red diesel anyone know the law?

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E

Evan farmer

Active Member
Posts
782
i currently have 10litres roughly of red diesel in my td5 110 we put it in to try and start it as the garage was closed before we noticed block had cracked diesel straight to sump
So we stopped and bought a donor disco for the engine hopefully it will be all finished by October anyway back to the red diesel can I get away with that much my tank will always be stained with red but would I getaway with this story as it's been off the road since a few years or will I need new fuel tank ?
Cheers
 
Last I heard, they can dip your tank and you either get charged and fined for the fuel tax they think you should have paid , or you lose the vehicle.

I am sure someone more knowledgeable will be along, why not ask you local farmer friends as they will know what the local C&E are like for dipping. Near here it was always farmers cattle markets they used to visit and dip.

Have a read of this.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...icles/excise-notice-75-fuel-for-road-vehicles

Cheers
 
neilly said:
Last I heard, they can dip your tank and you either get charged and fined for the fuel tax they think you should have paid , or you lose the vehicle.

I am sure someone more knowledgeable will be along, why not ask you local farmer friends as they will know what the local C&E are like for dipping. Near here it was always farmers cattle markets they used to visit and dip.

Have a read of this.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...icles/excise-notice-75-fuel-for-road-vehicles

Cheers
Click to expand...
Every time a local farmer gets pulled over they get a hefty fine and one lost his old 4x4
 
As it has been off the road, when you renew the MOT and start the road legal paperwork Tax , insurance. Keep all the white diesel receipts. Then you should be able to correlate that back to mileage and MPG to prove it was not used on the road.

Cheers
 
neilly said:
As it has been off the road, when you renew the MOT and start the road legal paperwork Tax , insurance. Keep all the white diesel receipts. Then you should be able to correlate that back to mileage and MPG to prove it was not used on the road.

Cheers
Click to expand...
Thanks
 
You could always call the people who do the testing and ask them how to make sure it is clean, explain the situation etc. see what they say. make sure you get the name of who you talked to.
Run it with white off road for a tank, change the filters. Before venturing onto the road.

Cheers
 
neilly said:
Then they were naughty , naughty l'ill farmers weren't they.

Cheers
Click to expand...
They all have the same attitude towards Landrovers they call them vans and jeeps!!! And batter them around not that I don't and once something major breaks they scrap it or let it rot in field and let it decrease its value
 
neilly said:
Last I heard, they can dip your tank and you either get charged and fined for the fuel tax they think you should have paid , or you lose the vehicle.

I am sure someone more knowledgeable will be along, why not ask you local farmer friends as they will know what the local C&E are like for dipping. Near here it was always farmers cattle markets they used to visit and dip.

Have a read of this.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...icles/excise-notice-75-fuel-for-road-vehicles

Cheers
Click to expand...
neilly said:
You could always call the people who do the testing and ask them how to make sure it is clean, explain the situation etc. see what they say. make sure you get the name of who you talked to.
Run it with white off road for a tank, change the filters. Before venturing onto the road.

Cheers
Click to expand...

are u able to get a test kit to ensure ur vehicle is clear of red diesel

think the farmers were allowed to drive up to a mile on public roads whilst using red diesel if they were going from field to field
 
As long as you have drained the tank and purged any red diesel from your system and refilled with derv before using it on public roads you will be perfectly legal.
 
The police and VOSA are often doing spot checks between Thatcham and Newbury. They mostly pull white vans over to check everything from diesel colour to tread of the tyres. They only dip the tank, they don't take the fuel lines apart to check unless they have had a tip-off. I was once told that it is almost impossible to get rid of all traces of the red dye which would make me worry about buying an old diesel landy as who knows what has been put in it. Apparently, the IRA used to filter red through moss from peat bogs to get rid of the dye and sell it on to raise funds. I have no proof that this is true however.

Col
 
Another trick used when it was just a sight test was to fill large glass jars with red and put them outside,after a few months sunlight would bleach the fuel white!
Some realy unscrupulous types would use real bleach to speed up the process that resulted in damage to engines.
 
These are old wives tales. As long as you use derv when on public roads you are doing nothing wrong regardless of what was used in the vehicle before, an example, you buy a tractor or landy from a farm or estate which have only been used on their own land, so always used red diesel, this does not disqualify these vehicles from being used on public roads (with derv) the red diesel does not stain or leave traces its an urban myth, and even if it did as long as you are not using it (red diesel) on public roads you are legal.
 
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as above you can use red diesel for farm work as long as tank isnt filled with it when your on way to do the shopping etc,which is the same for tractors etc when using them for events like tractor runs your supposed to use derv, if stopped and a trace of red was found but tank had derv and you have good reason to have used red ie your a farmer theres no issue
 
Colthebrummie said:
The police and VOSA are often doing spot checks between Thatcham and Newbury. They mostly pull white vans over to check everything from diesel colour to tread of the tyres. They only dip the tank, they don't take the fuel lines apart to check unless they have had a tip-off. I was once told that it is almost impossible to get rid of all traces of the red dye which would make me worry about buying an old diesel landy as who knows what has been put in it. Apparently, the IRA used to filter red through moss from peat bogs to get rid of the dye and sell it on to raise funds. I have no proof that this is true however.

Col
Click to expand...
What a great apocryphal story, but Irish 'red'diesel is dyed green. Is suppose that the colour wouldn't show up in the moss!
 
Scooby22 said:
As long as you have drained the tank and purged any red diesel from your system and refilled with derv before using it on public roads you will be perfectly legal.
Click to expand...
Is there drain hole or would i have to look for old manual hand pump to pump it out ?
 
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