An Honest Mistake

The day Georange arrived I went down to our local gas station to get some diesel (Henry took gasoline). They were out, so I drove to another station about 10km from here, parked the Red Menace and grabbed my gerry can from the back. As I stepped away from the truck the station attendant asked "you want marked?" to which I repled "yup" and he pointed to a pump set off to the side with a green handle (the colour of most diesel pumps in these parts).

I don't know whether this happens in the US, but marked diesel and gasoline are sold in Canada for use in tractors and other agricultural vehicles. The fuel is marked with a dye and several of the road-vehicle taxes are eliminated from the price. Anyone who fills a car or truck with marked fuel risks a hefty fine. I knew nothing about any of this before moving to Deroche.

Having filled my gerry can I walked into the store, habitually expecting them to have a computer showing how much I had pumped. Of course they didn't, so the attendant went outside to check to the volume and price for me. I paid, loaded up and drove home. Georange arrived later that afternoon with half a tank provided by the dealership. As I'm sure you've guessed, all of this culminated in David pouring 20L of marked gasoline into our brand new diesel tractor this afternoon. He realized the mistake as soon as Georange started to sound off, and our neighbors came over to help drain the fuel system. By the time I got home from my flyball tournament Georange was running smartly again, but David and I felt like dunces for not catching the mix-up sooner. We both have plenty of prior experience with diesel, but we obviously need a crash course in its identification.

On my way home I stopped at that gas station to check out the pumps. Sure enough, the one I used simply reads "MARKED" while another in the island grouping more explicitly reads "MARKED DIESEL". Although I love the charm of the old gas stations, it does make you appreciate the hand-holding clarity of the newer pumps.