Well, the inevitable happened, I got my first tank of low sulpher fuel today !!!!
What, if anything will this low sulpher fuel do to our CTD's

 

You mean to say you got your first tank of kerosene today! Don't forget the lubricant!! We're gonna need it now more than ever!

 

How much more was it per gallon than the older diesel?

 

The stuff I got was not the ultra low which is rated at 15 ppm, I got the low sulpher (500 ppm). I do use Stanadyne Proformance Formula in every tank. I know the 15 ppm is coming soon. No price difference, 2.99/gal.

 

so do i have low sulfur diesel in my truck when i filled up the other day i noticed the pump had wording on it about low sulfur diesel dont rember what it said maybe 15 ppm not shure does it smell and look funny the smell was not as strong the greenies ruin it for every body

 

That may be the stuff I got at Wally World, tank before last. Truck seemed like it had no power and mileage dropped to 16.2. Fueled at Exxon next tank, runs great, and getting 18.1. And Exxon was only .02 a gallon more than Wally.

 

great....filled up with 130g of low sulfur crap

 

here in colorado all I can find is 500 low sulfur but I run power service I once did find a pump in the mountains that said high sulfur diesel heh I was pretty happy. fortunatly for me my local coop sells b-20 and instead of 2.99 a gallon it's 2.94 but like I said I use plenty of fuel treatment every tank since I average 1000 towing miles a week and It feels just like high sulfur fuel

 

ouch guys those prices are climbing. i've got a couple of truck stops here that are still at 2.63/gal.

 

Actually this is the same stuff we've been getting for a while. The new stickers on the pumps calling it Low Sulfur are just pointing out that it's not the new Ultra-Low that is required for 2007 and newer vehicles. We've been running on Low Sulfur for quite a few years now.

 

Yeah, the 500ppm is the same stuff that's been around for a while. The Feds required all those shiny new stickers be in place by June 1st '06 so people know what they CAN'T run in 2007 or later models. 15ppm is the stuff that scares me!

 

Diesel has been 500 parts per million since 2000. This month the new 15ppm fuel will be completely available at all stations by law.

I know a bunch of people are worried about the new fuel not lubricating as well. In the "old" fuel we used sulfur for lubricant. Now we are replacing the sulfur with a synthetic lubricant, with the same lubricity as 500ppm sulfur fuel.

This in turn reduces emissions. You think all this is bad. just wait till 2010. Right now manufactures have to meet a 10% NOX level. In 2010 it will be reduced to .10%! On all new 07 diesels they have a new emissions exhaust that has a filter to catch all the harmful debris. The filter must be serviced in a "duty cycle" There is a huge list of changes for diesels in the future guys, all I have to say is buy all the 2006 models you can! All the fun is over in 2007 Check out the latest issue of diesel power, and check out the new 6.7l cummins for 07 with less power than a 05 or 06.

All this will cost worse mileage, less power, more maint., and higher fuel cost.
Just be ready for it guys, Later

 

Sulfur never was a lubricant in diesel fuel. As sulfur is removed by additional refining, constituents of the fuel that provide lubricating qualities (primarily aromatics) are removed in the process. The same is true in the move from 500 PPM LSD to 15 PPM ULSD - the lower sulfur doesn't affect lubricity at all, but the additional refining required to achieve the lower sulfur content will remove more lubricating qualities from the fuel that must be restored by fuel additives to meet the ASTM lubricity requirements.

Rusty

 

So what else is getting removed from the diesel that causes older fuel systems to start leaking when switching over to a lower sulfur diesel? I remember when the switch to LSD was originally made, it seemed like everyone I knew with an older tractor was having trouble with fuel leaks when they started running LSD. I wonder if a similar thing will happen this time as things transition over to ULSD?

 

The aromatic constituents also swell seals, so as sulfur (and aromatic) content dropped, sealing problems developed. The first synthetic oils had the same problem - with no aromatic constituents, seals would shrink, harden and begin to leak when synthetics were used. Therefore, based on this experience, as aromatics are removed, "seal sweller" additives are used to prevent leakage.

Sealing materials have improved over the years as well.

Rusty