The penalties for using dyed diesel in road vehicles have been temporarily waived in part of the state because of the fires.

From https://texasfarmbureau.org/temporary-waiver-allows-dyed-diesel-in-vehicles-on-texas-roadways/

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A temporary waiver was granted last Friday to allow dyed diesel fuel in vehicles on Texas roadways to help support the communities impacted by the wildfires.

The waiver also suspends requirements to pay the state motor fuels tax on the dyed diesel.

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The penalty relief began Feb. 23 and will remain in effect through March 22, 2024. It applies to the following counties in Texas: Archer, Armstrong, Bailey, Baylor, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress, Cochran, Collingsworth, Cottle, Crosby, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Dickens, Donley, Fannin, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Gregg, Hale, Hall, Hansford, Hardeman, Harrison, Hartley, Haskell, Hemphill, Hockley, Hutchinson, Kent, King, Knox, Lamb, Lipscomb, Lubbock, Lynn, Moore, Motley, Nacogdoches, Newton, Ochiltree, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman, Stonewall, Swisher, Terry, Throckmorton, Upshur, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Yoakum and Young.

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Most of those had no wild fires. Maybe the exception is for those giving aid

CanyonAg77 said:

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Most of those had no wild fires. Maybe the exception is for those giving aid

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That would make sense.

Maybe there's a little bit of a shortage of on-road diesel so they are tapping into the dyed diesel storage to help out supplies.

It would make sense for the fire trucks to use diesel instead of gasoline since gasoline is more flammable. I don't know how much more they use diesel than gasoline, though. Even in counties with no fire present, if they are sending crews to the fires, then they are burning fuel to fight the fires.

I hear the Smokehouse Creek Fire is 89% contained now.

I have a 500 gallon dyed diesel tank here in Fort Bend county. Looks like I'm not eligible to run red.

Ducks4brkfast said:

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I have a 500 gallon dyed diesel tank here in Fort Bend county. Looks like I'm not eligible to run red.

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I've never had a soul test the trucks for dyed diesel. I know is supposedly happens, otherwise, they couldn't enforce the law, but I've never personally seen it on 40 years. Where does this happen?

Not around here from my experience too. Mostly rural panhandle type counties according to my years of unscientific research.

I've heard rumors of DPS going to stock shows and other places where there would be lots of farmers and ranchers and checking their tanks

I've heard stories of all the pickups at the livestock auction getting checked.

Do you guys drive a diesel with a transfer tank? I used to work with an ex-sheriff who said that's who they would usually check

Charismatic Megafauna said:

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Do you guys drive a diesel with a transfer tank? I used to work with an ex-sheriff who said that's who they would usually check

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i used to drive one of those working construction out of college. i dont know how long the components stay dyed, but every one that had driven the truck before me had apparently put the red fuel in the truck a time or two when running low and out on a job site in the boonies.

Jack Boyett said:

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Maybe there's a little bit of a shortage of on-road diesel so they are tapping into the dyed diesel storage to help out supplies.

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There is no mass storage of dyed diesel that is separate from clear diesel storage. The red dye is blended with clear diesel when the fuel trucks load at the terminal before delivering to wherever.

I have heard that too, but it has never been substantiated. I think it's false. I've got lots of buddies that show at all the majors and have never been checked. I have driven a diesel pickup for the last 20 years and don't know a single person that has personally been checked.

BrazosDog02 said:

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Ducks4brkfast said:

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I have a 500 gallon dyed diesel tank here in Fort Bend county. Looks like I'm not eligible to run red.

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I've never had a soul test the trucks for dyed diesel. I know is supposedly happens, otherwise, they couldn't enforce the law, but I've never personally seen it on 40 years. Where does this happen?

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My brother owns a livestock auction and he says they come by a couple times a year and test trucks in the parking lot.

BrazosDog02 said:

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Ducks4brkfast said:

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I have a 500 gallon dyed diesel tank here in Fort Bend county. Looks like I'm not eligible to run red.

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I've never had a soul test the trucks for dyed diesel. I know is supposedly happens, otherwise, they couldn't enforce the law, but I've never personally seen it on 40 years. Where does this happen?

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Had a buddy in high school that figured out that it was cheaper at some coop or feed store and they had a pump where you could pump it yourself. He was bragging to everybody about the genius way he'd figured out to save money. DPS folks apparently just hung around the pump for a while one day and waited for him to drive off and popped him that way.

Let's try it this way. Has anyone on this thread ever PERSONALLY been checked? I've heard all of this for 20 years. I do not run red diesel, but at this point I would not be afraid to run red diesel for the rest of my years.

