Red or white

[didgerydoo2]

I am more than a little confused about wether I should use red or white diesel,allthough my local boat yard only sells white,I can still obtain red from Chandlers oil and gas.The only advice I have recieved is switch to white anyway because it is better fuel.I have a 24ft Seamaster with twin Leyland diesels om Enfield legs.I can`t afford an expensive rebuild so will white fuel prolong the life of my engines.All advice welcome.Paul.

 

[cdogg]

What's the difference

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the difference between red and white? I only need a small top-up to keep the tank fuel over the winter, so I was just going to fill a can at the garage rather than move the boat, is this ok to do?

 

[elioti]

very expensive machinery runs on red, cant see the issue at all!

 

[elton]

Red has a chemical marker added to identify it for duty enforcement purposes, that's all. The fuel is otherwise identical.

 

[eurowolf]

taxation / use is the difference

Red diesel is for heating and agricultural use, taxes less than white
so unless you have a seperate tank for red and white. Using red for propulsion ( unless you are commercial) can result in hefty fines.

 

[sailorman]

Red diesel is for heating and agricultural use, taxes less than white
so unless you have a seperate tank for red and white. Using red for propulsion ( unless you are commercial) can result in hefty fines.

NOT in the UK Sir
Here we go again

 

[BoyBlue49]

RED or WHITE

This ever recurring debate never ceases to amaze me!!!!!!!

White diesel is the fuel you fill up at Tesco/Esso/Asda etc.

Red diesel has a dye added so that White Van Man can be easily cuffed at the road side for having duty free (almost) fuel in his tank as well as his digger and cement mixer.

Both mix as they are basically the same product, you won't notice any difference, nor will your engine.



Give it a few weeks and we will have the same questions again.

 

[the_wanderer]

Not so.

Red diesel is for heating and agricultural use, taxes less than white
so unless you have a seperate tank for red and white. Using red for propulsion ( unless you are commercial) can result in hefty fines.

British private boat owners are allowed to use red diesel for propulsion but it is charged with full duty. However, they can declare a certain percentage of their purchase of red diesel as for use for heating purposes if they have a diesel heating system on their boat. it is all kept in the same tank. This heating diesel is duty free. A too silly declaration can lead you into an interesting exchange of correspondence with Mr Taxman.

Hope this helps.

Alan.

 

[Nickcf]

Seems to work pretty well in practice though. The taxman says that if you state you use 60% of fuel for propulsion and 40% for heating etc then he will accept this. You can state 100% heating if you want but you risk being asked to justify it.....

All of the marine diesel fuel is at the reduced vat rate of 5% irrespective of whether it is used for propulsion or heating by the way.

 

[iainbluk]

Sulphur content

Doesnt red have a higher sulphur content than white..ie a less refined product?

 

[elton]

Doesnt red have a higher sulphur content than white..ie a less refined product?

No. It's exactly the same.

 

[yabba]

My former girlfriend's dad used to drive fuel trucks, he loaded up at the refinery,always with white diesel, and then he had to pass by the customs office where they gave him a certain amount of dye to put in the fuel through the top hatch to colour it red , if it was to be used/sold as heating:agricultural diesel.The customs officers were supposed to put it in theirselves but were happy to leave it to the driver and just watch from the side, as the diesel trucks were often very smudgy and the ladders were slippery. Some of his colleagues managed to hang a bucket inside this hatch, thus putting the dye in a bucket instead of into the fuel, according to him it was a nice earning on the side if they delivered this red diesel to some petrolstations, especially if they then accidentally poured their load into the white diesel tank . So yes, it's the same stuff.

 

[sheyes]

Red and White diesel can be exactly the same stuff but White is more likely to contain biodiesel. Red diesel sold in marinas is more likely to conform to ISO 8217 which does not allow biodiesel and has a higher permitted sulphur content. I try to avoid biodiesel because it can’t be stored for so long without going off and since I try to sail as often as possible some of the diesel in my tank will still be there next season. Diesel bug is also more likely to occur in biodiesel. This has only become an issue recently as regulations have changed to allow more biodiesel to be added to the ordinary stuff. It is only legal to sell ISO 8271 for use in marine environments so red diesel sold in areas away from the coast is more likely to be exactly the same as white and can therefore contain biodiesel.
Steve

 

[sheyes]

Sorry must have pressed the button twice

 

[vanhirelondonuk]

Red or white, whichever is propelling & emulsifying should be used. Red Diesel may be more heat emulsing & white can be used in different engines.