Caltex vortex premium diesel

[Transporter]

Because BP Ultimate diesel is standard diesel with additive package including cetane improving additive (nitro-type IIRC), I have been reluctant to add more additives to it.

Likewise I stick pretty close to the 1:650 ratio. (I use an old Duralt fuel additive bottle.) Not sure what the cetane improving additive is in Morey's DSK.

Yeh, my bad that should be 1:650, I lost the 0. (fixed now)

[bluey]

Just a note to highlight that BP Ultimate according to BP no longer has a cetane improving additive. (explosion risk managing the 2ehn additive prior to adding it) Caltex has at least sometimes got biodiesel in it (FAME noted in the msds), and 2% biodiesel is the best lubricity improver for a low sulphur diesel. So at this point Caltex Vortex is probably the preferred diesel product. will get Caltex to clarify the biodiesel question.

[Greg Roles]

Very interesting! Thanks Bluey, good find for the autoignition clan.

[bluey]

So it looks like people who live in Newcastle and Hunter Valley are the lucky ones....

Caltex Vortex diesel marketed in the Newcastle (NSW ) area, and Hunter Valley contains 2% Biodiesel. In all the rest of the Caltex marketing area in Australia, Caltex Diesel and Caltex Vortex Diesel do not contain any Biodiesel at all.

Anyone know a good source of biodiesel??

[Greg Roles]

Yep but none of them will own up as they are supposed to pay tax on it!

[jazd]

So it looks like people who live in Newcastle and Hunter Valley are the lucky ones....

Where did you get that quote from?

edit. Did some additional digging:
http://microsites.caltex.com.au/thes...the_future.asp
Its a fairly old article, wonder if its still the case or if we are getting an even higher mix of bio now. It says all Newcastle Terminal supplied service stations are getting B2 but on the right it says that Hexam supplies B5?

Anyone know where I can find the fuel specs for B2 and B5? Would it be higher Cetane?

[bluey]

Where did you get that quote from? [...]
Anyone know where I can find the fuel specs for B2 and B5? Would it be higher Cetane?

I emailed Caltex LubeLink technical support. The article you found was 2008, so I think the B5 is no longer available based on what Caltex told me.

The info on B2 and B5 shouldn't be too hard to find esp from a european source where it is more likely to be available. B2 is fabulous lubricity improver and any more than B2 doesn't bring any more gains. Try this http://www.biodiesel.org/docs/ffs-pe...y-benefits.pdf. Lot of biodiesel articles at US National Biodiesel Board Biodiesel Fact Sheets - Biodiesel.org

Wikipedia on cetane number says animal fat biodiesel has cetane 56-60, vegetable fat bio 46-52. So the cetane benefit from bio at small percentage is likely to be small.

[jazd]

Yeah right, so it wont help Cetane number much but 2% should be enough to give the fuel good lubricity. It would still be good to have an actual data sheet for each fuel so we could compare them, might email Caltex.

[cru22z]

So is the Vortex Diesel better than ordinary BP Diesel?

[meremale]

Would love to know the answer to this one also, as not sure whether to change to BP or stay with the Vortex.