"Red Petrol" does it exist

[david and julie]

After re-reading what I said about gas oil V red D I can see I have said it wrong.

What I meant was heating oil V red D. That is 28sec V 35sec.

I thought these had different viscosities and cetane ratings.

When I said cleaner I meant before burning rather than the emissions. I have looked in tanks of this fuel(28 sec) on boats and it seems to have small black particles that are not present in diesel (white or Red).

Although both red D and heating oil(28 sec) do not have as much duty applied as white D they both have VAT on them. However I believe one is 17.5% and the other 7% like gas and electric.

Whilst engines will run on either I believe 28 sec gives more problems with filters.

Masona.. have I got that right?

 

[masona]

I'm on my break at the moment, I don't have the details with me as I only known Bitumen spec. I can get the details when I'm back at work. Not sure if this is any help ?

 

[AdamW]

Just mentioned this thread to my mum, who was raised on a farm. She said "Oh yes, they used to remove the dye by filtering it through bread!"

Never realised my mum was a black-marketeer!

 

[mildmanneredjanitor]

'Bread Diesel'

Found this....

http://www.generators.co.uk/harrington/silentdiesel.htm

Argh argh argh!!!

 

[AdamW]

Mmmmm, 60kVA...

I went to look at a house for a mate of mine, it had a generator hook-up point in the storage room on the back! I would imagine it was a late 50s-early 60s house, perhaps a Cold War measure

 

[jasy]

no.....****** lived there

 

[securespark]

French call it gazoil too.

I used to know someone who chopped the crusts off a while loaf and used it vertically to filter the red through, but it is not 100%. If you're sh*t hot, then you can spot it.

 

[AdamW]

French call it gazoil too.

Funny how they teach different words in different schools at different times etc. I have never actually filled up a car in France myself, but recalling my GCSE French we were taught they call it "derv". Super=4* (although that is a bit redundant now), "Sans Plombe"= unleaded, "derv"=truck/skoda fuel However, I have definitely seen signs for gazoil too.

Saying that, the French have loved their diesel cars for a good many years, so they probably have 800 words for it in the same way as innuits and snow

I am surprised the red dye/bread trick still works, I would have thought they would have since invented some special dye that wouldn't be so easy to remove.

I found out today that apparently you can't take your car on the Chunnel if it runs on LPG.

 

[david and julie]

Texmex. You didn't say whether you were thinking new or used. This may be worth you watching.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46412&item=4322977262&rd=1

Unlike the modern screaming chinese c**p.These listers usually only rev at about 1500 rpm and have bigger alternators. They are more economical and last years. Many people will be put off by the lack of a casing but for your purposes(boxed in) it will be quieter than many new ones.

If you got this at the right money you would get your money back when your done with it. (BTW its not mine)

 

[pipme]

Years ago I was passenger in a mate's lorry (his father was major local farmer), pulled by customs and excise ..... They do not just look at the diesel colour, they had a mini lab in van, saw them using a hydrometer .. relative density check I imagine.
Apparently they were also investigating the possiblity of tank within tank, or a remote tank ... Over an hour as I remember.

Don't know about now, but could go to almost any west country market and laugh at the red stains on the white Mercs' etc, Good old days !!
Fuel
P

 

[TexMex]

Looks a goodun. I have a lot of faith in Lister engines. I have been watching eBay, quite intently for some time now. These two machines are sold on a regular basis. They quite often have a "buy it now" price of about £800 (which seems a lot of kit for the money).

This
or
This
The only thing that puts me off them is that they are air cooled. As I say, I would like to put the generator in a bunker to make it totally silient, but this wouldn't be very condusive to the efficient coooling of an air cooled jobbie.

I don't need it for at least a couple of months yet, but I've started looking already, so that I'll know what's out there, and what I need to spend, when the time comes.

Funny enough, just yesterday, driving down the A127 towards Basildon in my van, a white van pulled along side and started mouthing something about having some cheap tools.

We pulled up and he showed us a shed load of brand new power tools that he had in the back. He also had a few generators there. One was the same model as the second link I have shown. He wanted £1200 for that. He also had a Honda 3.5Kw job for £290.

He had a foreign number plate, and an Irish accent, and could not give us any contact details. My mate had a 24V cordless drill of him. He wanted £60 for it, but my mate only had £25 on him. This fellow took the £25 for it and my mates mobile phone number. The arrangement was, that he would call later that day, to arrange to meet up for the other £35. So far he hasn't called.

