[rfuerst317]

For you guys that have diesel garden tractors do you use " off road " diesel fuel when it's available ? Or do you prefer on road diesel ?

My understanding is the off road is the same as on road minus the road taxes . And it has a red dye added to it . I have used both in previous JD diesels and recently purchased an X740 . Curious what others are using as the off road around here is 30 cents cheaper per gallon .

 

[BucolicBuffalo]

Off road diesel! Savings on the road tax. The off road diesel isn't bio-diesel. The supplier delivers for a small fee. Also gives me a discount for paying right away. Not having to make frequents trips to the gas station to fill containers is such a blessing. My supplier adds a fuel additive called FlowMax. Farming is huge in central Illinois, so the fuel is always fresh.

 

[Highwayman1]

Off Road diesel = no taxes Maryland. Never had a any problems across several John Deere diesel's.

 

[dave24319]

For you guys that have diesel garden tractors do you use " off road " diesel fuel when it's available ? Or do you prefer on road diesel ?

My understanding is the off road is the same as on road minus the road taxes . And it has a red dye added to it . I have used both in previous JD diesels and recently purchased an X740 . Curious what others are using as the off road around here is 30 cents cheaper per gallon .

Myself, Always used the road diesel, And always put Power Service additive in it. Never had a problem , Last I bought cost me 4.85 gal. best I can remember. At Shell.

 

[Kris OK]

I use pump diesel for on-road vehicles. I don’t even know where I would get off-road diesel these days. The off-road stuff used to have more sulfur content, but I don’t think it’s been that way for years. Now I believe they are identical, save for the color.

 

[TempletonJDguy]

Yes diesel went from sulfer at 5000 parts/million to 500 in 2006 to 50 ppm. The off road followed those government regulations by one tier but now it’s all at 50 ppm sulfer. Unfortunately our new trucks will not run on anything but this new mix. They have to add something like 85 (this could be an exaggeration and also includes def) chemicals to keep the engine lubricated. This new toxic mix is very expensive to produce and you can imagine the logistics in producing all these chemicals! So the answer for me is yes, I run off road that has no road tax but it’s the exact same mix plus the red dye. However the old tractors we love would run on a 50/50 mix of bio diesel, motor oil, kerosene ect. Our government continues to cut off our noses to spite our face. I remember a similar disaster with a gasoline additive called mtbe. Some politicians and companies got very rich producing/selling this mandatory gasoline additive. It was supposed to help reduce greenhouse gasses but it wound up polluting drinking water and who knows what health effects it had. It was replaced by alcohol in our gas. This may be similar to the additives in diesel, who knows what the long term affects are. One thing I do know is it sure is expensive and there are rumors that the supply is very limited!

 

[jd140]

We always use off-road diesel in our tractors.

 

[timcasbolt]

Around here (Cecil County, MD) off-road is only a very small savings over on-road, so I don't bother. I always have 5 gallons in the barn for emergencies, and I wouldn't dare put off-road in the truck for fear of getting caught.

 

[ptzbrg]

speaking of that I got some diesel yesterday for 2305 the pump asked me if I wanted tractor or reefer diesel? I really had no idea i picked tractor. Matt.

 

[mjydrafter]

speaking of that I got some diesel yesterday for 2305 the pump asked me if I wanted tractor or reefer diesel? I really had no idea i picked tractor. Matt.

I think the reefer diesel in non-taxed.

A farm buddy got popped (this wasn't this century) for running off-road in his truck. He was on his way to a stock sale.

Anyway, the officer told him they could detect a drop of that dye in 1000 gallons...

Not even sure where I could get it, despite being here in farm central. So, I don't even look. I also have a diesel auto, so it's just easier to pay the tax. I think I've run 15-20 gallons this year, so the savings would be pretty minimal. My accountant dad would say, there's worse things than paying taxes... if they didn't use road taxes for "stuff I like" i might try harder...

 

[DEERE317]

Going to guess tractor diesel was on reference to semi tractors since it offered reefer diesel, so on road vs off road.
Off road lacks most if not all of the road taxes that on road has (and is dyed so as not be ran on road)
The one local station that has off road isn’t a whole lot cheaper than it’s on road, and is as or more expensive than on road in town.

 

[LukeL]

I’ve never looked around here to see where it’s available, so I’ve always used regular pump diesel in my machines.

 

[bobstillwagon]

I use #2 fuel oil which is offroad diesel. I heat my shop with an oil furnace and pump from the same tank directly into my diesel garden tractors. Don't even keep diesel in my 6 gallon diesel container anymore. I do have a good filter in the line from the pump just in case.

 

[Skwirl]

Number 2 heating oil, when I have time to make the trip. It's not available close to home anymore. Otherwise I get stuck buying on road diesel.