For Those Of Us That Pay For Our Own Fuel

Funny, casson head gas or drip as the old timmers called it was free when I was a kid, and diesel was the junk left over after refinning. Now supply and demand has it as the most expensive part of the fuels. Also just another little tid bit. Natural gas was piped into our house free by the oil companies untill the gov said it had to have a stink agent added so we could know if it was leaking. Now everyone is greedy.

 

We still call it drip.

 

Well, strictly from a buying my own fuel for my truck standpoint, I am not all that depressed about higher fuel prices. My fuel surcharge, plus the mpg I normally get, has my cost at roughly .04 - .05 a mile for fuel as of my last fillup. Fuel prices will not have to go a whole lot higher and my cost will effectively be zero. Fuel for my personal auto is not a problem. I have a Jeep Liberty Diesel, and I just steal some fuel from the truck and fill up the Jeep.

From a standpoint of the general economy, these rising fuel prices are going to put all of us in a real hurt before long. I was listening to a Business show the last weekend and they were saying that for every .01 rise in fuel price, it takes 1 billion dollars out of the economy. Not hard to imagine the effect $5 fuel will have.

 

Diesel is never was the leftover from refinning. Gas was never the leftover from distilling diesel out. Both are part of what makes up a barrel of oil. You get both, in varying amounts, from a barrel along with a hundred other components such as asphalt for the roads.

Since all of it is a global commodity, you have to look globally at why prices are the way they are for gas and diesel. Most of the world is heavily into diesel. Europe, for instance, is highly into diesel autos, and the gas they get from oil is usually shipped to other areas, such as the U.S. This keeps the price of gas lower than diesel here simply because most of the world has slightly more excess gasoline and we can get it regularly. Diesel is in demand worldwide and the prices we pay for diesel just reflect that demand. We actually distill more diesel here than we actually use, and we sell the excess on the world market. That is because we are more heavily into gasoline for the general public. And since all diesel sells at a market price worldwide, and the demand is greater worldwide, we end up getting "hosed" at the pump for diesel.

This is not a whole lot different that what we do with our trucks. If I can get a better rate at shipper A than at shipper B, I am going to pull for shipper A. Shipper B will have to raise what they will pay if they want me to pull it. Diesel gets sold to whoever will pay the best price. Unfortunately, we have to pay what everyone else is willing to bid for Diesel or we won't get any. I am involved in farming as well. I will sell my corn or soybeans to the highest bidder. If the Co-op elevator in one town wants my grain, then they will have to meet or beat the spot price that the Co-op in the next town over is willing to pay. And Vice Versa.

Fuel is no different than any other item. It will follow the highest price it can get and where the demand is. You want to play, you have to pay. Call it greed by oil companies if that makes you feel better, but that is how the system works. Is it greedy to want $3 a mile to pull a load instead of $2.50? But you can darn well bet, if I can get the better rate, that is where my truck will go.

Economics 101.

 

At the Golden Eagle refinery in Martinez California, they have a little museum onsite. One of the displays is a little picture/video presentation where they talk about how in the olden days, there was no market for the thousands of gallons of gasoline byproduct that was produced after refining. So they just dumped it right into the bay all day long.

 

Chicago or East St Louis ?????

 

I have been fueling at alternate locations, other than the big truck stops.
My approximate savings per month are $300.00,
compared to if I bought fuel at places like : T/A, PETRO, FLYING J, etc...

I'm fueling at the "older truck stops" and smaller fuel locations that accommodate big rigs,
not those small gas stations that have diesel for the pick up trucks.

about every other reefer tank, I'm fueling w/heating oil,
I know the sulfur amount is higher than off road diesel...I haven't noticed any difference in engine performance.....when first starting the engine does output more black exhaust...
( read unburned fuel)...

Any comments on burning heating oil in my reefer would be appreciated.

newly crusin

 

Depending on where you bought it...... It could be a #3 diesel, not as refined as#2 defined as having more sediment and clogging your filter a bit sooner. Crack open a fuel filter on a home burner and you'll see a much different type of filter. It's usually a paper job with say 20 paper fans in a circle.

Sulfur is removed prior to the refining process. Fuel oils ( diesel,kerosene,#3 etc.) are required to have only 13ppm ( or less ) sulfur content and that's partially why the price has risen. It costs money to remove sulfur, the more you remove, the more cost.

Here's the catch, EPA regs require less sulfur...ok fine.....Sulphur is a upper cylinder lubricant and it adds cetane ( BTU energy like octane ) SO ! By removing sulphur, thereby removing cetane ( BTU's ) you ( the engine ) needs more liquid ( to get the required BTU's ) to do the same work AKA less fuel mileage or more gallons consumed per hour.

I saw another thread speaking about diesel being a by product and the o/p said no....and that's true...it's no. What folks don't get the refiner is running about 90 to 95% capacity right now. He has the ability to "swing" the plant to a point and change what he makes. He makes more $ off lighter ends ( gas,kerosene,naphtha etc) than he does diesel, heating oil etc. So here I am with this multi billion dollar facility that costs me millions per hour to run.... what am I going to do ? I am going to make what sells and sells for the highest $ .