Personally, I didn't feel too comfortable doing business with the man. Even if I had money on me, I doubt I'd have bought anything. The drill seems mediocre quality, and once again, is a model that is sold by the thousand on eBay.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

From what I gather, red diesel is for any use that doesn't involve the public highways.

Hence farm machinery (seldom on the road), boats ( !), generators, heating. Not Range Rovers, for obvious reasons

What about if you use the electricity to charge the batteries on an electric vehicle?

 

[TexMex]

What really anoys me about this "transport tax" is when the government use the excuse that they are "doing it for the environment".

Now when I am driving to a job with a Cement mixer, a few bags of sand and dust, lengths of pipe and enough tools to give Geof Capes a hernia. Do they honestly expect me to catch a bus!

Given that the journey in question has got to be undertaken and I also happen to have a lot of chip fat to dispose of. What is better for the environment.

Burn 4 Litres of Diesel and Contaminate the environment with my chip fat (by disposing of it in the gound).

Burn 4 Litres of chip fat and save the 4 Litres of diesel, for when there is a chip fat shortage.

Chip fat only releases as much CO2 into the atmosphere, when it is burned, as the CO2 that was absorbed during it's production by mother nature. So the burning of chip fat is an environmentally friendly alternative to diesel.

Why the heck aren't our government encouraging all of us to use chip fat for fuel? Because they don't give a **** about the environment. They just want our money.

 

[AdamW]

We pulled up and he showed us a shed load of brand new power tools that he had in the back.

Was the passenger window on the van smashed, and did he start it with a screwdriver by any chance?

Now when I am driving to a job with a Cement mixer, a few bags of sand and dust, lengths of pipe and enough tools to give Geof Capes a hernia. Do they honestly expect me to catch a bus!

Obviously you would have to be mental to say that you could carry that lot about without a large van! But, everyone sees it as their right to drive where they like, and can come up with reasons why they have to drive. For example, I drive 4 miles to work, it takes me about 10 minutes. If I cycle it takes me a really long time (6 big hills on that 4 mile route) and I end up rather sweaty and smelly by the time I reach work, muddy too if it rains. The bus stops near my flat, but to ride it to anywhere near my office takes a good 45 minutes (takes a long route) and I then have to walk nearly a mile from the bus stop to my office.

Chip fat only releases as much CO2 into the atmosphere, when it is burned, as the CO2 that was absorbed during it's production by mother nature. So the burning of chip fat is an environmentally friendly alternative to diesel.

Biofuels are the way ahead for the medium-term, everyone seems to realise the economics of burning chipfat make far more sense than fossil fuels (providing you can keep up with demand). Not to mention the fact that the technology is here, today, and ready: all you need is a diesel car full of sunflower oil, no need to wait for the "hydrogen economy". Even if I was given the choice of 80p a litre for fossil fuels and 80p a litre for renewable fuels I would take the latter. However, despite this massive tax opportunity (they could encourage people to drive MORE if we are using "environmentally friendly" fuels) the government seems to be dragging its heels on moving towards different energy sources.

What about if you use the electricity to charge the batteries on an electric vehicle?

Hmmmm, might be hard for them to prove the electricity came from red diesel! However, in terms of £/kWH it would be cheaper to recharge from the grid. I think there are special exemptions for electric vehicles anyway so it would be perfectly fine to recharge via a red-diesel generator. But if you carried it WITH you and used it on the move, this would be a diesel-electric vehicle and so probably wouldn't get these exemptions.

I want my hydrogen fuel-cell flying car and I want it now!

 

[TexMex]

We pulled up and he showed us a shed load of brand new power tools that he had in the back.

Was the passenger window on the van smashed, and did he start it with a screwdriver by any chance?

No, it was a nice clean, white van. I suspect that this fellow was playing a common bluff. He wanted to give us the impression that the gear was "off the back of a lorry" and that's why he could give it to us, real cheap. In reality, he probably came by it by lawful means. It's just cheap tat, with some reasonable gear thrown in for the sake of credibility. We used to get a lot of mock auctioneers around this way, that used the same tactic.

Can you imagine going to a trading standards office and saying. "I bought this gear, that I was led to believe, is cheap due to being stolen, but it turns out that it's actualy just cheep because it's rubbish. Can I do the vendor for misrepresentation?"