Diesel fuel

Can anyone tell if red off road diesel has the same amount of sulfur as the on road at the station? My local station sells both.

It's the same. Just with a dye. I guess if they put a lot in there might be a very minimal dilution, but probably not noticeable.

Just wondering about if I should put some additive in it. New to diesel tractors

Same diesel, just has the dye added.

No need for additive.

As far as I know the only difference is the cost. The red "offroad" fuel doesn't have all the road use taxes added to it.

Ever since 2014 all diesel must be ultra-low sulfur diesel.
So the only difference in the fuel is the dye in the off road version.
The only exception is some older locomotives and marine engines with a waiver.

Home heating oil is in the phase out stage right now to lower sulfur content in that diesel.

So the only way for the common joe to even get any diesel that does not meet ultra-low sulfur diesel standards is to live in select states that have not gone fully threw the phase down stage and order your diesel as home heating oil.

I have been adding 1oz. of synthetic 2 stroke oil to 5 gal. of diesel for years. No problems with any of my equipment fuel systems.

Rocky most truck stop/convince store diesel is not premium #2 fuel. You don't tell us what you are using it in. If the tractor was made after the 1960's you need to be burning premium #2 fuel in it. Premium #2 has additives in it to raise the cetane level, it has an anti algecide additive in it for longer storage life, truck stop fuel is designed to be used in a few days time thus has very few additives in it.

It is a 1960 ford 861 diseal

All fuel you and I can buy is ultra low sulphur 15ppm . Some other countries like Mexico and some industries like the rail road or ship yards can get still get higher sulpher fuel at it was that way ten years ago it may all be ultra low sulphur buy now .

The off road fuel is dyed so that even the dumbest cop can tell the road tax has not been paid on it. Everything sold currently is ultra low sulfur. The problem is that the process that removes the sulfur from the crude also takes a lot of the lubricity out of the fuel. This is only a problem with SOME older pumps, mostly rotary like CAV and Roosa/Stanadyne/Delphi that are not manufactured (heat treat, etc.) to handle it. You can get away without adding a lubricity enhancer, and many do, however the odds will eventually catch up with them. It depends on how much you use the machine how soon the little savings of not putting in additive in ends up costing you a $1500.00 rebuild because the hydraulic head has seized. You don't want to get caught with dyed fuel in your truck either. BTO in next town over got caught with dyed fuel in his semi's TWICE. Fine was five digits, AND he had to pay back road tax on all fuel bought even though some &/or most of it went into the tractors. State tax authorities have NO sense of humor.

Rock, this topic is on the every six month schedule here at YT. My personal take on it is that probably three times as many add oil as do not. Most of us add two stroke oil.

Ultra low sulphur diesel has been around since 2010. I am still waiting for this rash of injection pump failures that people said was coming.

There are tens if not hundreds of millions of old diesel engines working their guts out day in and day out with no additives, and no problems that cannot be attributed to normal wear and tear, or abuse. You know most people aren't bothering with additives.

If the lubricity in ULSD was such the insurmountable problem that so many make it out to be, forums like this would have been FLOODED with questions and complaints about engine failures about 7-1/2 years ago. There would be class action lawsuits. It would be big news.

The truth is the EPA mandated that along with the ULSD process, that the oil companies replace any lost lubricity in the fuel they sell with additives. They have every reason to comply (i.e. class action lawsuits from the owners of millions of ruined engines otherwise), and no reason not to comply.

If putting random concoctions into your fuel makes you sleep better at night, by all means go for it. Diesel is oil, and pouring a cup of 2-cycle, Marvel Mystery, or Alberto VO5 for all I care, in with 34 gallons of diesel isn't going to hurt a thing. If you think it makes the engine run better, more power to ya. There are some additives I've seen make immediate differences, but 2-cycle oil isn't one of them.

The only difference one is taxed one is not.