heating oil or kero

I've been burning Kero in my--scares me when it kicks in-- back-up furnace--between wood for 50 yrs & coal for the past two yrs,it's probably kicked on 1/2 a dozen times. The reason as stated above is fuel oil would freeze up--I tried Diesel but it would gel up & any additives would gunk up my filter big time--I've had a 275# tank pretty much full--2/3's left--filled it last,8 yrs ago & the Kero is fine---I live on top of a windy,snowy,just plain nasty hill with the lake effect we get up here--I'd rather have a few less BTU's then crawling around outside with a bernzamatic torch

Damn! I thought I was doing good going 1 year on 275 gallons! 8 years -- holy crapper! But that's a good thing.

samhill wrote:First time I ever heard of a torpedo heater not being able to burn #2,........

It's a Mr. Heater 125K btu. Bought it around '04-'05. The new ones only have an 8 gallon tank - mine has a 14 gallon tank. Why they did that, I have no idea. But anyway, if you try diesel in this thing, the pump eventually locks up. Owners manual says rated for Kerosene only. I see why now. That was the first time I'd seen that happen as well. All the ones in the shop where I worked burned both, & were labeled as dual-fuel.

Good point Coaledsweat. Makes sense. And those pumps ain't cheap! I've never had to run kero in the house, because our tank is in the swamp (basement). Now with the coal stove down there, the oil is no less than 90° at all times.

Engine oil creates ash when burned. Not enough to be a real problem at the treatment rate suggested, but worth mentioning. If you were concerned about the fuel being too "dry" for the pump, I would suggest a real diesel fuel treatment. Most are formulated to add lubricity and keep things clean, but be aware that your tank filter could plug if the tank is old.

Some folks add TCW-3 2-stroke oil to their diesel for lubricity (it burns without creating ash), but I have never tried it.

-Robert

Ahhh, 2-stroke oil. I've got plenty of that kickin' around! Maybe there will be smoke from the chimney after all!

I have a friend who is a jet engine mechanic. He brings jet fuel home all year long 5 gallons at a time and burns that in his oil burner. I think jet fuel is just a better grade of #1 but not sure. His wife says when the furnace comes on, she's hears a loud bang everytime.

There are different grades of jet fuel, the choppers in Nam used JP4 & it was kind of funny, at times it was hard to light a gravel filled C-ration can with some in & other times it would blow the gravel right out. I`d be very careful with it.

Ahhhhh,government issue, maybe it will--maybe it won't

You can even run an oil burner on alcohol if you want. You just need to add #2 oil/motor oil/tranny fluid/something to lubricate the pump @ 50-100:1 and you good.

I've been buying 10 gallons of diesel at a time to fill my tank for a while now. Did it when I was burning wood and I'm still doing it now that I'm burning coal.

Although, with burning wood I was forced to buy oil from the distributor twice last season as I went through two tanks. So far this season I haven't even thought of buying oil I've put a 1/2 tank of diesel in and in 5 weeks since lighting the coal stove the furnace has come on 4 times.

Speaking of diesel, I should probably buy a few more gallons before December.

freetown fred wrote:I've been burning Kero in my--scares me when it kicks in-- back-up furnace--between wood for 50 yrs & coal for the past two yrs,it's probably kicked on 1/2 a dozen times. The reason as stated above is fuel oil would freeze up--I tried Diesel but it would gel up & any additives would gunk up my filter big time--I've had a 275# tank pretty much full--2/3's left--filled it last,8 yrs ago & the Kero is fine---I live on top of a windy,snowy,just plain nasty hill with the lake effect we get up here--I'd rather have a few less BTU's then crawling around outside with a bernzamatic torch

Most fuel oil suppliers mix 50% kero with 50% heating oil for those with outdoor tanks. The blend has a lower gel point so there are fewer "Freezing" problems. Today's diesel is getting so pure with the low sulfer regulations, you need to put additives back in it if you want to use it in older diesel engines.