High Sulfur diesel in 2014 L3800

GaltsGulch

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Apr 14, 2015
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Ranger, Ga
I was at the station I usually get my diesel from today and after paying for 50 gallons to fill my transfer tank I noticed (which I have never before) that the sticker on the off road diesel pump said High Sulfur Diesel. I have used their off road diesel on many occasions but was wondering if running it in the L3800 was a good idea or not. I read a few old posts about it but they were about older tractors and this tractor says ULSD only on it.

Any real harm in using it?
Maybe I'll just use some of it and cut it with some ULSD
Anyone have any experience running in newer tractors?

Thanks in advance.
 

85Hokie

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the high sulfur diesel is ACTUALLY better for your tractor, the sulfur, despite polluting the air a hellva lot, lubricates all those pumps and fuel related parts. I am wondering if the sticker is just an old sticker - my pump use to have that sticker, new ownership and now the low sulfur is there. Everything made in the last 10 years or more is designed to run on the ultra low stuff, but the older machines really do need that little lube juice - many of us add bottled stuff to make the tractor sing better - and it does help, trust me.

But - your newer machine might not like all that good stuff - since it is a tier iv puppy - you might want to dig in and find out if that will hurt all the little sensors and stuff

here is a good read on high sulfur:

http://www.bellperformance.com/bell...-sulfur-off-road-diesel-you-need-to-know-this
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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Your tractor is not new enough to cause a worry, the new ones with regen it can be a huge issue.

I'm betting that the fuel your getting is actually ULSD as stations get their fuel on a truck and the deliverer just add the dye as he puts it in the tank. ;)
 

Daren Todd

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My thought is they haven't changed the sticker on the tank. I could be wrong. But here it's all low sulphur diesel from the same tank. They just add a die to the off road. It wouldn't hurt to ask the manager of the store you purchased the fuel from to ask there supplier if it is in fact hi sulphur diesel :)
 

GaltsGulch

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The sticker looked brand new which is what caught my eye.
When I first got my Silverado I was running LSD then all the stations switched to ULSD. It seemed like it never ran as well after the switch.

I didn't really think that it would cause a problem but I figured a few extra minds couldn't hurt.

I don't have all the fancy electronics on the L3800 that's why I bought this tractor no DPF no regen etc. So I wasn't worried about the electronics part I just didn't know how finicky these were with injectors and pumps.
 

Bulldog

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When the ULSD first hit the market the fuel supplier we used at the quarry came out and put all new decals on our bulk tanks which said HI SULFUR OFF-ROAD and I had just got a new loader which required ULSD. I inquired about the fuel and he said they put HS decals on all off-road tank but all of it was ULSD. The only difference was the red die. He further said no high sulfur fuel was being product to eliminate the chance of it getting mixed with ULSD and causing damage to newer engines.

I would guess and say this is the case on your fuel and like Wolfman said it won't hurt your tractor anyway. If anything high sulfur fuel would help lubricate and even run a little stronger. Just for your own knowledge I would ask about the fuel but you should be fine.
 

aeronutt

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It has been illegal to make high sulfur diesel for about 5 years now. Back in the 80's, the sulfur content was as high as .5%. That works out to 5000 PPM. You wouldn't need much of that stuff added to a tank full of 15 PPM to raise the whole batch to 16 PPM, which becomes illegal to sell as "ULSD". There's a 99.99% chance that the stuff you're buying is ULSD but they put the sticker on the tank just to CYA in case there's enough residual sulfur in their system that a lab test might show more than 15 PPM coming out of the nozzle. Bottom line: Just buy it and burn it. It's fine.
 
Oct 8, 2014
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Heating oil is ULSD too, It's really just diesel. I do know some of the guys running older logging trucks here add 2 cycle oil to their ULSD. They claim added mileage plus the extra lubricicty.
 

Stubbyie

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Refineries are producing ONLY one line of diesel and it is formulated to just barely meet UltraLow diesel specifications mandated by EPA and based on ASTM standards.

Refineries don't like sulfur (it's kills catalysts) but it's prohibitively expensive to remove the last tiny bit.

Non-spec product (including diesel with too much sulfur) is run to slop tanks and then metered back into the incoming crude oil stream (actual input point back into the plant works varies by many factors day-to-day) to be re-refined through the plant.

Stickers put on bulk tanks are there only to protect the wholesaler and retailer from litigation / EPA in case somebody (me, for instance) checks a sample in a high-end NIST-traceable commercial lab.

Some refineries will install into their diesel stream at the sales point into tankers an admixture package if their customer is willing to pay for it. Similarly, some large regional wholesalers will custom blend admixtures into their diesel.

