dealing with rising diesel cost

[rumination]

How are gasoline prices comparing to diesel these days? Does anyone have any info on how bio diesel prices (B20-B100) have been doing?

I'll be coming back to the US in May and will be buying a vehicle and driving some long distances. I'm trying to decide on what I should buy. I do really want/need 4x4 for some of the places I will be going, and I also want something that will make a good work vehicle. Anyways, fuel prices and mileage are starting to play a larger role in my thinking.

 

[Newfie]

Diesel seems to be running about a dollar/gallon ahead of regular(87) gas around the northeast. $3.11 this morning

 

[brendonv]

$3.33 gas, $4.22+ Diesel.

Thank god for my Toyota.

 

[stehansen]

Diesel is about 50 cents more per gallon here. I think the red diesel is about 60 cents less than clear diesel. I have a 100 gal. tank with a hand pump on it and I will fill it up with red diesel for the chipper and the tractor. I can also put it in the tractor that I work my orchard with but that only uses 20 gal./yr. I have been using about 5 gallons/day in my chipper lately but usually I don't use that much.

 

[vharrison]

I'm concidering a surcharge when regular gas goes above $3.70. I'm thinking charging a flat fee per invoice, not by the mile.

What are you thinking per invoice? I was thinking along those same lines.

 

[Koa Man]

I told my son-in-law that we should start charging for bids, except for established customers. Even a token amount like $5, which would be credited back if we got the job. That would help pay for some of the fuel costs and weed out the shoppers who like to call everybody in the YP to try and save $10 on a small job.

 

[squisher]

That sounds like it might not be a bad idea Wesley, a small enough amount that anyone who is serious at all won't be put off by it but an actual amount so the window shoppers will pass. I'm gonna think about that one, our area here is widespreading I mean I could be driving anywhere up to 40minutes in any direction to give a free quote. Now I know it's just part of doing business but I've been leaning more to questioning the people on the phone more to find out if they're just price shopping or what. I've been offering up hourly rates to thos furthest out that seems to help seperate the lookeyloo's as well. When I tell them my hourly(and heh I'm reasonable) for two guys truck and chipper and I hear them pucker on the other end of the phone I pretty much know it's gonna be a waste of time.

 

[treetx]

This morning at the local station, 3.99 diesel, 3.23 gas.

What I can get my head around is why diesel is more expensive. It costs way more to crack oil into gasoline than it does to make diesel.

Diesel prices are moving up but at a drastically higher rate than fuel stock prices are increasing (oil). So rising cost of oil isn't the problem.

In other countries, diesel is cheaper than gas.

 

[sotc]

supposedly its the low sulfer refining

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Nonsense. sulfer refining indeed :roll: Low sulfer diesel should be cheaper...
Diesel was once a dirty byproduct of the petroleum industry, that they struggled to find a market for. it was only when lightweight versions of Rudolph Diesel's engine became available that they found a market, although its common knowledge that Dr Diesel designed his engine to run on peanut oil....

 

[sawinredneck]

...........And Henry Ford designed the Model A to run on Hemp oil.

Put that in you're pipe and smoke it

 

[treetx]

That is what I had always thought too. They are hard on sulfur as it has to be below 15ppb.

I thought that was also the case in Cali for gasoline too.

Ok, so we have cleaner diesel and dirtier gas?

 

[Mr. Sir]

There are more taxes added to the price of diesel fuel.

 

[sotc]

taxes are about 48 cents a gallon here, which happens to be waaay more than the oil company makes

 

[Frans]

o.k. you have all been more than fair in presenting why diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline.

The fact is, Americans are at the mercy of people who don't care about America or it's people.

 

[vl2007]

What are you thinking per invoice? I was thinking along those same lines.

I'm going to calculate the increase, then average out my invoices from last year, and come up with a fare amount. I'm not out to make a profit, I just need to cover this gas gone wild increase. The market will except only so much of an increase, after that they will go to the cheaper outfits.

What's your take on this, sound fare?

 

[Big A]

I think its something like 68pence per litre tax over here in good ol UK See the price went up again today, 109.9per litre now!!

 

[treetx]

I heard the red diesel is different and that it will fould up a turbo diesel. True?

 

[SkwerI]

No, Nate. Red diesel is the same as road diesel but it has red coloring added to indicate that road taxes are not paid on it.

In 2008 new laws were put into effect requiring low sulphur diesel for road vehicles. If there is any high sulphur diesel left in the system then perhaps it may be destined to get red dye and sold for off road fuel. But it's still the same diesel that was sold at every pump until the end of last year. Most of the new 2008 model diesel trucks have catalytic converters that will be damaged by high sulphur, so they require the low sulphur diesel.

Oh, and my buddy Tim with that sharp looking 2006 F350 Harley Davidson edition truck has been running red diesel for the last year.

 

[squisher]

Umm nope every piece of logging equipment I've ever been around has run dyed and they're all turboed.

 

[sawinredneck]

I heard the red diesel is different and that it will fould up a turbo diesel. True?

I'll say false!! I've seen it run it numorous turbo skisteers, wheelloaders and road graders without issues. I've even known a few guys, NOT RECOMENDING THIS, leave clear fuel in the tank, then tap into the fuel line with the "farm tank" they haul in the bed full of red, on Dodges and Fords.
Sounds like someone wants you to pay the premium.

 

[sotc]

i dont think that would accomplish anything andy. the return line would still dye the tank

 

[sawinredneck]

i dont think that would accomplish anything andy. the return line would still dye the tank

Who says it has to return to that tank

 

[No_Bivy]

fine is steepnot worth the worry...Do you have to pay road tax if you brew your own Bio diesel???

 

[sawinredneck]

fine is steepnot worth the worry...Do you have to pay road tax if you brew your own Bio diesel???

I did say I didn't recomend it!!!! But I didn't say it wasn't doable.

Right now that is a gray area. There is talk of that on a Fedral level, but they don't really know how to do it.