm use and really cold weather conditions in winter, generally).  For most the diesel engine history, the best way to prevent gelling in the winter was to mix kerosene with diesel; it works but kerosene is a "spirit" (evaporative) in refining terms and it has lower energy content and lower lubrication properties than diesel fuel which is considered an "oil". 
      To make things more complicated (and less dependable), you can find some stations that use chemical fuel additives to prevent gelling and provide better levels of protection against oil contamination and improve lubrication - most engine fuel injection systems use the fuel to lubricate fuel pumps and injectors.  These stations often say that this more-expensive fuel is "#1 Premium" because "#1 is the better, top-rated fuel" and #2 is the less expensive and less treated fuel.  Same terminology, different meaning.  (There is an AFPM -- Association of Fuel and Petroleum Manufacturers -- definition for "Premium" fuel that's supposed to be a definitive statement of what premium diesel fuel is but it's so vague and poorly written that you can't count on any difference is premium diesel at the pump -- except for the price.)
       I theory, diesel that's treated for cold weather with additives is supposed to be worth the cost because you don't get the reduction in fuel economy with additive fuels that you get with fuel that's blended with kerosene.  But, as I've said, you can't really count on it because there's no technical definition for premium fuel and no enforcement for any characteristics the fuel is supposed to have. 

       If I had to guess (and it would only be a guess), my guess would be that a statement in a manual from 40 years ago to use "#1 fuel" means to use fuel that's winterized.   They didn't know whether that bus would run from International Falls to Saskatoon or around Disney World so they were just covering all possible conditions.   I would suggest that you go to a station that's big enough to generate enough fuel sales to turn over the product and buy their "On-Road Diesel" fuel.   If you're not a farmer who wants to buy bulk quantities for the tank on your farm, the idea of juggling types and mixing them yourself is not useful.

      Especially if you're in a place that defines "#1 Diesel" as kerosene, stay away from it.

[luvrbus]

Number2 fuel is fine they blend the #2 fuel now for winter , years back #1 fuel was kerosene don't waste your time searching for # 1 fuel times have changed in the fuel market and Detroit make adjustments for the #2 fuel   

[Oonrahnjay]

       If you have a lot of time on your hands, here's a full description world-wide.  The short answer now is that there are standard tables -- "winter diesel" in Miami is different from that in Kapuskasing, but what is at the pump is blended to be appropriate to expected winter conditions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_diesel_fuel

[lostagain]

In Canada, there is only one kind of diesel fuel (other than dyed, off road fuel). It is seasonally blended for cold weather, so the customer doesn't have to worry about it.

JC

[DoubleEagle]

#1 Diesel costs more, and is a waste of money, just like Premium gas is a waste of money for cars that adjust to whatever grade you use.

[ReturningToAlaska]

Alright thanks everyone! Lots of really helpful information here. I did suspect that the sign was not really valid anymore. Especially with basically no stations I could find even offering anything other then a single grade of fuel. Even the station I was at this morning, had separate#1 and #2 pumps, talked to the clerk's, and they say that with winter over, they have no more #1, they just haven't changed the signs yet.

[windtrader]

Out here, West Coast, I only see #2, and that is the places that even carry diesel.

[Iceni John]

#1 Diesel costs more, and is a waste of money, just like Premium gas is a waste of money for cars that adjust to whatever grade you use.

Yes, they will self-adjust to lower octanes, but at the expense of power output.   I inadvertently put Regular gasoline in my car once instead of the Premium it needs, and power was noticeably down from normal.   TANFL.

My bus's Driver Handbook also mentions No.1 diesel, but I assume that the engine would also self-adjust to a lower power setting like my car's.   With electronics, anything's possible.

John

[eagle19952]

Jet A is #1.

[luvrbus]

Jet A is #1.

Jet A was $4.56 a gal + taxes at Scottsdale airport last week that was for the 200 gal range it goes up or down depending on the gallons purchased and no it wasn't my Gulfstream

[bobofthenorth]

..... and no it wasn't my Gulfstream

Everybody knows you'll only drive a Lear.

[eagle19952]

Jet A was $4.56 a gal + taxes at Scottsdale airport last week that was for the 200 gal range it goes up or down depending on the gallons purchased and no it wasn't my Gulfstream

Never said it was cheap
We got a $200.00 surcharge on unscheduled...even for a cupful

[luvrbus]

Never said it was cheap
We got a $200.00 surcharge on unscheduled...even for a cupful

yep people that can around fly the private jets can afford it,money is nothing to that crowd lol I could live off the landing fees they pay