Some customers require a certain blended admixture package if they're running large fleets and control their own central-refueling bulk stocks. Trade journals are full of reports about how fleets have saved serious money by controlling their fuel stocks.

It's truly not difficult. Refineries will sell to anybody that shows up with a tanker and cash (actually, you have to open an account; but 'cash' in the sense that for a one-time purchase your bank account will be debited before you leave the loading rack) and blend packages are readily available. Just like propane: if you happen to need 10,000-gals, bring 'cash' and get loaded.

Basically, it comes down to (1) buy diesel at a location with high-turnover (2) store safely (3) filter filter filter obsessively (4) use a known quality product like Stanadyne especially in older high-sulfur machines running low-sulfur fuel.

Please post back your continuing experiences so we may all learn.
 

micomike

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What do you guys consider to be an older high sulfur engine? I have a 1999 B series. Should I be using some kind of additive?
 

CaveCreekRay

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Kind of analogous to life eh?

The older I get, the more additives I need.

:D
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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What do you guys consider to be an older high sulfur engine? I have a 1999 B series. Should I be using some kind of additive?

None of the Kubota diesel engines require high sulfur fuel, so your fine.
 

aeronutt

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What do you guys consider to be an older high sulfur engine? I have a 1999 B series. Should I be using some kind of additive?
There's lots of anecdotal stories and unsupported opinions floating around the internet about ULSD and how to "fix" it. The guys posting those aren't any smarter about petroleum engineering than they are about quantum physics, but they saw their uncle do it and his truck kept running so it MUST be right!

Please read this and follow the advice of real petroleum scientists who make it their job to know this stuff: http://www.fuelexpert.co.za/2strokeoilindiesel.php
 

DeepWoods

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So this seems the right thread to ask the the question I have. I haven't even taken delivery of my B2650HSDC, and never owned anything with a diesel engine, that's how new I am. So when you pick yourself off the floor from laughing, answer me this. Do I just go to the gas station and fill my container with the same diesel that goes into truckers tank? I've read all of the posts in this thread, so that's the conclusion I came up with. I'll give you some time to gain your composure before you respond.
 

Tughill Tom

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So this seems the right thread to ask the the question I have. I haven't even taken delivery of my B2650HSDC, and never owned anything with a diesel engine, that's how new I am. So when you pick yourself off the floor from laughing, answer me this. Do I just go to the gas station and fill my container with the same diesel that goes into truckers tank? I've read all of the posts in this thread, so that's the conclusion I came up with. I'll give you some time to gain your composure before you respond.
Yes, but only buy if you can from a busy fuel stop. It will cut down on the possibility of water from old fuel in the ground. Also you may want to add an additive such as Stanadyne, it helps with anti- gelling and helps with lubrication of the fuel system.
Good luck and that's a nice machine .Treat it right and it will do the same.
 

rjcorazza

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Mar 9, 2016
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So this seems the right thread to ask the the question I have. I haven't even taken delivery of my B2650HSDC, and never owned anything with a diesel engine, that's how new I am. So when you pick yourself off the floor from laughing, answer me this. Do I just go to the gas station and fill my container with the same diesel that goes into truckers tank? I've read all of the posts in this thread, so that's the conclusion I came up with. I'll give you some time to gain your composure before you respond.

Yes, you can with confidence just fuel with road taxed diesel. You can also used off-road (untaxed) which will be dyed red. They are identical except for the color. I personally use taxed diesel from a large volume station. The dyed fuel that is available close to me burned me with contaminated fuel years ago.


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SidecarFlip

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Your tractor is not new enough to cause a worry, the new ones with regen it can be a huge issue.

I'm betting that the fuel your getting is actually ULSD as stations get their fuel on a truck and the deliverer just add the dye as he puts it in the tank. ;)
Bet you are 100% right, It's illegal to sell high sulfur diesel in the USA anymore. It's not even refined. The sticker on the pump is not correct.

Off road is red dyed ULSD and sold minus road use tax.
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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Do I just go to the gas station and fill my container with the same diesel that goes into truckers tank?
You can do red dyed off road diesel, but I would only use that if your in a heavy farm or Logging area, those areas will have a greater turn over of the fuel.

Water is your enemy with diesel, get a good (yellow) fuel container and Mark it up Diesel Fuel Only... gasoline contamination in a diesel is also a bad thing!
 

SidecarFlip

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Around here the revenue police check pickup truck tanks (with a clear hose) at farm auctions for red dyed diesel because farmers cheat...lol I don't however, not that it isn't a temptation sometimes with 1000 gallons of off road in my bulk tank when it's full......:D

It's (I think) an initial fine of $1000 bucks if you get caught running off road diesel in an on road diesel engine.