# France - Diesel / Gasoil



## bill (May 10, 2005)

Hello All.

This may sound like a daft question to the more seasoned traveller but I'm going to raise it anyway.

In this months Practical Motorhome's Forum on page 26 there is a question about the difference between diesel and gazoil. The answer given says 'not a lot' apart from price and the fact that gazoil is for agricultural use, like our 'red diesel'.

My question is how this works on the forcourts in France and probably other European countries. I have filled up in France at some point from a gazoil pump and have seen gazoil prices stated on the price boards. So when I go on the forcourts will there be a gazoil pump for tractors and a diesel pump for cars etc? 

I think I'm right in saying that red diesel is not normally sold on our forcourts????

Until the Practical Motorhome question gazoil was just a different name for diesel to me.

Any info to clear this up for me would be appreciated.

All the best 

bill


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## CurlyBoy (Jan 13, 2008)

*gasoil*

Hi,I think I am right in saying that supermarkets in France sell Gasoil, but it will be Diesel at garages Elf,Shell Esso etc. I believe gasoil to be the same as our heating oil, but might be wrong. Any way it does call into question the legal position when returning from France with a full tank?
curlyboy


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

>> This << should answer the question I think, and it's quite interesting to read anyway. (Dated 2006) :?

Cheers


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

We're watching this topic too as it's something that's puzzled us. We've long assumed that diesel and gazoil were the same thing - just different names from different companies.

Until today's Practical Motorhome we'd no idea there was any possibility of buying " red" diesel at ordinary service stations. If we have bought the wrong one in the past then no-one at any service station has ever queried us doing so and a motorhome at the pay booth is pretty obvious !

G


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## sideways (Jun 2, 2008)

Gazoil is just a foreign term for white diesel ie road fuel, there are different grades of it. Gasoil is the English term for red diesel,its correct name is actually rebated fuel.


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

This post has got me wondering if I have ever bought the wrong "Diesel"

I always look for Diesel or Gazole but NOT Gasoil as I assumed Gasoil was something else.


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## inkey-2008 (May 24, 2008)

The red diesel pumps are normally locked and away from the main pumps.

Andy


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## rayhook (May 15, 2005)

*Agricultural diesel*

I think you would know if you were buying 'red' diesel - the price is significantly less than the stuff we're supposed to on and _well _below the price you should be expecting to pay. Came back yesterday from France and filled up at Auchan Boulogne for 1.17 €/litre. It gets better all the time, although strangely the price of propane seems have gone up just a little in the last 2 months. 5 Kg in a Cube was 14.30€, an increase of 30 cents.

Ray


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## Traveller_HA5_3DOM (May 9, 2005)

*Red Diesel*

Red Diesel and Road diesel are the same product at the refinery. Red Diesel has three chemical tracers and a red dye added to it to ensure that Customs and Excise officers can tell when you are evading road fuel duty. A word of warning if you are tempted to use it on the road. Your vehicle can be seized by the revenue man, they will estimate how much duty you have evaded by calculations on mileage from MOTs or date of registration and deduct any amount you can prove by receipts that you have purchased road diesel. If not forthcomming your vehicle can be sold and you may get the change if there is any. 
Gas oil is just what the French call their diesel, they just love to give everything a french name


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## krull (Jul 22, 2006)

I think it is a case of practical motorhome not getting its facts correct again. Gazole is french for diesel. 

There is also the english term Gas Oil, which is a term for red diesel. 

Has anyone else noticed PM magazine's poor factual edititing. The last copy I bought had a section about satellite TV. It had a photo with the caption referring to tuning satellite dishes and picture of a status 530 directional aerial above. Derrr :roll:


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## bill (May 10, 2005)

Thanks for the replies so far.

I have no problem with 'red diesel' in the UK because I think you would have to go out of your way to be able to put it in your tank, ie fill up at an agricultural outlet, ignore signs or have to get padlock removed from the pump.

It's just that the Practical Motorhome letter answered by a Bob Ganley (the Editor) seems, to me anyway, to imply that gazoil is the same as red diesel by saying "gazoil or gas oil, is the same as diesel but it is only for agricultural use. Only 'excepted' vehicles can legally use rebated heavy oil as fuel on the public road. In the UK it is commonly referred to as 'red diesel'."

Although my experience in France is not great (three weeks round Normandy and the Loire and ten days to / from Spain) I would agree with gazoil being the French name for diesel. If it wasn't I'm sure that someone on here would have been 'tackled' when filling up their motorhome from a gazoil pump by being told that they are not a 'tractor' and to use another pump!!!! The one time I can remember filling from a gazoil pump in France I did think there was a bit of a difference ie it looked thicker and less refined, the smell reminded me of the diesel we used to put in our armoured vehicles also there was more spill mess than one would normally expect at a diesel pump.

I don't think the response to the letter is that clear personally. Next time I'm in France I'll pay more attention to what it says on the price boards ie do they mention gazoil and diesel, whether there is a difference in price and whether there are gazoil and diesel pumps on the forcourt.

Interesting one this and is comforting for me to know I'm not the only one who is wondering.

bill


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## bill (May 10, 2005)

krull

I think you're very likey to be right about Practical Motorhome being wrong and what you say about "gas oil" being the UK name for red diesel is a very good point I hadn't thought of. Thanks.

This is becoming clearer and clearer thanks to this Forum.

bill


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## safariboy (May 1, 2005)

I am still confused. At one supermarket in France we filled up with there was Gasoil at the same pumps as the cars were filling (as in our garages) and I assumed that this was the correct stuff for us.
There was a wider filling area next to it with two pumps: gasoil and diesel.
It would have been simpler to use the wider area but I was worried that the pumps would try to fill the tank too fast and the fuel would splash back.
We only just managed to exit the station by pulling in the mirrors.
The logic of this is that diesel is rebated and gasoil is full price. But that it the other way round!


