William Tran wrote:
 
> 1.  Since diesel is kind of hard to come by in my area of Southern 
>     California, I would have to end up buying from any gas station 
>     that has it when I need it.  I've heard that it was not good to 
>     mix brands of gasoline because a car gets used to a specific 
>     brand so I was wondering if this applies to diesel too?  How 
>     are brands like Texaco, Shell, or even Arco?  I have been used 
>     to using Chevron in my other cars.

Diesel fuel, especially in California (CARB Diesel #2), is distilled by only a few refineries and is then marketed to the consumers in both "branded" and "unbranded" forms. In most cases, it is generally the same fuel from the same refineries.

The biggest key to look for is:

• The station pump a high-volume of diesel such that you are purchasing fresh fuel.

Many of the brand-name stations that sell diesel only do so as a convenience for its customers (and, yes, sometimes I still end up at a major due to convenience -- but, OUCH, on the price).

Also see if there are any card-lock facilities locally available (usually affiliated with CFN or Pacific Pride in California).

Mark L. Gaubatz
1995 Silver Hummer

William:

Welcome to the ranks! Finding fresh fuel is the key. The older the fuel the more chance for contaminants (water, grit, etc.). Look in the Yellow Pages of your local phone book and find a diesel distributor that is affiliated with a national card lock network in California you can usually find a CFN, or Pacific Pride in your area if not both. Most bill semi-monthly, and some will allow you enter your milage, vehicle #, etc into the keypad to track your fuel economy, etc for you. The card that I have, CFN, has been used for numerous brands of fuel in CA. Ore. Wash. and Nev. The map booklet that I have with all of the CFN affiliates nationwide has been a great help finding fuel in areas that I was unfamiliar with. CFN affiliates are usually truck stops that turn a lot of fuel daily, the prices are usually lower than the corner gas station, and the fueling bays are wide and the pumps fast. The questions that you get from the truckers are usually a little more intelligent, except for them walking away from you shaking there heads realizing that you have more invested in your Hummer that they do in there tractor.

As always the usual disclaimer! I just use the fuel.

Gary Collings 95 white wagon, just a card swipe away from another tank