There are no issues with mixing the two types of diesel fuels, although red usually has a higher sulfur content than green.

Unfortunately you can’t just purchase off road diesel with a credit card or cash. You’ll need to get a business fuel card because your fuel card provider will need to verify that you are purchasing red dyed diesel for qualified off road equipment to comply with state and federal laws.

What is Off-Road Diesel? Chemically, off-road diesel is exactly the same as conventional diesel fuel. However, its use is limited to certain applications as part of government incentives. Off-road diesel can be used for trucks, as heating fuel, in a generator, or any number of applications.

Also known as off road fuel, dyed diesel is a special fuel that is dyed red and is limited to certain uses. You can use it when operating construction or heavy agricultural machinery, powering generators, and heating homes. It is illegal to use dyed fuel on commercial or passenger vehicles that operate on public roads.

Off-road diesel isn’t taxed, so it is cheaper than on-road diesel. Plus, in our state of Texas, there are no state or federal excise taxes. Because of that, off-road diesel (often called alternative fuel) can cost about $0.25 less a gallon.

Red diesel won’t damage your car as it’s the same fuel as white diesel, just with a red dye added.

The thing is that if you’re caught running off-road diesel fuel, you will be VERY HEAVILY fined. Off-road fuel is the same as on-road fuel (as long as you’re sure it’s ULSD); the exception is the dye. Off-road fuel isn’t taxed like road fuel is, hence the dye and hence why you’d be fined if you’re caught.

No it does not smoke more. There is a hefty fine that varies from state to state if you get caught.

Because it isn’t used in vehicles driven on roads, off-road diesel is not taxed and is therefore cheaper than on-road diesel. There is no difference in performance between the two types of diesel, but for businesses operating off-road vehicles, it’s less expensive to use off-road diesel.

Red, but not red To differentiate between the two fuels, red diesel has a dye added turning the fuel red. Fraudsters can remove the colour using an acid or alkali which renders the dye colourless, or by stripping the dye from the diesel using activated carbon.

Marius Legavicius used cat litter to remove the red dye from the diesel fuel which carries a significantly lower level of excise duty. Legavicius was then able to sell on the fuel as ordinary diesel fuel. Red fuel is sold with a lower level of duty for use only in vehicles in agriculture and the construction industry.

For HMRC to test for the use of gas oil, they need to locate a marker dye within the fuel or tank using dip testing. The red colour is added to make it easily identifiable as red diesel.

Wax paraffin formation – crystals begin to form when red diesel becomes too cold and amalgamate which block the fuel filter. This will cause the engine to fail or stop due to fuel starvation. Contamination – when the temperature drops water can form in the fuel which can clog filters and also cause engine problems.