FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, July 19, 2012

CONTACT: Terry Woster, Public Information Officer, 605.773.3178

            State Inspectors Receive Portable Octane Testers

PIERRE, S.D. – Inspectors with the South Dakota Office of Weights and Measures now have portable analyzers that will allow them to perform field tests of  the octane  rating of  gasoline being sold across the state.

The Office took delivery this week of two Zeltex octane analyzers, portable devices about the size of a business briefcase that give the inspectors the capability of testing the octane  rating in any fuel pump in the state and comparing the results with the label on the pump.

Inspectors have been told to make the octane tests a priority within the scope of other inspection responsibilities.

 “Until now, the state has lacked the ability to test octane levels, and we have relied on documents prepared by the distributor,’’ said David Pfahler, Director of the Office of Weights and Measures in the Department of Public Safety. “The Zeltex octane analyzers will allow our inspectors to do on-the-site checks to determine if the octane level of the fuel being sold matches the label on the pump.’’

Inspectors are being trained in the use of the devices and the process of calibrating the machines is under way. Inspectors will be in the field with the testers as quickly as training is completed, which should be within the next month or so. One of the machines will be used in the eastern part of the state, the other in the western part.

 “We have had the capability to test the ethanol content and water content in gasoline, as well as to make sure the pumps are delivering the correct amount of fuel and charging the correct price,’’ Pfahler said. “Field testing for octane is a huge step forward as we strive to assure that consumers get what they pay for and know what they are buying.’’

The portable octane analyzers will operate somewhat like a portable breath tester used in the field for sobriety checks of drivers. Results of the field octane test will give inspectors information they need to make more detailed analysis of a specific sample by sending that sample to a laboratory for confirmation of the octane rating using specially designed knock-test engines.

Any instances of mislabeling of fuel will be turned over to appropriate states attorneys or the Attorney General’s office for possible prosecution.

The decision to equip inspectors with portable octane analyzers came after a review by the Office of Weights and Measures, supported by an official opinion by the Attorney General, concluded that it is illegal to sell 85 octane fuel in South Dakota. The product has been sold in western South Dakota for many years and is legal in some Rocky Mountain states.

Because of fuel-industry concerns about supply shortages, the State Department of Public Safety implemented emergency rules to temporarily allow 85 octane to be sold while permanent rules are considered that would clarify the status of the product.

A public hearing on the permanent rules is scheduled Friday in Pierre. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. in the Capitol Lake Visitors Center. Any citizen may attend that hearing and offer comments. Written comments are also being accepted, from now through July 30. Written comments should be addressed to Office of Weights and Measures, 118 W. Capitol Ave., Pierre, S.D., 57501. Emailed comments are being accepted at DPSWM@state.sd.us

The language of the emergency and proposed permanent rules may be found at the Department of Public Safety website www.dps.sd.gov  .  Information on the rules hearing is available at that site.

Vehicle manufacturers’ groups do not support the sale of 85 octane gasoline, and most engines are designed to run on a minimum of 87 octane gasoline. 

The 85 octane issue is unrelated to E-85, a reference to a motor fuel that contains a blend of gasoline and up to 85 percent ethanol.

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