The pump at like every station that has diesel says “diesel no. 2.” What is Diesel #2, and is there a Diesel #1 (or #3)?
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Diesel #1 is for winter use and has anti gelling additives to prevent freezing.
You will never find it in warm climates.
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https://www.dieselpowerproducts.com/blog/the-different-types-of-diesel-fuel/ and https://kendrickoil.com/understanding-differences-diesel-fuel-grades/
Looks like there is a #4 diesel fuel as well as a diesel for agricultural use only.
Petroleum is a mix of lots of hydrocarbon molecules. They can be separated roughly by size by boiling it and collecting different parts of the vapors that condense under different conditions. Hence why you have ‘light’ and ‘heavy’. These can be blended to make products with certain properties, including the temperature range at which they still work as fuel.
According to the above links, #1 has more refining steps to remove paraffin waxes that would solidify in cold conditions.
If you have to ask, you can’t afford diesel number one.
Or you live where freezing temps are not a big deal. It’s for ensuring proper engine firing in under freezing conditions.
Don’t get lost in all the other engines that run on diesel. Commercial trucks and passenger vehicles that have diesel engines use the same fuel. Diesel has paraffin in it. When it gets cold that paraffin starts coming out of solution and forms clumps. The colder it gets the more clumps until your fuel tank looks like jelly. Fuel providers in cold climate automatically switch when winter comes. The only time you need worry is if you top off your tank in Los Vegas and head to Colorado to go skiing. You will likely have warm weather blend fuel in your tank and would have trouble with it gelling up when you hit cold weather. Any place that sells diesel will also sell additives that you pour in your tank while fueling. For that very reason. The additives prevent gelling.
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Kerosene, Jet-A, furnace oil, and diesel fuel are all “middle distillates” (longer chain/higher boiling point than gasoline, shorter chain/lower boiling point than motor oil), but there are a few differences.
Jet-A and #1 diesel are pretty much kerosene, except they’re less pure than what you’d buy for an oil lamp that would be used indoors. #2 diesel has longer chain aliphatic hydrocarbons (saturated fats) than #1, which gives it the following differences from #1 diesel:
– Better lubricity, so the high-pressure pump doesn’t wear as fast. Truckers frequently add a lubricity improver (one of the functions of a commercial product called Howe’s Diesel Treat) in winter. If you read about diesel aircraft engines, or “yellow gear” that burns Jet-A (one less fuel to stock), it’s common to add a lubricity improver.
– More energy per gallon (better fuel economy).
– Higher cetane rating (measure of a fuel’s tendency to reliably self-ignite when sprayed into air heated by compression), engines start easier.
– Higher cloud point (wax crystals start to precipitate out, making it cloudy), cold filter plugging point (wax crystals are big enough to clog fuel filters), and gel point (fuel turns from liquid to gel). This is the big drawback of #2 diesel, and the reason we don’t use it exclusively.
You may run into the term “reefer fuel”. This is diesel which has not had road excise tax paid, so it’s cheaper. It’s also illegal to use to power a vehicle driven on public roads, but it can legally be used to power refrigeration units on trailers/containers (those engines don’t move the vehicle), off-highway vehicles (such as farm tractors), or as furnace oil. It will usually be the same blend of #1 and #2 that is sold as motor fuel.
In winter, the blend a fuel point sells will have a cold filter plugging point that is slightly below the ambient temperatures expected in the area over the next week or so (the more “winterized” diesel is, the more it costs to make). This can be a problem for inexperienced truckers, since it’s not unusual for a semi to be able to travel 1500 miles between refuellings. Suppose it’s winter, andyou’re assigned to haul a load of oranges from Lotsasunshine Florida to Freezeyerbunsoff Minnesota. You fill up at the company yard, then head to the shipper. It’s about an 1800 mile trip, so you plan to fuel around Chicago a couple days from now. Not so fast! You’re going from warm to cold, so your fuel won’t be suitable for where you’re going. You should fuel every night before your 10 hour rest break (so you’ve got cold-weather fuel in the tanks), and add a good shot of Howe’s. Don’t forget to treat the fuel for the reefer/heater on the trailer – if that fuel clogs the filter, the unit stops, and your trailer is no longer temperature controlled. The consignee will reject your load of frozen oranges. Coming back isn’t a problem, since you’ll be going to areas that are warmer than where you last filled up.
There is also #3 diesel, but you probably won’t run into it. It’s used mainly in large marine diesels, and sometimes in railroad locomotives.
Fuel Oil goes up to Number 6, which is so thick it can’t be pumped or burned without preheating it. It’s used in ships, and is also known as Bunker Fuel.
What about Diesel Number 9? Number 9? Number 9? Number 9?
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