Testing for “off road” or “red dye” diesel?

Agree. And I can't imagine any diesel tests that would require 25 to 30 gallons of deisel

RDMueller wrote:
I seriously wouldn't worry about it at all. The odds of being checked are very, very low, and even if it did happen, you could easily fight the citation by explaining what happened. Just be sure to leave the garage with a full tank of non-dyed fuel and save the receipts for the work.

WTP-GC wrote:

travelnutz wrote:
I'm all for it being a felony, a very high fine, a min of 90 days jail time, and confiscating and impounding the vehicle for having removed or having tampered with any of the pollution controls/systems on a vehicle. Gas or diesel! First offense. After the jail time is served, the vehicle can be towed from the impound directly to an certified repair facility, brought back to OEM requirements and re-certified all done at the owners expense before the vehicle being released back to the owner for use on any public road in the USA.

A real lesson would be well taught and the word would spread like wildfire! The messing around issues with pollution systems would cease to be a problem very quick!

Wow, you're a special kind of crazy.
Not to mention you're WAY off-topic.

Some folks just like to stir up controversy, even when they don't know what they are talking about. As most of us know, this thread has NOTHING to do with tampering with emissions systems or anything else on the vehicle.

Mike

travelnutz wrote:
I'm all for it being a felony, a very high fine, a min of 90 days jail time, and confiscating and impounding the vehicle for having removed or having tampered with any of the pollution controls/systems on a vehicle. Gas or diesel! First offense. After the jail time is served, the vehicle can be towed from the impound directly to an certified repair facility, brought back to OEM requirements and re-certified all done at the owners expense before the vehicle being released back to the owner for use on any public road in the USA.

A real lesson would be well taught and the word would spread like wildfire! The messing around issues with pollution systems would cease to be a problem very quick!

Wow, you're a special kind of crazy.
Not to mention you're WAY off-topic.

Using off road diesel is not automatically a FELONY as some seem to think. At least if you look at the Wash state website it says the penalty is a fine and MAY (key word MAY) result in a felony OR (another key word) a misdemeanor.

I suspect it depends on the situation, but for the folks who automatically think it is a felony, lets try to at least be somewhat factual.

Mike

The solution is obvious. Just dump some bleach in your tank to make the red go away.





(I hope nobody takes that seriously)

Oaklevel wrote:
So they didn't disconnect the lines to feed the fuel?

Basic diesel fuel system: (See last paragraph)



Because diesel engines don't require spark plugs and hence no electrical system to run them they are inherently more reliable especially in a marine environment where salt water and electricity do not do well together. But because they don't require an ignition system they do need a high pressure injection system. Injectors and the injection pump are the heart of your diesel engine and if either fail so will the engine. Because of the high pressures required both the injectors which fit into the cylinder head and the injection pump which delivers a precisely measured quantity of fuel at high pressure to the injector, have to be engineered to extremely high tolerances. Neither are able to be serviced or repaired without special equipment. Any slight mismatch in sizing or any scratches may result in them not being able to build up sufficient pressure and without this, fuel cannot be introduced into the engine. It is for this reason that special emphasis is placed on cleanliness in the fuel system as foreign particles entering the injection pump can very easily damage it. Whereas in a gasoline engine some dirt can be perhaps tolerated (though not desired) in your diesel engine it can, and often will, result in failure of the engine with perhaps expensive bills. It is for good reason that these engines are equipped with several filters to clean any impurities from the fuel.

Firstly it is important that the fuel be relatively clean when you put it in your tank and in areas of the world where less attention is paid to this than here in the U.S. it is sensible to use a funnel with a filter gauze in it to stop the larger pieces of debris entering your tank. From the tank, fuel normally passes to a primary fuel filter which is often combined with a water separator to eliminate any water from the fuel (water won't burn but will cause rust!). This primary filter will probably stop particles of dirt larger than 10-12 microns (1 micron= 1 millionth of a meter).

After the primary fuel filter comes the lift pump which is usually a mechanical pump mounted on the engine which operates at low pressure sucking the fuel up from the tank and passing it on down the system. Because this is a mechanical pump and only works when the engine is running you will sometimes find an electric pump installed between the primary filter and lift pump. This electric pump should normally only be used to pump fuel when the engine is not running such as when changing filters and trying to eliminate air from the system (air won't burn either and can often cause a blockage in the injector pump). After the lift pump comes the secondary filter which is normally mounted directly on the engine. Fuel passing through this filter is further screened for even finer particles of dirt before it is passed on to the injection pump.

The injection pump passes the fuel at high pressure to the injectors in a precise sequence and with a timing to match the position of the pistons in the cylinder. It normally operates efficiently and without failure for many thousands of hours so long as the fuel entering it is kept clean. The fuel itself lubricates the pump as it is being passed through.

When fuel reaches the injector it compresses a precisely set spring within the injector allowing fuel to spray in to the cylinder. The exact design of the cylinder head, piston top and of the hole or holes in the injector determine the efficiency of the engine, the aim being to distribute the fuel as evenly and as quickly as possible. In the injector a small quantity of fuel is allowed to lubricate the mechanism and this fuel is then returned either to the injection pump or to the secondary filter via a line connected to all the injectors.

Because both the injector pump and injectors use the fuel as a lubricant more fuel is delivered to them than is necessary and the unused fuel is eventually returned to the fuel tank along a return line.

So they didn't disconnect the lines to feed the fuel?

Oaklevel wrote:


If they are running the line direct to the engine then how would the dyed fuel get in the tank?

By the return fuel line.

Wow guys the red dye has nothing to do with pollution control. The red dye is put in for tax reasons only....... it a money thing pure and simple. Farm tractors or construction equipment are off road vehicles and not required to pay the tax. Even if they are driven on the road from time to time. If the vehicle carries a licence plate then it has to use taxed fuel.

If they are running the line direct to the engine then how would the dyed fuel get in the tank?

Every area is different for enforcement here you will see it only commercial vehicles being checked here unless law enforcement suspects illegal usage.

TooManyTents wrote:

mlts22 wrote:
I am pretty sure the reason the fuel was dyed is that it was obviously cheaper, since it didn't have a road tax paid for it.

That's exactly right. The only way to tell if you paid state road diesel tax on the fuel is by lack of dye (taxed) or red dye (no tax).

Op here...

Actually "cheaper", not the case. It was a case of convenience. The big water pump mounted on a cracked trailer frame has been parked a longer time than my pick up. My pick up is about 8 feet away in one garage bay from this monster of a pump in another bay. They just ran a vinyl hose from pump over to my pick up. This pump thing is massive. The discharge spot is 12 inches in diameter. Its engine on this thing looks bigger than my Cummins 5.9 Its used for pumping water out one of Yuma's water canals into farm land.

In talking with the owner of garage...Most farm equipment is ran off red die diesel and the fine for using it on the road is so much, its not worth the chance to use it in street vehicles. On the flip side, I wonder about all the farm equipment that is on roads and using red die. I pass many tractors on the road when driving my 7 miles to town. I doubt they paid road tax. But the farmers work hard here, nobody going to hassle them IMO. But I'm still wondering how they get away with stacking big hay bales on the shoulder of the road. 3 months here and I've have become accustomed to seeing a farm labor bus go by. And behind the bus is a hitched up trailer of port a potties. Don't see that very often around Seattle.