Smoke this...

[tamangel]

Wondering if anyone has had contacts by Law Enforcement due to 'excessive' smoke from your rig. Its my thought that mixing fuels (or any combustibles) may result in heavy discharge..

A statement from the California VC:

Exhaust Products
27153. No motor vehicle shall be operated in a manner resulting in the escape of excessive smoke, flame, gas, oil, or fuel residue.
The provisions of this section apply to motor vehicles of the United States or its agencies, to the extent authorized by federal law..

What have you guys found to be the 'cleanest', non-emiting fuel type?

Mike

***********
“They think they can make fuel from horse manure - Now, I don't know if your car will be able to get 30 miles to the gallon, but it's sure gonna put a stop to siphoning”
Billie Holiday (American jazz singer from the 1930s to the 1950s, 1915-1959)

 

[FreightTrain]

God I love living in Free America.Don't have to worry about the Greenie weenie Eco-Nazis comming after me.......Here we try for MORE smoke in a diesel!

 

[DaveP]

Here in Michigan i have no problems. but I dont think California would like my XM818. It pumps out smoke like an ole coal burning locomotive. and when she really gets worked up there is a flame out the pipe also. The only time that ive been stopped so far was by a younger DOT man. he was sure that my old truck had a problem as it had a flame out the pipe. Like I said he was a younger man.

 

[Bow-man]

Most cops I know would only use that as good PC for a stop. I would never issue a ticket for it I don't think most would, either. So in other words, if you have been stopped for this, especially in a MV, the officer was probably just being a dickhead.

 

[DaveP]

Most cops I know would only use that as good PC for a stop. I would never issue a ticket for it I don't think most would, either. So in other words, if you have been stopped for this, especially in a MV, the officer was probably just being a richard cranium.

well the one that stopped me thought he was doing me a favor by letting me know it had fire out the pipe.

 

[m.walker]

I for one would love to see flaming stack pics here !!!

 

[Dieselsmoke]

<<<<<Look at the sign on name I don't have a vehicle that doesn't have a trail of soot down the side. Now that I'm in NV I have to smog my diesels...which just amounts to $$$ because as overfueled as my rigs are they pass easily.
My buddy TJ's in Reno has 686-SMOG for his license plate They tried to take it away, but he won in court after showing the truck does in fact pass the opacity test here.

 

[Jones]

Best insurance to guard against excessive smoke is good, clean #2 diesel fuel and a light throttle foot.
The biggest problem with wording in this (or any) statute is that there's a wide avenue for interpretation. Just how much smoke is excessive smoke?
Not too many LEOs I know carry Ringelmann Charts, or know an EPA Method 9 Visible Emission Observation Form exists-- let alone how to properly fill one out; so how are limitations to be determined?
Didja know there are even "Smoke Schools" out there that teach proper observation and reporting methods.

 

[tamangel]

OPACITY

Found this New Jersey site that mentions 'ROADSIDE ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM's' so I guess you don't necessarily have to be stopped.

Here's the link, scroll down to the "OPACITY" section. There is a chart based on the year of your vehicle..

http://www.nj.gov/dep/bmvim/bmvim_hddvip.htm#emission

use this google search term for other states:
roadside diesel emissions enforcement program

Mike

So how does Veg oil and bio D rate?

***********

"I smoke ten to fifteen cigars a day. At my age I have to hold on to something."
George Burns

 

[wdbtchr]

RE: OPACITY

I run around 50% wmo, sometimes more and my M51A2 makes virtually no smoke. Not that it matters I operate in a rural area.

 

[CCATLETT1984]

RE: OPACITY

based on that chart our MV's can have a 70% opacity and still pass. Thats a ton of smoke.

 

[Orionspath]

Most cops I know would only use that as good PC for a stop. I would never issue a ticket for it I don't think most would, either. So in other words, if you have been stopped for this, especially in a MV, the officer was probably just being a richard cranium.

I've heard of RICHARD WHISKEY but not this one! It is a good one.

