Is Premium Diesel Fuel Worth The Premium?
By Gary Pipenger
There are many thoughts, opinions and claims about the benefits and cost justification of Premium Diesel Fuel. Many claims promoting premium diesel fuel or premium diesel fuel additives are just that, claims.
Our founder, Mr. Gary Pipenger, has written a series of articles titled "The Making of Premium Diesel Fuels." In the articles, he fully identifies and details the physical parameters and the handling requirements that must be done in order to have a true "Premium Diesel Fuel". This series of articles clearly describes and specifies precisely what the author believes is meant by the term "Premium Diesel Fuel".
In this new article, "Is Premium Diesel Fuel Worth The Premium?" Mr. Pipenger addresses the definition of Premium and what properties diesel fuel needs to have in order to be called premium. Nearly all aspects of these properties and performance claims can easily be tested in a qualified laboratory. This testing will prove or disprove the benefits and advertised claims associated with any so-called Premium Diesel Fuel and the upgrade chemical additives promoted to achieve the Premium status of a diesel fuel.
One of the most important things to remember about making a Premium Diesel Fuel is that all of the physical characteristics of the diesel fuel act in a synergistic manner with each other in order to provide good combustion in the cylinders. If any one or more of these parameters are less than optimum, the engine will not produce maximum power from the diesel fuel injected.
The major benefits anticipated from Premium Diesel Fuel are improved fuel economy (MPG) and operational efficiency (reduced maintenance costs). While the physical benefits of a Premium Diesel Fuel can easily be tested and quantified, documenting an actual fuel economy improvement in a particular diesel engine based on changing the fuel used or adding chemistry to the fuel used is perhaps the single most difficult task to complete accurately. The article explains the accepted documentation to proving a fuel economy improvement with "Premium Diesel Fuels" or "Premium Diesel Fuel Additives".
Due to the detail of the article and the charts, pictures and graphs associated with it, we feel that it cannot be appropriately presented on our web page. We would be pleased to provide anyone interested with a hard copy by mail. Simply request the article "Is Premium Diesel Fuel Worth The Premium?" when you
contact us with your name and mailing address for a prompt reply.