Kerosene/Diesel question

Bobvt · Jan 16, 2004

I don't think you want to burn 100% kerosene. It burns much hotter than diesel and could damage pistons and valves. It is not even a good idea to burn the 50/50 winter mix in the summer.

Bob

Will_C · Jan 16, 2004

Thanks for all the responses. I don't plan to use much kerosene in the tractor, I just like to keep the tank absolutely full in the winter, and it is often just a quart or two down. I don't use diesel in the winter like I do in the summer, and I hate to have gallons of fuel sitting around. I just filled the tractor with 1.6 gallons of diesel; that was all the use I have had since October, when I got the tractor ready for winter.
I'll plan on using Kerosene for the next 1-2 gallons, and then buy some diesel. Who knows, that may get me all the way to spring /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Will

tawilson · Jan 16, 2004

While we're on the subject of a 50/50 mix, once it's mixed will it separate after a while? My tank will last me most of the winter and I'm wondering if it should be stirred up once in a while.

JDgreen227 · Jan 16, 2004

The information one learns from TBN is amazing...I never associated kerosene and diesel fuels prior to reading this. I have several gallons of kerosene left over from last winter, can anyone tell me if that year old kerosene is still usable for fuel? I would not use old gasoline in my vehicles unless it had been treated with Sta-bil. Will kerosene go bad if not treated with a fuel conditioner?

JJT · Jan 16, 2004

Old kero should be fine, I've burned 10 year old kero in my garage furnace. But, why take the risk with a $10K - $20K tractor? Mine gets fresh diesel from the local truck stop, if it's more than a month or 2 old I dump the diesel into the furnace tank and refresh the tractor supply.

I also condition the fuel year round.

MadReferee · Jan 17, 2004

When I owned a gas station/store a few years ago each November the fuel distributor would call up and ask how much diesel was left in the underground storage tank. That night a delivery of kerosene was made to make the summer blend winter blend. The ratio was about 2 parts diesel to 1 part kerosene. The ratio varied depending on how much diesel was in the tank. It was always rounded up to an even 1000 gallons of kerosene.

zuiko · Jan 20, 2004

Just don't use it if it's cloudy at all. I'm guessing it gets cloudy if moisture gets in it. Whatever it is, it's bad at that point.

RalphVa · Jan 20, 2004

Kerosene and diesel won't separate. Normally, the only way to separate them is by distillation. Kerosene is lighter.

Naphtha, by the way, is the lightest distillate, not kerosene. Naphtha is what gasoline is made from (butane/propane added to it to increase its volatility; these are what make gasoline so dangerous to use).

Ralph

djradz · Jan 23, 2004

Ralph, where does pentane come in? We used to use that instead of white gas in lanterns and stoves and it seemed to give a little whiter light and hotter flame.

blenderman · Jan 23, 2004

Just thought I would jump in with some information. Naphtha is a lighter cut than the "normal straight run" gasoline cuts and is typically only used at our refinery in the summer to make 7# reformulated gasoline for the Chicago area. We feed naphtha to reformers to make reformate which is high in octane and low in vapor pressure. Naphtha is low octane, around 70 to 77 and low vapor pressure. Butane is used to control vapor pressure for seasonal starting requirements and as a high octane component. As stated elsewhere, kerosene falls below the gasoline range but is sometimes cut into the higher gasoline range depending on refinery and market conditions.