Red petrol

[Maddie_cat]

Did anyone see Wartime Farm last night? During WW2, the government dyed petrol with a red dye so only those in the agricultural sector could have the benefit of cheap fuel (ring any bells?)

Apparently, Black Marketeers tried different ways of removing the red dye including filtering it through aspirin, charcoal and bread. They experimented with it last night and found that if you filtered the red petrol through a loaf of bread, the petrol came out clear.

This was red petrol and of course, it is diesel that is dyed nowadays. Obviously I would not advocate this course of action as it is illegal (plus one wonders what the breadcrumbs would do to our modern day engines!) but it is something to consider ITSHTF. Although by then, law and order may have broken down so much, there is no concerns about being stopped and a loaf of bread may be worth the hassle!

[Arzosah]

That was brilliant, wasn't it! I thought the bread thing would be absolute rubbish, but it was perfect - and hopefully, there was a piece of muslin or something keeping the breadcrumbs out

My mum was evacuated to a farm during WWII from the depths of Merseyside, and switched off after the first programme, wouldn't watch last night's - she was in Hereford, and the standard of the food on the farm was much higher than she'd been used to at home - cream, and roasts, were completely normal. That wasn't early on in the war either, that was 1942. Yesterday's programme, about some of the black market shenanigans that went on, seemed much more realistic

[Triple_sod]

Doubt it would work these days otherwise everybody would be at it, besides pretty sure it’s perfectly legal to run on bio diesel.

[Maddie_cat]

Doubt it would work these days otherwise everybody would be at it, besides pretty sure it’s perfectly legal to run on bio diesel.

Bio diesel yes but not agricultural (red) diesel

[Triple_sod]

Obviously...

What I meant was why would you want to piss about with the red stuff if you can buy cheap, legal fuel.

[bulldogeagle]

Post SHTF it wouldnt matter anyway, WROL and all that, use it straight unfiltered!

[skippy]

Filtering Red diesel through bread is an old and well used trick and does work if you want to sell the diesel on to some poor unsuspecting sod.

The "cleaned" diesel still has a chemical marker in it that the bread does not remove and if you are stopped by HM Customs your tank will be tested for this chemical.
You will then be arrested, your car siezed and prosecuted.

Not worth it realy.

Skippy

[jansman]

Not worth it. I got caught 20 yrs ago at our local cattle market. Dropping of some sheep, and customs and excise were dipping tanks. Got a £150 fine!
Took the profit out of those sheep.

[hillingdonpete]

Filtering Red diesel through bread is an old and well used trick and does work if you want to sell the diesel on to some poor unsuspecting sod.

The "cleaned" diesel still has a chemical marker in it that the bread does not remove and if you are stopped by HM Customs your tank will be tested for this chemical.
You will then be arrested, your car siezed and prosecuted.

Not worth it realy.

Skippy

that is a myth
a friend of mine is a tanker driver, many times when leaving the terminal, he has himself thrown the die into the tank himself
there are no markers.
usually red diesel if filtered down through a different micron filter, but if none is available before delivery then normal white diesel is used
white diesel is itself dyed.
Fullers earth is the traditional method for removing the dye
and there are many places that sell "dye" for diesel, you can have almost any colour you like

[tigs]

i run all my vehicles on red diesel! and have never know any one thats been stopped and had there fuel checked!!