Tips to prevent adding regular gas in the Ecodiesel engine?

[BillF6531]

I was gassing up my 4Runner a few years ago, and in the bay beside me a service vehicle was pumping the fuel out of a large cube van. I wandered over and the fellow told me the driver filled up his diesel tank with gas. Says it's a common occurrence, enough to keep him busy. A friend runs a few diesels at his shop, and puts a tethered laminated card inside the fuel door 'DIESEL only' and tells his drivers if they screw up, to call and not start the truck, but they pay for the service call. That ended his problems. It's all about focus.

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[Dmehrl]

Smell your hand after filling up, if it stinks, it’s diesel . One reason I’d never buy one

 

[kooltoys]

At first I thought to myself how can someone make that mistake and it seemed sort of dumb. I mean diesel stations are usually green, it's obvious so how do people make the mistake?

[/QUOTE]
not so true! here in florida BP has many stations and there normal pump handle is green, I think they use orange for diesel

 

[Mr._Bill]

I keep a pair of gloves in the back seat to wear when fueling to keep the smell off my hands. Started that years ago with my first diesel, since the pump handles were often dirty and had fuel on them. I continue that with the gas engine to keep the interior clean.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

My uncle once did the opposite (sort of) on purpose.

He had one on the 1960s GMC pickups with GM's early V6, the one that sort of galloped.

He was out in the boonies, and ran out of gas, but had some kerosene. It worked well enough for him to make it home.

If that engine was warmed up, it likely did "ok" on kerosene. I've sold several things that were made to run on kerosene. The issue is that they don't START well on it. Normally there was a small tank for gasoline and a valve you turned after the engine was warmed up to switch from the gas tank to the kerosene tank for running. My McCormick-Deering 1.5 hp M engine had a small dual-chamber mixer (instead of a carb) and you put a few ounces of gas in the "carb", started it, let it get a bit warm and then turn the valve in the mixer/carb and it would then run on the kerosene in the tank.

I sold this tractor a few years back (I have regretted it, dang I wish I had it back) - the part of the tank closest to you holds a couple gallons of gas while the main tank is kerosene.

And the blue engine on the floor to the left of the tractor - a NOS 258 JEEP ENGINE, never in a vehicle, it had never been bolted to a transmission or had engine mounts on it. The exhaust manifold had a paper tag on it.

 

[LakeMAnn]

Move to New Jersey and say "Fill it Diesel"

 

[LaterGator]

That jeep 258 will run on gas/diesel mix. just not very well. My boys dumped 5 gal of diesel into the cj-7 at the end of hunting season. Knuckleheads thought it was gas. Took me weeks to figure out why the jeep was running ragged and smoking badly. Finally,figured out what happened after I pulled the fuel filter and smelled the diesel. Drained the tank, put in fresh gas and problem fixed.

The fuel cans are now marked for red for gasoline and yellow for diesel.

 

[Sniper]

First off all, congrats on the purchase. I'm a bit envious. That's going to be an awesome rig.

Regarding your question: It really is a matter of basic situational awareness--something that many people don't practice or have. I had my Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel for around 2 years, and never even came close to pumping gas, or DEF, instead of diesel. I had a handful of panicked people run up to me to tell me that I was putting diesel in my vehicle, which was entertaining and led to some very confused looks, but that was about it.

Get out of your vehicle, check the pump, trace the diesel fuel line with your eyes to make sure it goes to the correct side of the kiosk, trace it back, hit the button, and make sure that the correct type of fuel displays on the screen. I check one last time after I insert the nozzle and before I hit the button as well. It becomes habit in a short period of time, and adds maybe 5 seconds to the whole process. I now do the same thing with pumping regular gas.

Overall--don't sweat it. Just always pay attention and you'll be fine.

