Fuel Oil $$$

coaledsweat wrote:Running a lot of kerosene through your oil burner is not a great idea. It doesn't have the lubricating properties that #2 oil has and could seriously impact the life of the pump depending on its design. A chopper pump can handle it reasonably well, gearpumps will have big problems with it.

Thanks again, I didn't know that! Will mix in #2 , maybe the inlet isn't gunked up. If I have a gearpump, what kinds of signals will it give me that it's failing? Or will it just sizz up and stop? I'm pretty much shut down so I don't think I have killed it yet?

Get the info off the pump and google it. If it has blades like stars its a chopper. You probably won't get any noises or other signs warning of a pump failure, it will just wear until it can't make enough pressure. I wouldn't fret over this, it won't wear out in a week, thats for sure.

Oil burners can also burn alcohol too, but you need to add about 1-2% #2 oil to keep the pump happy.

Berlin wrote:there is also nothing wrong with running kero in an oil furnace; as it was mentioned by a previous poster, kero is often used for individuals with exterior above ground tanks to keep the fuel from gelling in cold temps, although this is now mostly done w/ additives if you have a decent supplier (reason being kero has lower btu's/gallon, if possible you want #2 heating oil aka diesel).

btw, no. 2 distilate oil = #2 diesel fuel = #2 fuel oil= #2 heating oil ------ this is commonly called "diesel" or "heating oil"

no. 1 distilate oil = #1 diesel fuel = kerosene = jet A ------- this is most commonly referred to as "kerosene"

there are slight variations from this dealing with additives, sulfur content, etc. however the fuel itself follows basically those guidelines.

I would think that straight kero is not recommended unless the nozzle is changed first. Kero is a thinner liquid then #2 fuel oil. I suppose a mix of kero and fuel oil would be fine.

During the winter K-1 is blended with diesel to keep it from gelling. I've seen it blended in the ratio of 500 gal K-1 to 7,000 gallond on road diesel (tanker load). If you're tanks are above ground and exposed to the weather the delivery service brings it blended.

I've burned straight K-1 at the end of the heating season when I didn't want to pay for a 200 gallon minimum delivery. From what I was told it's not smart to dump straight k-1 into a fuel oil tank because the k-1 acts as a detergent and strips the garbage off the sides of the tank. The couple of times I did it I was lucky and didn't have a problem.

I wonder if kero will float on top or will it mix with whats left in the tank? Will it leech fuel oil from the sludge on the bottom of the tank? I don't know. My next trip will be to pick up a couple of jerry cans of off-road diesel once I find out where they sell it in my area.
Thanks guys, This forum has been a Big help!

JiminBucks wrote:I wonder if kero will float on top or will it mix with whats left in the tank? Will it leech fuel oil from the sludge on the bottom of the tank?

It will blend right in with the fuel oil but tends to loosen up the sediment. It has a cleansing effect which unfortunatly will impact your filter quickly. If you use Kero, I would change the filter after 3-4 weeks. After that you should be good.

I add a can of diesel fuel conditioner to my tank once a year before the heating season starts prior to the tank fillup. It does the same thing.

Anybody else notice on the futures market today - the price on a barrel of oil went down, & heating oil went up. W.T.F. ?????????? Glad to see when the government screws people, they're not blanent about it

Cyber36 wrote:Anybody else notice on the futures market today - the price on a barrel of oil went down, & heating oil went up. W.T.F. ?????????? Glad to see when the government screws people, they're not blanent about it

Geez, my radar screen said brent crude went up. But then again, on Feb 10 Retail sales were down for January and today, Feb 13, markets are up on "unexpected gains" in January Retail Sales.
Hmmmm. I have never before been a conspiracy theorist but today may be a turning point.


Beware: Financial news manipulations...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... HYaVoilwIg
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080213/wall_street.html

If I have a gearpump, what kinds of signals will it give me that it's failing? Or will it just sizz up and stop? I'm pretty much shut down so I don't think I have killed it yet

Mine went bad, the oil burner wouldn't light sometimes and I had to push the reset button. Well it got worse where I would have to reset it every day, then finally it didn't light. I got lucky the plumbing place had one in stock, $90 or so a few years back. It wasn't a common oil burner, if yours is a Beckett or Carlin then you can buy parts anywhere and probably cheaper. I almost upgraded the whole burner but I was broke so I didn't.

e.alleg wrote:

If I have a gearpump, what kinds of signals will it give me that it's failing? Or will it just sizz up and stop? I'm pretty much shut down so I don't think I have killed it yet

Mine went bad, the oil burner wouldn't light sometimes and I had to push the reset button. Well it got worse where I would have to reset it every day, then finally it didn't light. I got lucky the plumbing place had one in stock, $90 or so a few years back. It wasn't a common oil burner, if yours is a Beckett or Carlin then you can buy parts anywhere and probably cheaper. I almost upgraded the whole burner but I was broke so I didn't.

An oil burner will do as you describe even with a good pump sometimes. The coupling that connects the motor to the pump is a hollow tube with a thick rubber neck. It simply pushes over a round shaft and powers the pump with the rubber's grip. If you run out of oil and prime it with the bleeder and don't use a hose, the oil can run down the back side of the pump and wet this coupling. An old tired one will do what yours did after a few drops sometimes.

If your burner exhibits this behavior, pull the motor and inspect the coupling first. if its old and tired or wet with oil. clean and dry it, shafts too. You can also wrap the shafts (motor and pump with duct or electrical tape) to snug up the fit. It won't last forever, but will easily get you a couple days. Its usually the coupling that goes, not the pump.