I should conduct some research on my local diesel distributors' cetane ratings in California. Stay tuned.
My normal e-mail address ends in [domain-name].ca
but that is different then CA.
So my Capitol City is called Toronto, not Sacramento.
I drive on the right side of the road, but I speak a foreign language, because the FL DMV ,ask that I have a International Drivers Permit.
CA is a very beautiful state
, but the fuel prices are comparable to Southern ON
.
You can drive a bicycle on the road without any liability insurance, but if that bicycle has an electric assist, AND the pedals are disabled (Not bolted to the crank), then you are deemed to be driving a motor-bike, not a bicycle, and subject to having motor vehicle (mandatory) liability insurance while driving on the road.
I believe this sub-tread was started because the original poster omitted the brand(s) that are commonly available north of the US-Canada border.
Granted, there have been no new refineries constructed in Canada for the last 10 years, yet the fuel consumption numbers have gone up. So the only place to get additional refined fuels is to
A) Get it delivered via tanker to a Port Side Terminal, or
B) Ship it via pipeline to any of the distribution hubs in Canada. which probably means US Jobs in the Refinery businesses wherever the refinery is located.
I am assuming the comment was in jest, as there is this thread [
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=200694 ]
started by user 'BeachedBora', that has the CA inferred in the listing, although, as this link shows,
http://www.gasbuddy.com/GasPriceReport.aspx?state=CA&site=All , the prices for fuel appear to be extremely high for petroleum products, no doubt due to legislated taxes embedded in the price.
If the CETANE level is a measurement that is a quality control type thing, and is adjusted seasonally due to temperature, or other factors , at the refinery level, then there must be a Minimum standard that it has to comply with.
Now Diesel Semi-trucks have larger displacements, so their cetane values may not be as critical as those in a TDI, but how are you going to test the value of each batch of fuel you purchase? be it in CA or in .ca?
The only consistent way to measure the performance is to see how many miles you get out of a tankful (or Mostly tankful) and then add from a different brand next time and compare.
Is CA not a regulated entity that sends inspectors around to sample retail dispensers, so that it meets the state's regulations for motor fuels?
See this link for the so called 'standards' that they(CA gov ) uses.
http://www.arb.ca.gov/enf/fuels/dieselspecs.pdf
from what I read the minimum Cetane for CA fuels is 53.
so yes, you may want to ask , but the minimum value for California is far above what any Canadian refiner puts into the tankers for shipping to any Canadian customers.
Even if we did favour one brand of diesel over the other , the volume of fuel consumed per vehicle fill up is not very significant compared to the fuel consumed for trucks in Ontario. (currently is taxed as the rate of approx $700,000,000.00 [Yes 700 Million for Diesel alone]) per year (as per last budget statement 2013), so that translates to
3,398,058,000 Litres of fuel consumed in 2011.
even CA has a cheaper rate on diesel fuel (75.3 US cents per US Gallon) excise tax than ON does (78.3 US cents per US GALLON).
There is no Federal Standard for Cetane levels because it is very much a temperture dependant formula, where the fuel will become cloudy, for that month of delivery. In Canada (according to a report from the Pembina Institute), there is only a Voluntary Mininum Standard of 40.
so in conclusion, you get Better Fuel , at a Better Price, with Less Road Tax in CA than you do in Ontario.ca.
-Terrific