I just read about something I'd never heard about before: red diesel fuel.
It's the same as regular diesel except that a red dye has been added so that
it can be detected by law enforcement.

The basic concept is that some vehicles and equipment (farm tractors, generators, construction cranes, etc.) that run on diesel fuel never operate
on the public roads and are therefore exempt from fuel taxes. But of course
the unscrupulous would just buy the fuel claiming it was for an exempt
machine, then put it in their pickup truck or 18-wheeler to evade the tax. Hence the red dye, which allows an inspector or cop to instantly tell if the fuel is being fraudulently used.

And of course, the government has managed to find an invisible exception to
the 4th Amendment allowing it to perform gas tank inspections without a
warrant or probable cause. In fact, mere failure to give consent to an inspection gets you an automatic $1000 fine.

The legal analysis starts out promising-- in initial legal challenges, taking fuel from a vehicle's tank was treated as a 4th Amendment search. Courts rejected the government's argument that gas tank contents are in "plain view" and therefore not subject to 4th Amendment restrictions.

However, Congress then gave the IRS specific statutory power to:

(1) enter places where taxable fuel is produced or stored,

(2) detain a vehicle on those premises or at a designated inspection site,
and

(3) sample fuel to determine composition

Examples of a designated site are weigh stations, agricultural checkpoints, or other location the IRS or state DOT has identified as a fuel-inspection site. Refusal to allow an inspection can trigger a $1000 civil penalty.

Federal courts have upheld this scheme as a warrantless administrative inspection under New York v. Burger (closely regulated industry / special needs): tax enforcement is a substantial government interest, surprise inspections are needed for the scheme to work, and the statute limits who may inspect, where, and how. Lievesley v. Commissioner, 985 F. Supp. 206 (D. Mass. 1997), held that an IRS diesel-inspection stop is consistent with the 4th Amendment. The IRS has cited that analysis since.

The court in Lievesley did note that if the property where a vehicle is
located is entirely private and non-commercial, i.e., parked on a residential driveway, the standard 4th Amendment analysis requiring probable cause and a warrant for entry would apply.

It's always a fun day when I discover yet another exciting exception to the
4th Amendment that the courts have magically created out of thin air for the benefit of the government, despite the Constitution's explicit language to the contrary.



--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:

I just read about something I'd never heard about before: red diesel fuel. >It's the same as regular diesel except that a red dye has been added so that >it can be detected by law enforcement.

Dyed fuel not subject to motor fuel taxes has been a thing for decades.
I buy ethanol-free gasoline for my lawnmower's four-stroke engine.
Ethanol is hydrophilic so small engines run poorly. I was surprised it
wasn't dyed but it's too expensive for driving.

. . .

Very interesting write up.

It's always a fun day when I discover yet another exciting exception to the >4th Amendment that the courts have magically created out of thin air for the >benefit of the government, despite the Constitution's explicit language to the >contrary.

What about the rest of the Internal Revenue Code? It violates self incrimination, takings, and cruel and unusual punishment.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 2026-09-28 2:22 a.m., Adam H. Kerman wrote:

BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:

I just read about something I'd never heard about before: red diesel fuel. >> It's the same as regular diesel except that a red dye has been added so that >> it can be detected by law enforcement.

Dyed fuel not subject to motor fuel taxes has been a thing for decades.
I buy ethanol-free gasoline for my lawnmower's four-stroke engine.
Ethanol is hydrophilic so small engines run poorly. I was surprised it
wasn't dyed but it's too expensive for driving.

I've never heard of hydrophilic fuel. Where do you buy it? I've never
seen anything like that at a gas station.

. . .

Very interesting write up.

It's always a fun day when I discover yet another exciting exception to the >> 4th Amendment that the courts have magically created out of thin air for the >> benefit of the government, despite the Constitution's explicit language to the
contrary.

What about the rest of the Internal Revenue Code? It violates self incrimination, takings, and cruel and unusual punishment.

--
Rhino

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Ethanol-free motor fuel (was: New 4th Amendment Violation Unlocked: Red Diesel)

Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

On 2026-09-28 2:22 a.m., Adam H. Kerman wrote:

BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:

I just read about something I'd never heard about before: red diesel fuel. >>>It's the same as regular diesel except that a red dye has been added so that >>>it can be detected by law enforcement.

