Off road Diesel in the RTV?

Anyone run off road diesel in their RTV? Any adverse effects? I have not ran it in my Kubota L3000 but I found a station that sells it local. Not worth the effort if it is going to be problems.</p>
 

DigOrange

Member
I run it all the time in my Kubota 3710, ZD21, and RTV. At least in my neighborhood off road (ag diesel) is the same stuff with red coloring added. It is cheaper since you don't pay road tax. In Missouri that's about 40 cents less a gallon. It is used in construction and agriculture engines. In missouri you can also pay full price then deduct the road tax at tax time provided you retain the receipts.</p>
 

TWO GUNS

Senior Member
Site Supporter
Uncle Doug,</p>


We run " off- road " fuel all thetime. The fuel is the same >> </p>


Only difference is the color >>>> one is green, one is red >>>> One is taxed, the other is not !!!!</p>


That isjust about all that our machines run down here. Why pay more for taxed fuel when you can run it </p>


legally in your RTV's & tractors >>>>></p>


NOTE: Don't run " untaxed / farm fuel in your truck you are traveling down the road, state man catches you, he will spank you good !!!! The off - road fuel is just that, sold for off = road use only >>>>></p>


</p>


........ two guns >>></p>


</p>
 
Uncle Doug,</p>


All I run is off road diesel in my RTV-1100.........It has the red coloring.......</p>


Rusty Anvil,,,,,,,</p>
 
Thanks all, I get a discount on gas & diesel at certain dealers as I work for a large chemical company but the tax savings would be more than my employee savings.</p>


</p>


I don't think my truck would like the diesel very much as it run on gasoline.</p>
 

bordercollie

Gold Site Supporter
Gold Site Supporter
And we put a diesel fuel conditioner in our bulk tank . You could add it per tankful as well. I cleaned out our 500 g bulk tank the last 2 times it was empty and you would never believe what crud I got out of there. Evidently the pump has a short suction pipe and has always left about 50 gallons on the bottom.So anyway, now I have plenty of backrubber diesel stored up in a drum.According to my brother in law, it hadn't been cleaned out 100% in many many (many) years. After the diesel drainage settled out it was probably 10 gallons of goo left. I changed the tank filter and it had done it's job thankfully. But you never know what condition the tanks are in where you buy fuel so I keep a spare fuel filter on the RTV. Bordercollie</p>
 
Diesel or home heating oil is the same and they both grow algie in a bulk tank over time and require an additive to prevent the algie growth when stored for long periods. They also make a machine that filter flushes the tanks to remove the algie. It is very common for boats that sit foe a long period of time to get algie in the diesel tanks.</p>
 

Captain

Member
Rusty,Thanks for the lead on the filter funnel. I searched ebay/ motors and found the filter for $15.84+5.00S&H. Search for "Racor fuel funnel". Captain</p>
 

TWO GUNS

Senior Member
Site Supporter
Thanks much from down here too, went online and bought several, twobigger ones for my the shop & out in the field ( F15) , and three ( F8 ) around the home places. Two F8 are going to be giving to my father & brother, they could use them also !!!!</p>


This should be a life-saver for everything we use down here !!!!</p>


Ordered them from the website, they have free shipping for now !!!! Has a " BUY NOW " button on the opening page on top ~~~~~</p>


The $$$$$$ being saved from buying fuel filters, and down time, will wellcover the cost of these Mr. Funnels and then some ~~~~~ Again,Thank You ForInformation On TheseFuel Funnels >>>></p>


</p>


................ two guns </p>
 

bordercollie

Gold Site Supporter
Gold Site Supporter
Two Guns and other farmers, Do ya'll also use the Golden rod type filters on your bulk tanks? They look like a salt box with holes inside a clear bowl (with water drain cock on bottom)that the fuel goes thru as it is pumped-- before reaching the filler hose? The fuel gets hard to pump when they are dirty... Mr funnel sounds just right for container storage and transporting to out of fuel units in the field or around places you aren't sure have a filter.. Bordercollie</p>
 

geohorn

Well-known member
SUPER Site Supporter
I use the "GoldenRod" water-filter on my bulk tank. While its primary purpose is to remove water from the fuel before it gets into the equipt … it also has the ability to catch larger junk/paritlces so it does double-duty. The valve on the bottom of the glass is to drain any visible water or to take a sample.

