Does it matter what brand of gas one buys?

[Almer Fudd]

The Bowden refinery was really just set up to complete condensate gathered from west of #2. When the feedstock dried up they shut it down.
Shell sold it to Parkland and Parkland tried to make a deal with some Natives (likely to avoid the remediation/clean up costs).
It produced excellent quality gasoline, but no diesel for a long time.
I don't think it's been in operation for over 15 years.

The Esso refinery may be old but I believe it's still the largest in Alberta.
Fuel quality problems are almost always downstream of the refinery or terminal.

[LacLaBicheNS]

I have used shell exclusively for almost 3 years. Hasn't casued me a problem yet, but I will probably be switching to the Esso down the street after reading all the issues with shell.. Just not worth it.

I drive a dodge 1500 with the hemi and always use high octane surpeme. Seems like better milage even when the higher prcied is factored in. Peice of mind of a cleaner engine because of high octane is also a plus.

[jack88]

Originally Posted by loyaleddie

Regular Gas+Purple die= purple gas.....its the same fuel as regular

Purple gas doesn't get cycled through (fresh batches) enough because it doesnt have that high of a demand so it loses some of its octane rating while it sits in back country store tanks, especially in the winter when farm equipment isnt being used as much. The longer it sits the, it loses a small amount of its calorific value...burn a little more to make up for lost heating value.

[denpacc]

Originally Posted by loyaleddie

huh?...what co-op does your bro buy his fuel from...maybe its a localized problem

He said the newer one on McLeod, far south. Plus he adds a diesel additive with each full tank.

[bb356]

Originally Posted by LacLaBicheNS

I have used shell exclusively for almost 3 years. Hasn't casued me a problem yet, but I will probably be switching to the Esso down the street after reading all the issues with shell.. Just not worth it.

I drive a dodge 1500 with the hemi and always use high octane surpeme. Seems like better milage even when the higher prcied is factored in. Peice of mind of a cleaner engine because of high octane is also a plus.

if you are not having problems ! do not change a thing! i have been using shell fuel at the same station since 2004 in my hemi and have had no problems !

[bb356]

Originally Posted by Almer Fudd

The Bowden refinery was really just set up to complete condensate gathered from west of #2. When the feedstock dried up they shut it down.
Shell sold it to Parkland and Parkland tried to make a deal with some Natives (likely to avoid the remediation/clean up costs).
It produced excellent quality gasoline, but no diesel for a long time.
I don't think it's been in operation for over 15 years.

The Esso refinery may be old but I believe it's still the largest in Alberta.
Fuel quality problems are almost always downstream of the refinery or terminal.

your last sentence hit the nail on the head !!!

[Cattle Dog]

I've had farm diesel delivered by the Co-op fuel truck since jan 1986.
Used it in a Cummins Dodge, a Duramax GMC, and a John Deere tractor, and have not had fuel filter problems at all; in fact, i always change the fuel filters before any fuel filter warning light comes on; so, guess Co-op fuel is o.k.

But the usa govt has been just recently sued for allowing a higher ethanol content into some fuel sources; such fuel is bad for many engines including chainsaws, atvs, snowmobiles, etc; and many existing vehicle engines.
I don't drive to usa anymore; am scared of american lawyers, and american fuels.

[Christofficer]

Every time I'd put in shell gas my car would act up. So I ran it nearly dry, then filled up with esso premium and threw in some fuel additive. Fixed it right up. This happened to me too many times at shell, I'll never buy their gas again unless I have to. I always buy premium too, my car loves it, definitely worth the extra dollars. My bro in law's cheap hyundai doesn't seem to have any issues with shell gas though.

[NoKlu]

A good friend of mine hauls fuel and he said they dye the gas as they need it.

[eastcoast]

well I will try to answer some question and quell some myths at the same time,first off I did drive a tanker for 4 years but it has been 4 years since I did it so some things may have changed in that time.

#1 dyed anything is just regular gas or diesel with dye injected at the load rack

#2 there is no such thing as mid grade gas it's regular and premium mixed together either at the pump or in the truck.

#3 there are only 3 refineries in edmonton so ther fuel must come from one of the 3.

#4 most places buy in bulk like hughes/superstore/costco and it goes to the lowest bidder for the allocation,so the fuel you will be getting from either of them could be from any refinery.

#5 there is no such thing as premium diesel they don't make it,a guy comes out before you attach your hose and pours a bottlle or 2 of fuel conditioner in the tank.

#6 almost all co-op fuel comes from esso in edmonton,they trade back and forth in alberta and saskatchewan

#7 ufa in alberta gets most of their diesel and gas from shell

#8 there are additives in shell/esso and petro canada fuel but not in the farmed out stuff thats just regular,when they supply their own stores they add additives.

#9 I did my own testing of all 3 and found little difference in my vehicle exact same milage for all 3.

#10 if there is water in the fuel it didn't come from the refinery it either came from the underground tanks at the station or it's condensation in your tank.

#11 husky and mohawk mostly use petro canada gas and diesel.

#12 not sure about the testing part of it I know every batch that comes to the refinery has to be tested inhouse before they release it.

#13 the biggest refinery as far as capacity is scotford shell,they supply edmonton and calgary and kelowna and maybe more not sure how far it goes.

#14 the only time nowadays when you will get shell gas in petro canada is in a shutdown,they plan their shutdowns to not disrupt the supply so they do it at different times and trade back and forth when they do it,usually in the spring.

that's about as much as I can think of right now more may come to me later,and as I said things may have changed over the past few years,I have also done some work in the refineries in this time.

[fordtruckin]

Originally Posted by Cattle Dog

But the usa govt has been just recently sued for allowing a higher ethanol content into some fuel sources; such fuel is bad for many engines including chainsaws, atvs, snowmobiles, etc; and many existing vehicle engines.
I don't drive to usa anymore; am scared of american lawyers, and american fuels.

Which is why all the people I know including myself, who drive south SWEAR that they get better performance out of their vehicles when they use fuel sold in the States vs. fuel sold in Canada. Unless its E85 all the pumps I've seen may or may not have up to 10% ethanol in it. The same as in Canada so whats the difference?

[DOGFISH]

I stay away from any fuel with ethanol. It seems to go hand and hand with moisture. Just check out the marine forums and the troubles guys have with ethanol fuels with boats that are used allot. As for which fuel to run just fill up @ the same place as much as you can. When we worked with the pipeline company that ships to Calgary all the regular fuel went into the same pipeline and into the same tank from Petro-Can(Suncor), Esso and Shell. When the fuel trucks loaded @ the main terminal depending on which company they were hauling to they would in-line blend the appropriate additives for that particular company. We ran a fleet of 30 trucks for 16 years on Esso fuel because that is who our contract was with and never had injector, fuel pump or fuel filter problems. Both gas and diesel, just our experience. Hope this helps.