Home heating Oil and off road #2

Had to buy some for the tractor, cost me $60.00 for 17 gallon, i believe it was $3.58 per gallon. This is the same fuel that people burn in the oil furnace, going to cost some money this year to heat with oil if you havent filled your tank up yet.

I filled up about 7 weeks ago, $3.52, week before that it was $3.45 Checked today $3.75. We are getting N.G. next year, but coal will always be with me as it has for 32 years.

$3.59 cash price here for heating oil.

I'm lucky I don't have to drive that much and that I don't have to buy heating oil right now. Makes me feel bad for the people in the more northern areas. My neice in Tioga County NY has a good sized house but it's like a bank house, half of it is built into a hill. I think that saves on heating costs, house was an old IBM exec's house from the 70's. Beautiful rural area.

I've been thinking of what a pain in the ass having a handfired is, the seasons are about to change, but now I'm grateful I still have some coal to heat with

No 2 off road is not the same formulation as home heating oil. Ask any tech who services them. HHO is the bottom of the barrel, and that is why most techs will insist on two filters and a change-out every six months. There are more lubricity agents in off road and on road.....still most guys who are on the road will tell you not all is well at the refineries. Yes it will run, but don't get caught using HHO or off road in an on road vehicle. I think it's 10K per truck, per incident....and that lessens the difference between off road and on road. I know 4 companies who got caught last summer and are on the watch list even now that they are 'legal'.

I used to know guys that mixed their used motor oil with their #2 heating oil for fuel! Imagine getting caught with that nowadays! They'd probably bind & gag you, & bring you before Obama himself ...

$3.54 - $3.72 up here right now. My tank is empty .. and so is my wallet. Can't buy under 100 gallons (nearly $400!!) so I took half that and bought a Fill-Rite lever pump. That will be pumping what's left in the barn tank into the house. That will keep the water hot until winter, then, the hot water coils in the stove take over. Either way I'll make it until either things stabilize price-wise, or I get my recently acquired stoker hooked up.

And if that don't work out I'll be burning trash to heat my water!

Diesel both on road and off comes out of the same tanks at the terminals. The difference is the off road fuel is died bright red by computer controlled injection pumps as the delivery truck is loaded. By federal mandate diesel must be ultra-low sulfur. Also the final formulation is changed seasonally to function in the climate it is likely to used in. Winter fuel will have a lower gel point than summer fuel. If you don't use a lot of diesel it is a good idea to put a biocide (very toxic) in the fuel stored for a long time to stop algae from growing in it. The algae will clog your filters and gum up injectors.

Home heating oil is died, has a higher sulfur content than diesel, a higher gel point (at least in the winter as compared to winter blend diesel), and dirtier. It can gel in outdoor tanks in the winter. That is why most heating oil tanks are in garages or basements. Underground residential tanks are being phased out it most places due to fear of leaks into the ground water.

In the good old days you could just add kerosene and/or some Power Service additive to some heating oil and you where good to go in cold weather. Get caught doing that you get fined these days. Ever notice the short hoses at the pump where you buy your K1 Kero. That is to make it difficult to add it to a vehicle tank. The Kero is higher sulfur and has no road use taxes.

whistlenut wrote:but don't get caught using HHO or off road in an on road vehicle. I think it's 10K per truck, per incident....and that lessens the difference between off road and on road.

I got checked a few times. It is always by an IRS agent. They hand you a little slip of paper explaining the law then stick the little tube in the tank and look for dye. The last time was in Connecticut at the I-84 west bound scale. A little old lady was standing there, she looked like the cleaning lady, she handed me her IRS paper and I said “I gave at the office” she said “hopefully you wont have to give again”

Jesus said “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” and trust me, if you don’t Caesar will come and take it.

Had to order 150 gals at $3.49 yesterday, not a happy camper seeing my money going oversea again ..... Soon as plumber gets things connected, I'm firing up the stove.

Buying oil and what it represents is second only to sitting in a dentist chair,they both hurt but in different ways. Mike

I've got a 1/4 tank of diesel left in my furnace oil tank that's been there since last winter. I'll do what I did last winter. But $30 of diesel (although I see a lot of places carry off-road no tax) or off-road diesel and put it in my oil tank. And there it'll sit until next winter. Last time I filled my oil tank was the winter of 2009/2010 and it was $1500 for the season. Oil truck came four times that winter. It didn't come once during the 2010/2011 season or once the 2011/2012 season. It won't show up again this season.

I have burned about 75 gallons since my EFM came online...mostly when I shut the EFM down for service or periodically fire the oil boiler to make sure it still runs well. I have about 1/2 tank according to the gauge, and I hope that lasts 3-4 years.

Rob R. wrote:I have burned about 75 gallons since my EFM came online...mostly when I shut the EFM down for service or periodically fire the oil boiler to make sure it still runs well. I have about 1/2 tank according to the gauge, and I hope that lasts 3-4 years.

If you oil is going to set for years you might want to consider BLENDING a biocide into it. Algae can grow in stagnant heating oil as well as diesel.

cokehead wrote:

Rob R. wrote:I have burned about 75 gallons since my EFM came online...mostly when I shut the EFM down for service or periodically fire the oil boiler to make sure it still runs well. I have about 1/2 tank according to the gauge, and I hope that lasts 3-4 years.

If you oil is going to set for years you might want to consider BLENDING a biocide into it. Algae can grow in stagnant heating oil as well as diesel.

I treated the fuel when the tank was filled, biocide and a long-term stabilizer. The filter is squeaky clean.

cokehead wrote:

Rob R. wrote:I have burned about 75 gallons since my EFM came online...mostly when I shut the EFM down for service or periodically fire the oil boiler to make sure it still runs well. I have about 1/2 tank according to the gauge, and I hope that lasts 3-4 years.

If you oil is going to set for years you might want to consider BLENDING a biocide into it. Algae can grow in stagnant heating oil as well as diesel.

I thought about treating mine. But, well the tank is in the basement and my furnace is nearly 50 years old. It's a tank.