Which Crude Oil As Diesel Engine Fuel Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 2 crude oil as diesel engine fuel options head to head. Sweet crude oil came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Sweet crude oil
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“I'm really surprised that we were able to get the diesel engine to run on light sweet crude oil, but we couldn't get it to work at all on the sour crude oil.”
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
All measurements (5 more)+
Will a diesel engine run on it
- 1Sweet crude oil
yes, ran successfully on 100 percent sweet crude oil with no diesel mixed in, using WD-40 as a starting fluid to help it catch
- 2Sour crude oilnot tested
Exhaust smoke
- 1Sweet crude oil
lots of smoke at first per a meta chapter, described as clearing up some over time
- 2Sour crude oilnot tested
Duration of the test
- 1Sweet crude oil
ran until it was out of fuel per a meta chapter, no exact runtime spoken
- 2Sour crude oilnot tested
Will a diesel engine run on it, 100 percent sour crude
- 2Sour crude oil
no, could not get the engine to run at all
- 1Sweet crude oilnot tested
Will a diesel engine run on it, 50 percent diesel and 50 percent sour crude mix
- 2Sour crude oil
also could not get it to work, per the narrator's summary statement covering both sour crude attempts
- 1Sweet crude oilnot tested
How it was tested
- whether a diesel engine will start and run on sour crude oil, both 100 percent and a 50/50 diesel mix
- whether a diesel engine will start and run on 100 percent sweet crude oil with no diesel
“I'm really surprised that we were able to get the diesel engine to run on light sweet crude oil, but we couldn't get it to work at all on the sour crude oil.”
Data notes and caveats
A two way myth test on the same diesel engine (sour crude oil versus sweet crude oil), not a review of purchasable brands, so no price is mentioned for either. A diesel fuel baseline run was performed first (roughly 10 amps power draw, lots of crankcase blow by and exhaust smoke under load) but these baseline figures exist only in meta chapter titles, never spoken in the transcript, and are not attributed to either crude oil since they describe the plain diesel baseline reading taken before switching fuels. The core result is unambiguous and repeated clearly in the narrator's own closing summary: sweet crude ran the diesel engine on its own, sour crude did not run it in either pure or 50/50 diesel blended form.
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