[Talk-us] amenity:fuel and fuel types for the US

[Peter Dobratz]

On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 10:25 AM, Toby Murray <toby.murray at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 5:54 AM, Richard Welty <rwelty at averillpark.net> wrote:
>> On 8/18/11 6:30 AM, Peter Dobratz wrote:
>>>
>>> Does anyone know how to translate the US octane measurements to the
>>> European ones used (fuel:octane_91, fuel:octane_95, fuel:octane_98,
>>> fuel:octane_100)?
>>>
>>
>> rather than messing about, i'd suggest modifying the tagging system
>> to let us enter the AKI numbers directly with clear labeling.

> Yeah, I would just label them as it is signed. No one cares about
> octane rating systems. They care about what it says in the car owner
> manual and where they can get gas that matches that number. It is
> implied that the numbers follow whatever rating system is prescribed
> by law in the country the gas station is in. Since all cars sold
> within a given country will follow the same rating system as all the
> gas stations in that country, the rating systems are a non-issue.
>
> So just tag it as fuel:octane_87, fuel:octane_89, etc.

That sounds logical.  I probably won't end up tagging them a whole lot
since virtually all gas stations (tagged amenity=fuel) currently sell
3 variations of unleaded gasoline.

> Not Sure about
> the kerosene. fuel:kerosene=yes would seem logical but I'm not sure
> what the non-taxable use has to do with things.

Looks like there's a handful of people using fuel:kerosone=yes, so
I'll go with that.

As far as non-taxable use, I believe it is common practice in the US
and elsewhere to put dye in diesel fuel and kerosene to mark the fuel
for non-taxable use.  Taxable use is basically using it to power a
vehicle that drives on the public roads.  Non-taxable use is things
like kerosene lamps or heaters.  Farm tractors might also use dyed
diesel fuel.  Basically, if it has dye in it, it is sold cheaper than
if it doesn't (less tax).

> While we're on the topic of fuel types... I've been wondering about
> diesel. The JOSM preset has 3 different diesel checkboxes. One is for
> bio diesel which is fine. But is there any chemical difference between
> "Diesel" and "Diesel for Heavy Goods Vehicles"? Or is this tag just
> clarifying the physical characteristics of the pump? (enough space and
> clearance for a big rig to maneuver to the pump)

Yes, it is for the physical characteristics of the pump, but it has
more to do with the nozzle.  Fuel nozzles that are used on big trucks
don't necessarily fit inside diesel cars.  Big trucks have larger fuel
tanks, so they need a bigger nozzle to help them fill up faster.

Peter