Dyed fuel not subject to motor fuel taxes has been a thing for decades.
I buy ethanol-free gasoline for my lawnmower's four-stroke engine.
Ethanol is hydrophilic so small engines run poorly. I was surprised it >>wasn't dyed but it's too expensive for driving.

I've never heard of hydrophilic fuel. Where do you buy it? I've never
seen anything like that at a gas station.

Ethanol-blended gasoline is terrible motor fuel, especially for small
engines. The ethanol is hydrophilic, which means it absorbs water from
the atmosphere. You don't want this.

I buy ethanol-free gasoline at an auto parts store like NAPA. It's
hideously expensive, but a small engine uses just a few gallons all
summer.

Where ethanol-blended motor fuel is required to be sold by law for transportation in the public way, it cannot be sold at gas stations.

. . .

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 2026-09-28 11:32 a.m., Adam H. Kerman wrote:

Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

On 2026-09-28 2:22 a.m., Adam H. Kerman wrote:

BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:

I just read about something I'd never heard about before: red diesel fuel. >>>> It's the same as regular diesel except that a red dye has been added so that
it can be detected by law enforcement.

Dyed fuel not subject to motor fuel taxes has been a thing for decades.
I buy ethanol-free gasoline for my lawnmower's four-stroke engine.
Ethanol is hydrophilic so small engines run poorly. I was surprised it
wasn't dyed but it's too expensive for driving.

I've never heard of hydrophilic fuel. Where do you buy it? I've never
seen anything like that at a gas station.

Ethanol-blended gasoline is terrible motor fuel, especially for small engines. The ethanol is hydrophilic, which means it absorbs water from
the atmosphere. You don't want this.

I knew that ethanol had issues, I just wasn't aware that there was ethanol-free gas on the market. In fact, I heard recently that they're changing the standard formulation of gas station petrol from 10% ethanol
to 15% despite knowing that it's going to damage car engines even more
than 10% ethanol does. I don't understand how they get away with that.
It should subject them to a massive class action suit from everyone who
drives a gas-engined car.

I buy ethanol-free gasoline at an auto parts store like NAPA. It's
hideously expensive, but a small engine uses just a few gallons all
summer.

That makes good sense. Do you run the hydrophilic in your snowblower too?

Where ethanol-blended motor fuel is required to be sold by law for transportation in the public way, it cannot be sold at gas stations.

I don't understand how that kind of law can withstand a court challenge.

. . .

--
Rhino

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

Adam wrote:

. . .

I knew that ethanol had issues, I just wasn't aware that there was >ethanol-free gas on the market. In fact, I heard recently that they're >changing the standard formulation of gas station petrol from 10% ethanol
to 15% despite knowing that it's going to damage car engines even more
than 10% ethanol does. I don't understand how they get away with that.
It should subject them to a massive class action suit from everyone who >drives a gas-engined car.

Burning ethanol pollutes like crazy, especially ozone, thr precursor for photochemical smog and a pollutant in its own right. It's less energy
dense and more acidic, harming plastic fuel lines.

It's fake pollution mitigation and entirely about subsidizing corn
growers.

I buy ethanol-free gasoline at an auto parts store like NAPA. It's >>hideously expensive, but a small engine uses just a few gallons all
summer.

That makes good sense. Do you run the hydrophilic in your snowblower too?

Pure gasoline is non-hydrophilic. I own no snowblower.

. . .

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

In <119e5k2$2d8rm$1@dont-email.me> Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> writes:

[snip]

I buy ethanol-free gasoline at an auto parts store like NAPA. It's
hideously expensive, but a small engine uses just a few gallons all
summer.

That makes good sense. Do you run the hydrophilic in your snowblower too?

very roughly ten percent of the gas stations I pass by have
"clean", that is, "ethanol free", gasoline at one of their
pumps. It's typically a dollar/gallon more than the others.

So it's worth checking out your local gas statsion.

(There are a couple of web sites that try to map them
out but everytime I've checked they've been filled with
errors and misses)

Note that e-10, e-15, and (shudder) e-85 reduce car mileage
significantly, by roughly half the ethanol percentage..

(so yes, adding ethanol to gas is a kind of hidden price increase
since you have to buy more.)


--
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
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