Have the refineries caught up with ULSD, or is demand down?

[EdoHart]

I filled up the diesel truck today and noticed that it cost $0.36 less per gallon for ULSD than for low test gasoline. When ULSD was first mandated, diesel fuel cost a little more than low test gasoline. So, have the refineries finished the upgrades necessary to bring ULSD to market at a reasonable cost, or has the shrinking economy reduced the demand for diesel fuel?

I suspect it's a combination of both.

 

[Barko1]

Depends on where you are. In the last couple of months I've been to Alaska and the Midwest and prices have been all over the place from Diesel being .50 less to more than that above unleaded. Right now in NM it's a few cents more than regular if you shop, down on the corner it's .20 more.

 

[CJ8Rockcrawler]

Shhh... maybe big oil hasn't noticed yet!

 

[fatpete]

Has anyone experienced worse gas mileage with the Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel vs Low Sulphur Diesel? I haven't ran my current tank out but have heard other guys getting 1-2 less mpg with the ULSD.

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

Has anyone experienced worse gas mileage with the Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel vs Low Sulphur Diesel? I haven't ran my current tank out but have heard other guys getting 1-2 less mpg with the ULSD.

I've heard said that the lubricity has gone down with the removal of S...

 

[EdoHart]

Sulfur provides both lubricity and BTUs.

Sulfur is both a lubricant and increases the BTU content of a fuel (thus better fuel mileage). But, considering that Sulfur+Water=sulfuric acid, I'm glad ULSD is mandated. Just as I'm glad that leaded gasoline is no longer allowed. This is my first diesel truck, and it's designed to run on both ULSD and LSD. ULSD is the only fuel I have ever run it on, so I can't compare it to LSD.

I heard there were quite a few problems with engines (fuel pumps, injectors, etc.) when LSD became the standard because of the reduced lubricity. I haven't heard of any problems with ULSD for trucks designed for LSD, except for the reduced MPG.

 

[Bat]

The ULSD is hurting mileage and lubrication, I run Stanadyne in my tanks just to make sure.