#2 Heating Oil

[ncridgerunner1]

A few months ago a friend changed over his heating system and deleted his oil furnace. He had almost 200 gallons of #2 fuel oil left in his tank and the oil company said they would not pump it out. He offered me the fuel to burn in my tractor but I told him it was not worth the risk of engine problems for me. It seems someone else took him up on the offer and in burning this oil in some of their equipment.

It seems to me between the age of the oil and the probability of contaminants using this oil is asking for problems. Anyone have experience with this?

 

[greenie]

Heating oil is the same product as #2 diesel. The difference is taxes and the legality of running on the road. In my state heating oil is also ultra low sulfur. I've run my 790 John Deere compact tractor on heating oil for 26 years without an issue.
Heating oil has a very long shelf life; people have 40 year old tanks of it in their basements that are never drained empty or cleaned that keeps their homes warm.
It sounds like you passed up over $600 worth of fuel for your tractor.

 

[RjCorazza]

If properly filtered and stored the #2 would have been fine in your machine. I got 250 gallons of heating oil about 15 years ago that I pumped out of a basement tank. I filtered it on the way out, stored in 55 gallon barrels, then filtered it again before going into my tractor and mower.
In my case, I screwed up with the last few gallons and contaminated the tractor tank with water, but I got it straightened out eventually.

 

[Streetcar]

When I had oil furnace I lived close to fuel depot. My tank was filled with heating oil, off road diesel and regular diesel, based on what they had left on truck. Interchangeable except for color

 

[chim]

#2 Son replaced his oil furnace with LP gas. I used about 100 gallons in my tractor. The dispenser here has water block and "teensy" micron filter.

 

[old and tired]

For my 20 yo tractor that doesn't have high pressure rail (or any emission crap), I would use it. If I had a newer tractor, I would not risk it...

I burned 40 gallons of old heating oil from my neighbor, tractor never skipped a beat.

 

[bdhsfz6]

When my father sold his yacht, it had 400 gallons of diesel that had been sitting in one of the fuel tanks for over 5 years. I pumped it into 55 gal drums and transferred it to a 500 gal storage tank. I used it in my tractors for several more years and had zero issues.

#2 fuel oil has a shelf life similar to that of fruitcake. Filter it well, remove moisture, add an anti bacterial agent and you'll be fine.

 

[ncridgerunner1]

When talking about filtering are you fellows talking about using one of the canister filters that are used on heating oil tanks or some other method?

 

[RjCorazza]

When talking about filtering are you fellows talking about using one of the canister filters that are used on heating oil tanks or some other method?

The heating oil filters are likely too low of a flow for use in transferring fuel. I use a sediment bowl filter with water block element, followed by a 2 micron particulate filter. Both are designed for fuel transfer flow rates at somewhere in the 10gpm range. A typical boiler oil filter is probably in the 5-10 gallons per hour flow rate.

 

[Jstpssng]

Not quite the same but after my father passed away in 2018 we had about 170 gallons of old, unknown vintage #2
in an outdoor tank. I got varying answers about whether we should use it but after testing it for water, this spring I bought a Harbor Freight transfer pump, put on a goldenrod 10 micron filter and transferred it to the greenhouse tank where our tenant burned it with no problem.

 

[ncridgerunner1]

Interesting info. Will be good to know for future reference. Thanks!

 

[greenie]

For my 20 yo tractor that doesn't have high pressure rail (or any emission crap), I would use it. If I had a newer tractor, I would not risk it...

I burned 40 gallons of old heating oil from my neighbor, tractor never skipped a beat.

I also have a L4760 with emissions (PMF) and 200 hours of steady heating oil hasn't affected it at all. The heating oil is mostly all ultra low sulfur now. Same product as diesel.

 

[camshawn]

As long as you have a good filter, you will be ok. The newer high pressure fuel systems need really fine filters. If I remember correctly, We switched to 5 micron filters because of the tight tolerances in the fuel systems after some “dirt “ related failures.

 

[Fallon]

Ultra low sulphur diesel became a requirement in 2006 or so. I think off-road applications got an extra year or 2. If there is a chance it predates that I wouldn't run it in a modern emissions tractor. No worries running it in an older machine. If it was clean & uncontaminated & I knew it was 2010ish or newer I'd run it in my Kubota with a DPF.

