Community Forums

Don G · 01-23-2007, 11:49 AM

Low Sulfur -V- Ultra Low Sulfur

What are you seeing offered at the fuel pumps when pumping diesel fuel?

ULSD?
If you have a 2007 or newer diesel highway vehicle, you must refuel only with ULSD. For 2006 and older vehicles, there will be a period of transition. These vehicles can use either ULSD or low sulfur diesel during the transition period. Starting December 1, 2010, all diesel vehicles no matter what the model year is, must use ULSD.
Sounds like older engines will be able to pump anything into their tanks for a few more years. If you have a ULSD engine, you will have to make sure to put in the right fuel, or you may damage your exhaust filter. I'm waiting for the weather to get better before I go out again. Don't know what's available yet.

Don G · 01-23-2007, 11:49 AM

Low Sulfur -V- Ultra Low Sulfur

What are you seeing offered at the fuel pumps when pumping diesel fuel?

ULSD?
If you have a 2007 or newer diesel highway vehicle, you must refuel only with ULSD. For 2006 and older vehicles, there will be a period of transition. These vehicles can use either ULSD or low sulfur diesel during the transition period. Starting December 1, 2010, all diesel vehicles no matter what the model year is, must use ULSD.
Sounds like older engines will be able to pump anything into their tanks for a few more years. If you have a ULSD engine, you will have to make sure to put in the right fuel, or you may damage your exhaust filter. I'm waiting for the weather to get better before I go out again. Don't know what's available yet.

Hitchhiker · 01-23-2007, 12:24 PM

Still LSD around here.

I don't think there are too many '07 vehicles with engines manufactured after 1/1/07 on the highways yet. Most of the motorhome and/or chassis manufacturers stocked up on engines in anticipation of the new regulations and produced '07 vehicles with '06 style engines and emission equipment.

But.....they'll be on the roads soon.

GM is still selling their 06 'LBZ' engine in '07 pickup trucks, the new engine will be coded 'LMM' and will be introduced with the GMT-900 platform in the Spring. I think Ford is coming out with a 6.4 liter engine to comply with '07 requirements and it'll be introduced as an early '08 in a couple months.

Garbageman · 01-23-2007, 02:48 PM

I what guess that all diesel being sold today is ULSD since it has been distributed since June 2006. It is a "what came first the chicken or the egg" situation. ULSD was mandated by the fedral government and vehicle manufactures are required to produce ULSD engines. In this case the fuel came first.

Paul

GaryKD · 01-23-2007, 05:50 PM

Just finished a two week trip around central and South Florida. Only ULSD was available wherever I got fuel. Completed a 3 month trip in November covering most of East of the Mississippi. I saw some LSD but mostly ULSD fuel on that trip.

Brigadoon · 01-24-2007, 02:31 AM

ULSD fuel finally made it to my favorite South Florida station (near Ft. Lauderdale) where I fuel my motorhome. I've been reading that most other areas of the country have had the ULSD fuel for sometime- it just took longer to make it this far south. Apparently the availability of the ULSD fuel is not a problem for people with the ULSD only engines.

Ecker · 01-24-2007, 02:55 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Don G:
Low Sulfur -V- Ultra Low Sulfur

What are you seeing offered at the fuel pumps when pumping diesel fuel?

ULSD?
If you have a 2007 or newer diesel highway vehicle, you must refuel only with ULSD. For 2006 and older vehicles, there will be a period of transition. These vehicles can use either ULSD or low sulfur diesel during the transition period. Starting December 1, 2010, all diesel vehicles no matter what the model year is, must use ULSD.
Sounds like older engines will be able to pump anything into their tanks for a few more years. If you have a ULSD engine, you will have to make sure to put in the right fuel, or you may damage your exhaust filter. I'm waiting for the weather to get better before I go out again. Don't know what's available yet. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
_____________________________________________
This data is from October/November EPA surveys and seems to support my earlier comment in another forum that I thought even if pumps said LSD that it was probably ULSD because the refineries percentage of production was so high i.e. 90% in October. It has to be even more pronounced now.
----------------------------------------------

From the Diesel Technology Forum Newsletter....

Clean Diesel Fuel Intro - Sulfur levels Low; More Labels Needed

Early sampling results by EPA suggest that ULSD is well below the specification across the country. EPA recently reported on some of their preliminary sampling data of diesel fuel retailers nationwide. Their samples five weeks in a row, of 1000 retail locations around the country showed that:

-90 percent of all highway fuel sampled - is 18ppm or less.-

-First five weeks after October 15 about 40 percent of retail outlets pumps were labeled as ULSD - 40 percent as LSD (no more than 500 ppm sulfur), less than 20 percent had no label at all.

-Of those labeled ULSD (434 pumps) - the vast majority were < 18 ppm. Over 91.5 percent are less than 10.0 ppm sulfur or less; 86% are 8.0 ppm or less; 54% are 6.0 ppm or less; 16% are 4.0 ppm or less-Of about 400 pumps labeled LSD - sulfur levels are coming in at 17 ppm or less.

-85% of those pumps not labeled were actually LSD.

-EPA raised concerns that they have found that about 20 percent of stations have no labels at all. And, about 20 percent of pumps still labeled as LSD-however they are actually dispensing ULSD. EPA is sending advisory letters to the stations with unlabeled pumps, and will be following up with potential enforcement action.