gilarion wrote:

Might help.....

Sorry for the length of the piece but there are some good facts in it.

Maybe a Definitive guide to Supermarket fuel

It’s an everyday debate between people, some of who will swear that their Land Rover runs better on fuel from XYZ Company and those who say that all fuel is the same and they just buy the cheapest supermarket fuel.

The problem is that most people don’t know how the fuel business works.
So let’s start with the simple bit. Premium fuels, such as Shell Nitro and BP Ultimate fuels, these are not the same as regular diesel fuels, we all know that.

These ‘super fuels’ cost several pence per litre more than regular because they use a different, more sophisticated package of additives for cleaning and lubrication, and have a higher cetane rating

Cetane ratings describe the way a fuel burns inside an engine. Broadly speaking, the higher the rating means a fuel will burn more efficiently and effectively inside your engine. This may improve performance and economy slightly – although not all drivers will see a noticeable difference.

No supermarkets presently offer their own super diesel fuels at the pumps, in truth this is because the suppliers will not allow them to buy the fuel with the super package of additives at the refinery.
So is the regular diesel sold by supermarkets the same quality as that sold by branded fuel companies like Shell, BP, Esso and Total?

Let’s start with some known facts:

All diesel fuels sold in the UK must conform to the relevant British Standards. This means that they should all work in roughly the same way and you can mix them freely in your Land Rovers fuel tank.

The standard diesel that’s sold on garage forecourts is mixture of two things base fuel and an additive package

The base fuel is the same for all companies including supermarkets – in fact it usually comes from the same tanks at the local fuel refinery/distribution centre. What varies is the additives package that goes into the fuel. These additives recipes are a closely guarded secret of extra ingredients that help keep the engine clean and improve lubrication inside the engine cylinders.

Each fuel company has its own additive package. So it is possible (but not common) for some Land Rover owners to feel that their car responds better to the additives used by one fuel manufacturer over those of another.

So what About Supermarket Fuels?

There are all sorts of stories that go round about supermarket fuels, but the fact is that supermarket fuel tankers are filling up from the same tanks as branded fuel tankers e.g. Shell, BP etc. so the chances are that most of the time, the fuel they sell is the same.

However, one common story about supermarket fuel is that some supermarkets don’t have a regular fuel supplier. Instead, they buy odd lots of fuel from wherever it’s cheapest though supermarkets deny this. If this does happen and supermarkets swap their suppliers it can lead to supermarket fuel having a more variable set of additives than branded fuels. However Tesco state that their supplier is always ESSO as do Sainsbury. Morrison says their supplier is Total.

Right so what do the Supermarkets say
Tesco
There are minor differences between the additives in regular diesel fuel sold by the different UK retailers. However, I can assure you that it is not correct that Tesco fuel contains inferior additives. In most cases, it will be the same type and dosage of additive that is contained in fuel sold at branded filling stations.
I can also confirm that Tesco diesel fuel does not contain less cold flow improver additive in winter compared to branded diesel.


Morrison’s
Our diesel is supplied to us depending on our stores locality by one of the refiners and blenders that operate in the UK.
We only source from established and reputable refiners and blenders
Our diesel fuels are manufactured and guaranteed to British Standard EN590, precisely the same specifications that will be found in fuel from branded sellers such as BP, Shell, Esso and Total. These current specifications permit up to 5% renewable content in diesel such as Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (vegetable oil).
European law requires all road fuels to contain such renewable feed stocks.
Also in relation to the winter fuel I can advise that Cold flow additives in our Diesel guarantee the properties of Diesel down to minus 15 degrees centigrade.

The argument

Supermarkets state their specifications; on the other hand they are the Minimum requirement specification. So supermarket diesel meets EN950 specification, as I see it that does not automatically make it the same as branded fuels, which may exceed the specifications set for EN950. So the supermarket argument could be flawed.

However every refinery or blender of diesel must meet the British Standard and every production batch is tested and certified before release into the supply chain. Typically, at any refinery or oil depot you will witness the tankers of all branded retailers and supermarkets filling from the same common wholesale tanks.

So why is Supermarket fuel cheaper, it is because they sell such vast quantities and their operating costs are spread over higher volumes? Plus they also sell thousands of other products so can afford to offer fuel at a discount and offer as a loss leader.

Conclusion

All diesel filling stations use a standard ‘base’ fuel which is supplied from the same refineries across the UK no matter what pump it will end up being pumped from into your tank. So going off all the known facts, specifications and statement from various supermarkets, it would appear that supermarket regular diesel is the same as branded fuel, the additive package while slightly different in supermarket fuel is on paper just as good as those added to branded diesel, these additives can affect the MPG and general running of the vehicle that some drivers may experience more extremely in some brands than others including supermarket fuel, but in some cases you may not even notice any difference at all. BUT the fuel is all from the same refineries which all meets the same British Standards, so you can use any diesel to fill up your Land Rover knowing it’s all of the same base’ fuel.
Supermarkets have recently come in for bad press with the quality of their fuel; however, this is due to contamination in their holding tanks and not on the quality of their base fuel.

So there you have it on paper no difference at all with standard diesel. Premium diesel has a better additive recipe, but you pay for it and many swear by it, but you cannot compare super fuels with regular supermarket diesel. Personally I use any fuel. both branded and supermarket. but I always add Millers and my engines run sweet.

Aye and it says OXO on the back of buses when millers oil sold fuel from Brighouse there's came from the cheapest refiners usually Russia ! For the bit of extra cost I'm sticking to the top brands