Embarrassing Fuel Question ?

Does the diesel smell different ? I only ask cause I smell the difference when I fill up at the servo ?

You should be able to tell the difference between diesel and petrol by smell alone.

If in doubt, place a small quantity in a bowl, or even on the ground and touch a flame to it.
The petrol will go whoosh!
The diesel probably won't ignite at all. It's much less flammable.

As far as the petrol and two stroke mixture are concerned, you may be able to detect an oiliness in the two stroke fuel when rubbed between thumb and forefinger. Also straight petrol should have a reddish tinge to it when viewed in a glass jar.
The two stroke mixture will probably have more of a greenish tinge, but this may depend on the two stroke oil used and at what concentration.

Bill.

Should be easy to sort the diesel out by one of the methods above. As to the petrol, I dont think a bit of 2 stroke fuel in your vehicle will do it any harm. Just add a bit now & then maybe.

You could just put a small ammount of both fuels in open containers, and leave them in the sun to evaporate.
The oil mix should leave a residue behind.
Cheers

G'day Scorcher

Some may disagree, but if the 2 stroke is 9mths old i personally wouldn't be using it in my outboard, after a certain amount of time the oil tends to break down and you could end up doing damage to your motor.....I would use it in my car ,I have done this plenty of times and it doesn't seem to do any harm..As for the diesel you should be able to tell the difference with that.

Cheers.....Dave

My method of determining 2 stroke fuel is to pour onto a surface (I use concrete) and you will be able to tell if an oily surface is left when evaporated. It is a regular check on the farm with employees. Haven't blown up a chain saw yet.

Neil

Thanks All,

I'll try the ideas out.

Scorcher

This is so easy. There are separate container types for both petrol and diesel as the size of the diesel nozzles at the bowser are larger and won't fit into a container designed for petrol. The diesel ones are yellow and the petrol either red or black.

Now if you're like me and only took the black containers on a trip (to Perth and back) you'll know how hard they are to fill with diesel. You can't avoid spillage and diesel being as greasy as it is it collects on the side of the container and stays there. Petrol will just evaporate and the sides will left dry.

Hi, to test the straight petrol from the premixed petrol,
put some in a glass with 1/2 water , stir well and let settle and the premix will settle with an oily film between the 2, if just bubbly it is straight petrol.
Cheers Des.

get some strips of brown paper and dip into fuel ,the two stoke will leave oily film and the plain petrol will dry clear.
Ronnie

Diesel is easy - its oily and does not burn fast


as for the Petrol - depending on the ratio you mixed up

put a sample of each into a bottle ( like an old coke bottle )


Shake vigorously

The one with NO 2 stroke oil will not have bubbles for very long on the surface - maybe 1 sec

the one with 2 stroke fuel will have bubbles that dissipate from the surface much slower than the plain fuel

Most fuel mixed up at 20:1 the bubbles will take about 4 seconds to disappear - you can also use this method to check to see if you have used enough oil / mix - i had worked for Mc culloch for about 3 years as my first job fixing small 2 stroke motors - and was taught this method when determining warranty on seized motors

Boc

It should be easy to tell the diesel from the petrol(s), and it should be ok to use. However, unleaded goes off very quickly these days and I wold only use it very diluted or is old technology/relatively cheap equipment (like a lawnmower)

If you se large quantities in the boat, it may be ok to use diluted quite a bit, but the petrol would probably have lost a lot of its octane rating.

Cheers Andrew