I was at BP today and saw the diesel pump said biodiesel. Here is the link: https://www.bp.com/en_au/australia/home/products-services/fuels/diesel/diesel-blend-biodiesel.html

Is this an acceptable fuel in our Jeep Eco diesel engines? Thanks for the congratulations, I have been waiting a year for this engine to come out in the Rubicon. I had dinner with the American Expedition Vehicle Sales manager and I was in awe of the 370 Package with the 37's tires I'm getting as he explianed in detail how and why the suspension was designed. Today I spec'd out a 1600 pound load rated Diamond-back bed cover. I talked to a company to spray the bed called Line-X today so I will get that done witht he bed cover. Now I just need to find a rack to fit somewhere on the rig. I am really excited but it's going to take a couple months because I wanted a special bumper that AEV does not have stamped out yet so it won't be available until end of March.

 

[Sniper]

That jeep 258 will run on gas/diesel mix. just not very well. My boys dumped 5 gal of diesel into the cj-7 at the end of hunting season. Knuckleheads thought it was gas. Took me weeks to figure out why the jeep was running ragged and smoking badly. Finally,figured out what happened after I pulled the fuel filter and smelled the diesel. Drained the tank, put in fresh gas and problem fixed.

The fuel cans are now marked for red for gasoline and yellow for diesel.

A gas engine will handle diesel slightly because the octane is real low like in the 20's. If you but 90 Octane in a diesel engine it will ruin it. I know a guy that did it, it cost him $7000

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Octane is only the resistance to self-ignition. That's it. Longer chains, you can squish it and heat it and it resists igniting.
So a very low octane fuel will not resist self-ignition (diesel is supposed to self-ignite)

(not sure where you buy 95 octane, it's not sold here unless you buy racing fuel)

 

[Oil_Burner]

Is this an acceptable fuel in our Jeep Eco diesel engines?

Jeep talks about this in length in the manual, starting on page 481. The answer to this is, it depends.

Up to B5, no problem. B6 to B20 can be used, but the maintenance schedule is subject to shorter intervals, 10,000 miles reduced down to 8,000 miles and fuel filter changed every second oil change, not exceeding 16,000 miles. B21 or higher is not approved and has the warning that the engine may suffer severe damage if operated with concentrations of biodiesel higher than 20%.

The biofuel being blended into standard diesel has requirements... so making your own from old french fry oil would likely not meet that standard, The standard is discussed on page 483.

Then there is the warning that biodiesel fuel may gel or solidify at low ambient temperatures, and some have poor oxidation stability which can result in long term storage problems. It also warns about biodiesel having a natural affinity to water and water accelerates microbial growth.

 

[Oil_Burner]

Everyone makes mistakes. If they didn't, we would only need body shops in the north to fix the rusty vehicles.

If you recognize that you are putting gasoline in your diesel Gladiator, don't start it. Having the tank serviced is way cheaper than the cost of fixing the diesel engine.

I know someone who had a diesel VW Rabbit... probably 40 years ago. I think he had something over 300K miles on it before he replaced it. He related a story along these lines. At one point, he was filling it up with fuel when someone else at the pumps ask him the question, "Should you be putting gasoline in that vehicle?" He told me stopped filling it, pushed it over to the gravel, drained the tank, and pushed it back to the pump, and filled it with diesel... Not something you would do today.

 

[Gladman]

You're not supposed to use your phone, or get in and out of the vehicle while fueling. What would there be to cause such a distraction that you don't stop what you're doing, and fill the tank with the wrong fuel?

This is basic workplace safety 101. Focus on the task at hand. Think about the task and make a plan.
I have driven all manner of vehicles for 50 years and never fuelled incorrectly. It takes 5 seconds to focus before getting to the pump: Oh, what vehicle am I driving today? Ah, yes, it is a diesel. Fill with diesel only. No cellphone outside the vehicle.

 

[Gladman]

At first I thought to myself how can someone make that mistake and it seemed sort of dumb. I mean diesel stations are usually green, it's obvious so how do people make the mistake?

not so true! here in florida BP has many stations and there normal pump handle is green, I think they use orange for diesel
[/QUOTE]

In Canada the diesel pump handles are all yellow. Same as any jerry cans or other containers for diesel. All yellow.

 

[CerOf]

Simple.

Just pull up to the pump with the rainbow oil slick on the ground and grab the dirtiest handle.

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