I stopped to buy fuel at a station on the interstate and when I went in to pay, the counter attendant told me I filled with "Premium Diesel Fuel". I am not a kid and have been around large diesel's (tractor trailers) since I was 13yrs old. I have never heard of Premium Diesel Fuel.
I understand that this post may reveal some ignorance on my part but, (ignorance can be corrected stupid is forever) can someone tell me what is Premium Diesel Fuel. I looked at the pump for a couple of minutes when I went back out and I could not find anything telling what made it Premium.

thanks for any feedback.

 

It is premium only becuase you paid extra for it...

No kidding-- I have never heard of that either... sounds like a scam to me.

 

It is a designation of fuel given mainly by the company. The guidelines for it are so lax that it's pretty much exactly what soulezoo said.

 

I just checked with a buddy who operates down at the "pipeline" here in San Diego. (It's where all fuel that's not trucked from LA, is stored). He says there is only Number 2 diesel and Red dye diesel..........Well, here in southern california that is. Number 1 diesel is the same as winter diesel, I think. So that would make three (3) types of diesel fuel. I've never heard of "premium diesel fuel" before.......

 

There is a Diesel station that sells Bio and No. 2. No. 2 is labeled premium. Strange.

 

I've seen "Premium" in Bonner or Missoula, Montana before. It had a higher cetane rating. I think it was a Sinclair station?

 

For what it is worth:

https://www.chevrontexaco.com/produc.../L2_5_2_fs.htm

"functional benefit" is the key, lol.

 

like stated earlier- higher cetane rating.

 

there is a citgo truck stop-gas station in va.at exit136 of I-64that has preminum at the pump in front where the cars and light trucks fill up and it cost more .the auto and light truck pumps in back dont say preminum and cost less.all the pumps say 40 cetane.

 

I don't know for sure but seem to remember the premium stuff has a lubricity agent added or more of it added or something. Maybe some detergents to help keep the injectors clean. All of the Flying J diesel used to be premium diesel. They no longer market it that way....

 

I worked at a truck stop back in the 80's. They had #2 and #1 premium. The 2 was gold & 1 was clear. Someone told me it was kerosene. Some of the truckers that used it told me that it smoked a whole lot more, but some of them seem to think their rigs ran better & smoother. Now heere's the killer, you get better mileage with 2 than 1 because 2 puts out more btu's or more energy than 1. I found this out when I bought a vented power kerosene heater. I could use diesel or kerosene & of course kerosene was more expensive but was not as corrosive as diesel, but my heater could use & burn diesel due to the fuel lines being coated with teflon. Then I found out that diesel put out more btu's or heat & was cheaper. I saw charts from energy sites on the internet. If I remember right the 2 put out 35 btu compared to 1 putting out 26 btu's per ounce of liquid. I asked myself kerosene was a heavier fuel or oil how could that be??? Sure enough it's a fact. Since they went to 15ppm sulphur diesel, I switched because it was now much cleaner & less corrosive & more heat per ounce.

 

#1 fuel is kerosene, #2 fuel is diesel. Diesel fuel is the most efficient fuel known to man. 1 gallon of diesel gives more BTU's than the equivalent of kerosense which in turn has more energy content than gasoline. I'm not an expert but I read a lot on fuels and stuff like that. I've never seen a premium diesel before but that doesn't mean you can't get it. We live in a "gasoline economy". You can look at different brands of gasolines and many of them advertise the fact that they put certain additives in like Shell with V-power to clean deposits etc. Also you can go to, in my area a gas station chain called "Racetrack" or even our Wal Mart, and get the cheapest fuel which is typically 5 to 10 cents per gallon cheaper than everywhere else the reason being it's sold without any additives dumped in whatsoever. Hardly anyone that sells diesel bothers going the extra expense of "juicing" it up because the market is so insignificant. So your typical diesel fuel is the equivalent of Wal Mart or Racetrack cheapo 87 octane gasoline. If you want it to be premium it's up to you to dump the additives in and make it that way.

 

That makes perfect sense. Bio-fuel would have less BTU's than plain #2 diesel meaning the latter would seem to be a premium fuel in my mind. So probably all he got was plain old regular #2 diesel.

 

Here in southern lower michigan the local BP sells Premium diesel and also the local Meijers has Premium. No choices, just the premium. At Meijers the label states higher lubricity additives and higher cetine rating than regular diesel, and at BP it just says higher cetine rating. It seems to be 1-2 cents higher but the BP is a small distribitor and it is competative with the other diesel suppliers in the area. I ahve not seen any noticable difference in fuel millage for any in this area.

 

Try the premium diesel and hear how quieter your engine is. A new ford owner with the 6.4 said that his owners manual recommends BP diesel because its higher cetane - 46 to 47, he was the one who put me onto it. Here its the same price as the 40 cetane sold elsewhere. If its the same price, why not use it.