marina b5 Fuel vs corner store B5 fuel

[Two killicks]

Good day,

The Yanmar owner manual recommend to use B5 fuel, are there any difference between the fuel that you buy at the marina and the B5 fuel that they sale at any gas pump in town? I went online to ensure that the fuel is actually a B5 fuel were I normally go to get gas and that is the case.

I did a search on the forum but found nothing about this subject...

 

[SGIDAVE]

Good day,

The Yanmar owner manual recommend to use B5 fuel, are there any difference between the fuel that you buy at the marina and the B5 fuel that they sale at any gas pump in town? I went online to ensure that the fuel is actually a B5 fuel were I normally go to get gas and that is the case.

I did a search on the forum but found nothing about this subject...

In the US there is no significant difference; color is different to denote "off road" fuel which is taxed less than the gas pump in town B5.

/dave

 

[nzfisher]

Fuel issues for diesel are becoming more complicated now that percentages of "biodiesel" are blended in fuel. If anyone knows more about this, such as the likelihood of biodiesel containing or holding more H2O I would be very interested in hearing about it.

 

[harry ames]

Now, that brings up a question. Is boat diesel considered to be off road and therefor lower taxed?

 

[SGIDAVE]

Now, that brings up a question. Is boat diesel considered to be off road and therefor lower taxed?

Fuel used for your boat is considered "off road" for tax purposes. Therefore, you COULD search out the "off road" diesel pump and fill up there if it's worth the effort. Where I live and boat there are not many such pumps or sources for fuel.

/dave

 

[stwendl]

Now, that brings up a question. Is boat diesel considered to be off road and therefor lower taxed?

Fuel used for your boat is considered "off road" for tax purposes. Therefore, you COULD search out the "off road" diesel pump and fill up there if it's worth the effort. Where I live and boat there are not many such pumps or sources for fuel.

/dave

I don't think this is correct at least not in California and some states with high boating traffic. Taxes from marine fuel stations are used to pay for marine and boating infrastructure (or so they claim) similar to land fuel paying for roads and infrastructure ( so they claim). So called off-road fuel is usually for construction and farm use where there is no infrastructure to pay for. Many off-road parks actually expect to see some off-road stickers and its fees are used to maintain those parks and pay for staff.

Using colored (tagged) fuel on roads or water ways may end with penalties if found out.

That's my understanding and I may be incorrect as far as some states are concerned but I am pretty sure this is how California deals with it. Some states don't have taxes on fuels and may not care about this issue. However high volume boating areas like Florida, Washington and California are making sure they get a piece of your pie of fun.

 

[Red Raven]

The diesel price at our marina in Oak Harbor, Washington State, is significantly less than at land based stations. It is dyed red/pink. I was told it is less expensive because it has no road tax included. It sounds like other states may be different.

 

[Captain Steve]

I live in Cal and the fuel at the dock is dyed red, indicating off road. It is cheaper than the Mobil station just up the street

 

[CAPTCRUNCH]

See:
https://americanboating.org/fueltax.asp
The threshold question seems to be what color fuel did you buy. It looks as if tax refunds are possible in some circumstances.

 

[harry ames]

Landlocked Utah does sell the pink diesel at lower prices for use in our large agricultural economy for tractors and other machinery. When I bought Poopsy the diesel in the tank which I'm pretty sure was sold in Alameda on the estuary was pink/red.

I guess with as little diesel as Poopsy uses it isn't a concern for me, but for the bigger tugs, using the "off road" pink might be a big savings.