Diesel Quality?

Are there different qualities or grades of diesel? Are there fuel stations best avoided because of quality issues?

Searching this topic only yielded that biodiesel is worse in cold weather due to gelling.

What do you know on this subject? Have you had bad experiences buying fuel from some fuel stations because of quality issues?

 

I have no idea about different qualities. But, if you're running up north in the winter and the temps get down in the single digits, you'd be wise to put anti-gel in your tanks regardless of the quality of fuel.

 

All diesel is unbranded… Some diesel at the pumps are bio diesel some higher percentage than others… a good rule of thumb to remember this don’t ever fuel up when the truck is dropping the fuel in the ground because all that does is stir up the dirt in the ground tank, and eventually goes through the system into your tank if you’re pumping fuel…

 

Willie Nelson owned a truck stop in Texas that sold bio-fuel. He advertised it on the trucker late night radio stations.
I stopped there every chance I had. Friendly, welcoming and comfortable.
~
Willie's Place was a 15 acres (6.1 ha) truck stop and biodiesel processing plant located in Carl's Corner, Texas that was opened in 2005 and named after Willie Nelson.

 

Wouldn’t it plug the fuel stop filters first if that were the case?

 

Some disel I've bought was almost clear like kerosene and most is a milky, cloudy yellow. I just would buy diesel where I was getting my reward points. Company driver. I've heard reports of poor quslity diesel over my career but I never got any or worried about getting any, ditto fuel for cold weather.

 

There’s that chance it could

 

Normal winter weather drives the blend delivered as No. 2.

Had a driver from IN load and fuel in Jacksonville for a delivery in Thunder Bay, ON and he foundout real quick the difference as his tractor spent the weekend in a heated garage thawing out.

 

Its said that TA/Petro has the best quality of the big 3. I know locally the MR Fuel was rumored to have water in fuel this February. How true that is I don’t know. This is a question I avoid just like tire pressure, brokers, oil change intervals, transgender’s, etc.

 

In the summer time, it doesn't matter where you fuel. Where there's a difference in diesel is winter time. The fuel in the south is pretty much untreated. It will not gell up if its about 10 degrees. Fuel purchased in cold weather states is treated differently. You can fuel without putting antigel in if you buy it in a cold weather state. It'll be ok down into si gle digits and into the negatives provided it doesn't get too deep into the negatives. When I was inexperienced, I got fuel in South Carolina and took a load to Benzonia, MI. Closer to the Ohio line, it was in the teens and up into the 20s. I got moving early that Monday morning and the truck lost power. I had got to Cadillac, amd the temp on my phone was 31 below 0. I popped the hood and saw the waxy substance and the fuel had gelled up. The company I was working for was using Ryder trucks so they was a mechanic running around doing rescue duty out of the Traverse City location. He came with a fuel filter and put additive in. He asked where I got fuel last Then he explained the difference in the fuel. He told me to get fuel asap. I reloaded for Virginia and got fuel at the J in Grand Ledge. I've changed up how I do things since then. If I'm picking up a load going north from the south, I'll put enough fuel to get to the northern states then get the tanks full of northern blend fuel.