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## krull (Jul 22, 2006)

One more thing to consider, in the UK, on the few occasions you see red deisel at the forecourt, it will be on a crappy old pump at the side somewhere with loads of signs making it clear it not for road use.

I would expect the same in france, unless it is right out in the sticks, in which case it will probably be attendant service. 

In other words, I wouldn't worry about it.


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## sideways (Jun 2, 2008)

Dont let anyone tell you that red and white diesel is the same stuff with just a dye added, Try running a nearly new car on red and see what happens, take it from me its a no go,older cruder cars love it a bit like veg oil,New cars dont want to start,stall at every opportunity,smoke and pink like mad. Been down that road all the way.(in a former life i might add)


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## phil4francoise (Jun 21, 2008)

I cam confirm 100% that gazoil in french is diesel a sold at the pumps in the UK ."fuel" in French is red deisel and is not for sale on French petrol fourcourts.


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## 92046 (May 1, 2005)

*Gas-oil*

Hi to all

Gas-oil, is the name for red diesel, and is sold at a few garages in the UK, the truckers will use this in a trailer tank for the refrigeration trailer,

It used to be the same as diesel (clear) but at the delivery/refinery dispatch loading area, the red dye is or was injected into the pipeline,

However, now you have the city clean fuel, diesel will go through another process,

Ports and harbours around the UK, and council maintainance depot,s will have, diesel and gas-oil in bulk storage, for use in road transport, and also boats, and off road plant,

If red diesel/gas-oil is found in a road vehicle, it will be impounded, and there is a 90% chance it will be confiscated, following court action,

Legal action was taken on a group of people a few years back who used acid to remove the "RED" from gas-oil, and sold the fuel on, and yes they were all given a long holiday by the courts,


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## riohog (Mar 1, 2008)

*french diesel*

Having just come back from France I found motorway services had two types, diesel and gazoil nozzles from the multi system pumps with the gazoil slightly cheaper than the diesel so thats the one I used! I believe its the same as our shell garages where you have a choice of the general diesel or the greener dearer grade.
Rio


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## ronin56 (May 25, 2007)

In France gazole, gasoil, diesel are just different names for the same thing.

Heating fuel is 'fioul'.

See here: http://www.total.fr/fr/total.nsf/VS_OPM/D35A7A3A23B4EDE7C12572B100324DC1?OpenDocument

and here:
http://www.allwords.com/word-diesel.html


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## 38Rover (Nov 9, 2006)

In Spain Diesel or Gasoil A in Eroski is now down to .95 Euros a litre but Gasoil B is some 10c a litre less I have never tried Gasoil B anybody know the difference? I assume its a low grade for tractors etc.
Colin Frier


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

In Spain there are two grades of road diesel/gazoil both are legal in motor vehicles I always use the cheapest with no problem at all. In France there tends to be only the one grade and unless your at a rural garage you won't find agricultural diesel, which is only road diesel with a colour added.

However in France Paraffin is called petrol!  

Wobby


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## blondy (Aug 23, 2007)

Hi In France there are actualy 2 diesal road fuels. A sort of standard and a premium, I never know which to use so I tend to alternate.


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

Just checked it out and your right there is the standard diesel and Exel which is a low sulphur diesel, a lot more expensive and should only be use on the latest engines! so I am told, although you can still use the cheaper diesel without any problems. Exel is supposed to lower emissions and give more MPH.

I always fill up at the big supermarket pumps as its much cheaper, they tend only to have the cheaper diesel.

Wobby


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## JeanLuc (Jan 13, 2007)

In the UK, Gas Oil is for off road use only (i.e "Red Diesel")

In other countries, it is often used as a generic term for diesel fuels.

In France, the basic road-use product is called 'Gazole'. This complies with EU fuel standards regarding sulphur content etc and is identical to UK standard forecourt diesel.
Some French forecourts sell 'Diesel' which is often a bit more expensive than Gazole and, I believe, is a premium version with proprietary additives. I suspect the branded Oil companies are trying to globalise their marketing with common names across countries for their premium brands. That is why supermarkets normally sell only unbranded Gazole.

See this French ministry website for price of fuels (carburants). It lists prices for:
SP95 - unleaded petrol at 95 Octane
Gazole - Diesel (but no mention of the word "diesel" as a specific fuel)
GPL - LPG
E85 - Biofuel mix of ethanol and petrol

http://www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr/

So you can safely use Gazole - it is simply road use diesel.


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## SpeedyDux (Jul 13, 2007)

I buy Gazoil in France. No problems encountered.

As an aside, there is a marked difference between the premium 97 ron unleaded petrol you get in the UK and the premium 98 ron unleaded you get in France and Germany. 

On German Autobahns running on their premium unleaded at consistently high speeds (90 - 120 mph) two up with a bootfull of luggage my Vectra achieved 32+ mpg, whereas on UK motorways at indicated 78 - 82 mph (less than true 75mph) it achieved only an average 28mpg on our UK 97 ron unleaded, whether Sainsbury's own or from major branded garages. 

Sainsburys have discontinued their Super Unleaded and I now find my car runs as well and often does better mpg on the standard 95 ron unleaded, so I am wondering what rubbish in fact they sold under the guise of Super Unleaded anyway. What a rip-off that was!  


SD


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## Wupert (Aug 6, 2007)

bill said:


> Hello All.
> 
> This may sound like a daft question to the more seasoned traveller but I'm going to raise it anyway.
> 
> ...


Hi Bill

Gasoil is diesel


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