I feel like it is just like mountain lions. There has never ever been a substantiated case of a black panther in the U.S. but something crazy, like 85% of sightings, are reported as black. I've heard hundreds of stories about someone's brother, or cousin, or friend seeing one. It's just that nobody ever kills one. That's my exact feeling on this diesel thing. You will also hear how red diesel is different. You can't run it in pickups. I buy red diesel by the transport load. I probably buy 30,000 gallons a year and the drivers tell me they just pour dye into it. Who knows? I am just to the point where I place getting checked for red diesel in the same realm as bigfoot. Everybody who claims to see him believes it. Again, just nobody has got one.

I thought I was going to have to use red fuel back in '21 during the great freeze. All of the stations were out in my area. I had my fuel trailer pretty much full of red diesel. In that instance I believe they temporarily lifted the rule also though.

My thoughts have always been no matter if you've never been checked or if you don't know anyone who has ever been checked, just don't do it. At the end of the day it's not that much cheaper and it ain't worth the fine and losing your ability to buy it every again.

CrossTimbersW said:

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I thought I was going to have to use red fuel back in '21 during the great freeze. All of the stations were out in my area. I had my fuel trailer pretty much full of red diesel. In that instance I believe they temporarily lifted the rule also though.

My thoughts have always been no matter if you've never been checked or if you don't know anyone who has ever been checked, just don't do it. At the end of the day it's not that much cheaper and it ain't worth the fine and losing your ability to buy it every again.

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Again. Not disagreeing with you at all. But you say " it aint' worth the fine and losing your ability to buy it ever again". Honest question. Can you never buy it again? Is it law? Even if it is. I pick up the phone and order a transport load through a third party. No questions asked, period! I will say with nearly 100% certainty that I will buy red diesel until I am dead, dead, dead. And I repeat that I am not running it. It appears like it's just a scare tactic. 10 years ago I would have said that it is dangerous and you shouldn't do it. I still say you shouldn't do it. It's just that I don't think it matters. I'll stop now. It's just that I've had this conversation and heard the same arguments for 20 years.

bigF said:

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CrossTimbersW said:

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I thought I was going to have to use red fuel back in '21 during the great freeze. All of the stations were out in my area. I had my fuel trailer pretty much full of red diesel. In that instance I believe they temporarily lifted the rule also though.

My thoughts have always been no matter if you've never been checked or if you don't know anyone who has ever been checked, just don't do it. At the end of the day it's not that much cheaper and it ain't worth the fine and losing your ability to buy it every again.

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Again. Not disagreeing with you at all. But you say " it aint' worth the fine and losing your ability to buy it ever again". Honest question. Can you never buy it again? Is it law? Even if it is. I pick up the phone and order a transport load through a third party. No questions asked, period! I will say with nearly 100% certainty that I will buy red diesel until I am dead, dead, dead. And I repeat that I am not running it. It appears like it's just a scare tactic. 10 years ago I would have said that it is dangerous and you shouldn't do it. I still say you shouldn't do it. It's just that I don't think it matters. I'll stop now. It's just that I've had this conversation and heard the same arguments for 20 years.

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I don't remember for certain but I think you lose the ability to legally purchase it again if you're caught in violation but it's been so long since I filled my paperwork out I'd need to go research that again.

I get what you're saying. I'm not sure I know of anyone who has actually ever been checked either. I suppose if it is just a scare tactic, it seems to have worked well with the folks I associate with. Although that could just be because they're mostly good honest people too.

I've had several diesel F-350s over the past 20 years or so now and been to livestock auctions in Seguin and Gonzales many times without being checked.

I also don't know anyone who has ever been checked.

I think DPS has plenty of other stuff to do.

Dumb question, maybe. But if the DPS dipsticks your tank while you're in the auction, would you ever know?

Do you waive your right to not be searched without reasonable suspicion when you sign up to buy red diesel?

It seems problematic for dps to be checking random diesel tanks

There are all sorts of things you shouldn't do because they're wrong, regardless of whether you'll ever get caught or face any consequences.

Yep, I use the road, so I pay road taxes

bigF said:

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Let's try it this way. Has anyone on this thread ever PERSONALLY been checked? I've heard all of this for 20 years. I do not run red diesel, but at this point I would not be afraid to run red diesel for the rest of my years.

I feel like it is just like mountain lions. There has never ever been a substantiated case of a black panther in the U.S. but something crazy, like 85% of sightings, are reported as black. I've heard hundreds of stories about someone's brother, or cousin, or friend seeing one. It's just that nobody ever kills one. That's my exact feeling on this diesel thing. You will also hear how red diesel is different. You can't run it in pickups. I buy red diesel by the transport load. I probably buy 30,000 gallons a year and the drivers tell me they just pour dye into it. Who knows? I am just to the point where I place getting checked for red diesel in the same realm as bigfoot. Everybody who claims to see him believes it. Again, just nobody has got one.