 

[Skypuppy]

#2 Son replaced his oil furnace with LP gas. I used about 100 gallons in my tractor. The dispenser here has water block and "teensy" micron filter.

Doesn't he know that propane is THE most expensive fuel and has the lowest calorie content? Po' feller.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Propane is not the highest price per gallon, I pre-bought at $2.49 a gallon ... and tends to burn more efficient than heating oil ... However oil has a much higher BTU content than propane so tends to be cheaper per BTU, however the oil burner furnace usually is more expensive ...

 

[chim]

Doesn't he know that propane is THE most expensive fuel and has the lowest calorie content? Po' feller.

We both buried 1,000 gallon tanks and buy off-season. Wifey watches the market and it isn't unusual to get filled for around $1.25/gallon. A few years ago she found LP at just under $1.00. Google says the current price in my area is $2.80. It takes around 500 gallons to heat our 2,700SF house per year. Having your own large tank allows you to shop around for the best deals. Before we buried ours, we were at the mercy of the dealer who owned the tank. He could make the price whatever he wanted it to be.

 

[WinterDeere]

We both buried 1,000 gallon tanks and buy off-season. Wifey watches the market and it isn't unusual to get filled for around $1.25/gallon.

The house in which I grew up had a 1500 tank buried in the back yard, ca.1953. We were still running off it when mom sold that house ca.2000, but I'd always been given the impression that buried tanks were a thing of the past, no longer allowed in most jurisdictions?

I wasn't buying the oil for that house, but memory tells me a full tank would hold us a full year-plus, with the likely installer's intent being the same as yours... buying all their oil off-season.

My current house is the opposite, very large and inefficient, with only a single 275 gallon tank. When we first moved here, and before I got two wood stoves up and running 24/7, my oil delivery guy called us "every 7-10 day'ers". That meant he'd be needing to deliver here every 7 - 10 days in the dead of winter. He wasn't far off, that first year.

 

[Yander]

Propane is not the highest price per gallon, I pre-bought at $2.49 a gallon ... and tends to burn more efficient than heating oil ... However oil has a much higher BTU content than propane so tends to be cheaper per BTU, however the oil burner furnace usually is more expensive ...

The old oil furnace also burn dirtier and smell a little. I don't know about the new ones. Though the heat feels warmer, like wood, at least my experience.

We used an old oil furnace for about 7 years.

 

[Shady oak]

Heating oil is the same product as #2 diesel. The difference is taxes and the legality of running on the road. In my state heating oil is also ultra low sulfur. I've run my 790 John Deere compact tractor on heating oil for 26 years without an issue.
Heating oil has a very long shelf life; people have 40 year old tanks of it in their basements that are never drained empty or cleaned that keeps their homes warm.
It sounds like you passed up over $600 worth of fuel for your tractor.

My son just switched to LP from oil. I eagerly await the free 100 plus gals of "furnace oil" that will power my mowers for most of next summer.

Having been raised on a farm, transported fuels, and owned some gas stations the endless consternation on fuel compatibilities, fuel and gas shelf life continue to confound me.

I realize I am fortunate enough to have more experience on the subject than some, but despite endless posts on the topic we continue to make it complicated.

While there MAY be a "D" grade like Amoco used to ship via its proprietary pipelines, I haven’t heard of any. There is no furnace oil, there is no diesel. It’s all simply #2. In most states if it’s red, it’s not taxed for road use. Woe to those who get caught on the road with it. If it’s clear it’s good to go. Same fuel, probably 5 gals of red dye is all the difference.

Today’s “D" grade, if sold and uncharged as such would have about 7 gals of an additive per 7500 gal transport.

My simple rules:

In your tractor simply run #2, non taxable if available. Just like the farmers and contractors do. Additives year round are a waste of money. Buy me breakfast instead. LOL

In 2 cycle, straight premium, NO ethanol! I always add Sea Foam to my mix. Despite having 2 weed whips, 2 chainsaws, and a leaf blower I have not been in a small engine repair shop in approximately 20 yrs. Run em dry at the end of the year though.