 

[builder77]

Normally I would think that flame coming out of an exhaust would indicate something was wrong too. I wish my truck did that...I am jealous

 

[DaveP]

The old civi trucks had a mirror on the radiator cap. it was the poormans pyrometer. we just watched the smoke and flame in the hills to know how hot she was running. getting a pic of my XM818 flameing would be tough as i am normaly by myself. and i know that im pushing it with this motor. i dont let it get above 1200. at least not for very long!

 

[ida34]

Here is the law for the Michigan guys. Excessive smoke or fumes is a no no. If it looks like you are smoking bees out of the hive someone will probably pull you over sooner or later. I have seen some guys that lay down a smoke trail like it was Omaha beach on D-day.

Chris, that chart would not apply in Michigan.


257.707 Muffler, engine, power mechanism, and exhaust system; requirements; prohibitions.
Sec. 707. (1) A motor vehicle, including a motorcycle or moped, shall at all times be equipped with a
muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise and annoying
smoke. A person shall not remove, destroy, or damage any of the baffles contained in the muffler, nor shall a
person use a muffler cutout, bypass, or similar device upon a motorcycle or moped on a highway or street.
(2) The engine and power mechanism of a motor vehicle shall be so equipped and adjusted as to prevent
the escape of excessive fumes or smoke.
(3) A motor vehicle shall at all times be equipped with a properly operating exhaust system which shall
include a tailpipe and resonator on a vehicle where the original design included a tailpipe and resonator.

 

[DaveP]

Here is the law for the Michigan guys. Excessive smoke or fumes is a no no. If it looks like you are smoking bees out of the hive someone will probably pull you over sooner or later. I have seen some guys that lay down a smoke trail like it was Omaha beach on D-day.

Chris, that chart would not apply in Michigan.

thanks Chuck! I think I can smoke out an entire town! It really needs a turbo. at times it looks like an old coal burner! I know I know a lighter foot would help this but that's not going to happen!

 

[SasquatchSanta]

tamangel wrote:

Here's the link, scroll down to the "OPACITY" section. There is a chart based on the year of your vehicle..

http://www.nj.gov/dep/bmvim/bmvim_hddvip.htm#emission

The chart says 18,000 pounds or more. I thought a deuce weighed inat around 13.5. My bobbed deuce weight around 10.5.


ida34 wrote:

(2) The engine and power mechanism of a motor vehicle shall be so equipped and adjusted as to prevent
the escape of excessive fumes or smoke.

Who defines excessive and how? The term "excessive" isn't quantifiable. I'm wondering if there isn't more written somewhere.


builder77 wrote:

Normally I would think that flame coming out of an exhaust would indicate something was wrong too. I wish my truck did that...I am jealous

Many years ago dad had an old H-Model (non-turbo) Mack. He had a mirror positioned so he could see the stack and in the mountains, on a hard pull, it would hang a cone flame out of the stack. He used to tell me to never let the flame hang out over the equivalent length of the diameter of the stack. He was also always quick to point out that there wasn't suppose to be any flame coming out of the stack --- none whatsoever --- when coming down a mountain. --- especially when he was in the sleeper.

 

[Bow-man]

This is where officer discretion comes into play, and exactly why I never wrote any tickets for it. It's kinda the "if it looks like a duck..." axiom; but how do you prove that in court? How much is too much? I've pulled over scrotebags rollin' dirty in their hoopties for excessive exhaust simply because they were making every turn just perfect, driving the speed limit, etc. and I needed good PC for the stop. I would always write them a warning.
I cannot speak for every officer but I would hope that they wouldn't jack with a hard workin' stiff in his deuce or MV just because it's too smokey. Then again, I don't live in the People's Republic of California, either!

 

[Crash_AF]

Normally I would think that flame coming out of an exhaust would indicate something was wrong too. I wish my truck did that...I am jealous

According to my girlfriend who was following behind me when I was towing my new Deuce home, my 816 was shooting a 12-16" flame out the stack on the longer hills... she tried to get a pic with her camera, but it just came out as an orange dot.

Later,
Joe

 

[tamangel]

Bow-Man says:

Then again, I don't live in the People's Republic of California, either!

very perceptive mate.. the only time I wrote some one for this is when I followed a guy for a block and couldn't see anything..too much smoke... If you are smoking that bad, no breaks..

Not a deuce but, sorry, would have done the dsame thing..

Mike

***********8