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Personally, no. My company runs all their in plant equipment on red diesel. We do occasionally have an inspector come and check our OTR trucks. Different situation than ag plus they know we run a lot of red diesel and a lot of non-dyed, so they check us, I think to keep us honest.

bigF said:

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Let's try it this way. Has anyone on this thread ever PERSONALLY been checked? I've heard all of this for 20 years. I do not run red diesel, but at this point I would not be afraid to run red diesel for the rest of my years.

I feel like it is just like mountain lions. There has never ever been a substantiated case of a black panther in the U.S. but something crazy, like 85% of sightings, are reported as black. I've heard hundreds of stories about someone's brother, or cousin, or friend seeing one. It's just that nobody ever kills one. That's my exact feeling on this diesel thing. You will also hear how red diesel is different. You can't run it in pickups. I buy red diesel by the transport load. I probably buy 30,000 gallons a year and the drivers tell me they just pour dye into it. Who knows? I am just to the point where I place getting checked for red diesel in the same realm as bigfoot. Everybody who claims to see him believes it. Again, just nobody has got one.

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i was checked couple times in the 90s when i lived in Louisiana. Then if you got caught, they fined you based on your size of tank in your vehicle and then followed you home and fined you based on size of your storage tank. Have no clue what the penalty is now

bigF said:

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Let's try it this way. Has anyone on this thread ever PERSONALLY been checked? I've heard all of this for 20 years. I do not run red diesel, but at this point I would not be afraid to run red diesel for the rest of my years.

I feel like it is just like mountain lions. There has never ever been a substantiated case of a black panther in the U.S. but something crazy, like 85% of sightings, are reported as black. I've heard hundreds of stories about someone's brother, or cousin, or friend seeing one. It's just that nobody ever kills one. That's my exact feeling on this diesel thing. You will also hear how red diesel is different. You can't run it in pickups. I buy red diesel by the transport load. I probably buy 30,000 gallons a year and the drivers tell me they just pour dye into it. Who knows? I am just to the point where I place getting checked for red diesel in the same realm as bigfoot. Everybody who claims to see him believes it. Again, just nobody has got one.

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Personally checked, no. Have had company large transport trucks been checked? Yes.

You can run red diesel in pickup trucks. They don't just pour it into clear diesel, they typically have an inline injection system at the fuel terminal. Think of it like a soda fountain where you get a bunch of carbonated water and they inject a small amount of the soda syrup to make your a Dr. Pepper. The treat rate is roughly 1 gallon of red dye goes into 9,999 gallons of clear diesel to make 10,000 gallons of dyed diesel.

Lots of good discussion. And you use the road you need to pay the taxes. I hope I didn't derail the thread. My point was simply that I don't believe that DPS actively pursues violators in pickups. Over the years I just noticed that everyone has a story about someone getting checked.

They (state cops, I believe) came to a drilling rig I was working on. Two of the hands had red diesel in their tanks. They got citations as I recall. Even though their tool pusher had given them permission to fill up with rig diesel, they were still fired.

bigF said:

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Let's try it this way. Has anyone on this thread ever PERSONALLY been checked? I've heard all of this for 20 years. I do not run red diesel, but at this point I would not be afraid to run red diesel for the rest of my years.

I feel like it is just like mountain lions. There has never ever been a substantiated case of a black panther in the U.S. but something crazy, like 85% of sightings, are reported as black. I've heard hundreds of stories about someone's brother, or cousin, or friend seeing one. It's just that nobody ever kills one. That's my exact feeling on this diesel thing. You will also hear how red diesel is different. You can't run it in pickups. I buy red diesel by the transport load. I probably buy 30,000 gallons a year and the drivers tell me they just pour dye into it. Who knows? I am just to the point where I place getting checked for red diesel in the same realm as bigfoot. Everybody who claims to see him believes it. Again, just nobody has got one.

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I've driven diesels pretty much since about 1999 or so, the only exception being the last 5 years (back to a diesel now though).

Ran them all over the place - Houston, DFW, Kansas, Arizona, El Paso and every part in between. Had an L tank with the pump, etc. because i used it to fuel up construction equipment on our smaller jobs that didn't warrant a storage tank and delivery - never once was I checked.

Ran red fuel for years because I got it from the jobsite, zero difference in how it burned compared to green.

I was under the impression though that you couldn't run red fuel in newer diesels with the DPF systems because the dye would prematurely clog up the DPF. Is that a rumor like the dipping of tanks at auctions and what not that I've always heard about from somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody who's cousin's neighbor had it happen to them?

I honestly cannot answer that factually whatsoever. If you are asking if I personally would be scared to run red in a newer pickup with a DEF system, my answer would be absolutely not worried about it. That is just my opinion though.

I say that partly because I have 6 or 7 pieces of Ag equipment that have DEF systems and they all run red.

I was also told that you couldn't run red in the newer trucks but my cousin who is a diesel mechanic says you can.

What I've learned from this thread is that I can run red diesel in my diesel BMW with no concerns!

Will the nozzle fit?