My bulk tank is made from a 160 gal propane tank given to me by a friend. It is powered by compressed-air from my nearby hangar/shop which supplies regulated 10 psi of filtered/dried air. (See the blue regulator atop the system....the drier is inside the hangar.) Air passes thru the regulator, then thru a ball-valve, then to a "T" which allows it to enter the tank. Coming up inside the "T" to the top-reducer on the "T" is a dip-tube threaded/sealed to the reducer. The air pressure forces the fuel up that dip tube, thru another ball-valve then into the glass-bowl, thru the filter and then out thru the hose.
The dip-tube picks up fuel about 3" from the bottom of the tank preventing sediment/water from coming up the tube. (Notice that no rust/sediment/water has actually made it to the glass bowl so that plan is satisfactory.)
The long hose I already had (gratis) from a friend who got out of the marine refueling business and gave it to me along with the nozzle which explains the length, which allows me to refuel without the equipt having to be overly-closeby. I installed a set of hydraulic quick-couplers to disconnect the hose when I use my tractor FEL to load the tank onto my trailer for trips to the bulk-plant where I save 60-80 cents/gal on untaxed off-road dyed diesel.
I added a drain at the bottom of the tank so I can drain water from it or sample the bottom of the tank if I choose. (If the upper air-vent ball valve is opened and connected to the drain ball valve with a clear vinyl tube the level of the fuel inside is accurately displayed in the tube, but I haven't really need to do that, I just mention it in case anyone else is thinking of designing a system.) The system I designed so that the air-inlet/vent valves must be operated open in order to re-fill the bulk tank (prevents someone from opening the cap without relieving any residual tank pressure.)
Total cost of the system was less than what I saved on the first purchase of untaxed diesel, but the downside is the length of time before I use all the fuel. (I only operate three diesels...my tractor, a Ferguson 5-8B asphalt compactor-roller (repairs/smooths the damage to my grass aircraft runway made by wild hogs) and my RTV, so I treat the fuel with anti-fungal/biocide Biobor-JF and Stabil-Diesel.) Really saves all the messiness of handling/lifting/spilling cans.

The liquid seen is from a fresh rainfall, not leaking fuel.
 

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bczoom

Senior Member
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Nice setup!


but the downside is the length of time before I use all the fuel. (I only operate two diesels...my tractor and my RTV, so I treat the fuel with anti-fungal/biocide Biobor-JF and Stabil-Diesel.)
Stabilized diesel lasts a long, long time. I'm guessing diesel I'm using in my RTV, tractor & genset is probably 10 years old.
 

Keifer

Senior Member
Gold Site Supporter
I agree with all of the above comments on this topic. I use off-road diesel in a J-D fel and the RTV. I store about 40 gallon at a time in 5 gal. plastic cans. I get it and ethanol free gasoline from a distributor nearby. As a self-serve credit card facility it works out well for me. I also use an additive and have used a Mr Funnel in my fueling since day one.
 

California

Super Moderator
Staff member
Site Supporter
I suppose it was said above but off-road diesel simply has dye added to mark that road maintenance fuel taxes weren't paid on it. No difference in operating characteristics. But don't get caught with it in a vehicle on the road, substantial fines.

I've read it is common for authorities to demand to dip a probe in vehicles parked at livestock auctions etc where the vehicle owners are likely to have tanks of both types of fuel back at the farm.

When I bought my then 20 year old Yanmar tractor in 2003 the fuel in it was nasty - hard starting and it burned my eyes badly. I suspect it was fueled from pre-1996 high-sulphur diesel that had sat for years in the abandoned rusty tank I saw there. Fresh fuel started and ran much better.
 

geohorn

Well-known member
SUPER Site Supporter
They can demand all they want.. But unless they have a search warrant... You can politely tell them to go take a swim.
 

valiant8086

New member
We've always put off road diesel in our RTVX1120d. Says right on the tank on the machine "ULSD only". Pretty sure Off Road (red diesel) is ULSD at this point. Wouldn't do to put it in a modern tractor with emissions otherwise.

This is interesting about filtering your storage tanks. We do have a 55 gallon drum but it has never been cleaned and no idea how to do it either. The tank sits empty through the winter as we generally just fill it up at the beginning of summer. Once it's all gone we switch to 5 gallon jugs until next summer. We've not had major trouble with what we recognized to be bad fuel filters and such either. The RTVX's needs replaced I think though, at about 400 hours on original one. Glad I read this, now to remember it if we start having trouble, lol.
 

bordercollie

Gold Site Supporter
Gold Site Supporter
Hi, We have members that swear by a filler funnel called Mr Funnel. I don't use that one but maybe some that do will check in. I heard lot of good things about it though. We have a Donaldson filter setup on out farm tanks but only because we have multiple pieces of diesel equipment . We used to use a Goldenrod filter on our hand pump though. We also use a diesel fuel conditioner . Lots of brands and opinions on those out there too but the good ones are really good for keeping your diesel in good condition. bordercollie
 
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bordercollie

Gold Site Supporter
Gold Site Supporter
Wanted to also mention something that happened near here. The folks that go around checking the diesel in farm vehicles tanks got a dairy for crossing the blacktop from one field to another with their feed truck- . It was a vindictive type of knothead that did the charges against the dairy for this meer crossing of the road. The fee charged was based on the size of their diesel storage tank and was huge because it was a large dairy. They are now out of business. I'm
not sure if that fiasco put them under but it sure didn't help.. What ever happened to common sense and understanding ? collie
 
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