Off road Diesel versus #2 home heating oil

[PHIL850]

I am getting conflicting information on #2 fuel oil (heating oil) versus off road Diesel fuel. The Driver that delivered our last load of heating Oil told me you can no longer Use #2 heating oil in a Diesel engine because they have removed all the Cetane from it.
We have a couple of 275 gal tanks at our place that feed the oil burner and I would love to be able to tap off of those to fill my John Deere 850 on occasion. Diesel burns fine in the oil burner, and if the price were comparable why not fill the tanks with Off road Diesel? What say you?

 

[madmax12]

I am getting conflicting information on #2 fuel oil (heating oil) versus off road Diesel fuel. The Driver that delivered our last load of heating Oil told me you can no longer Use #2 heating oil in a Diesel engine because they have removed all the Cetane from it.
We have a couple of 275 gal tanks at our place that feed the oil burner and I would love to be able to tap off of those to fill my John Deere 850 on occasion. Diesel burns fine in the oil burner, and if the price were comparable why not fill the tanks with Off road Diesel? What say you?

My understanding is you can run your furnace on ULSD, but it will burn more to generate the same heat. You won't hurt the furnace, but you'll use more fuel. However, you would harm a ULSD engine by burning #2 heating oil in it. Some argue diesel and heating oil are the same. They are not.

 

[spruce Deere]

Hmmmm I was told buy my distributor, #2 fuel IS ULSD cut with kerosine to ensure cold weather performance........stove oil.

Oh, there is a lot of keyboard noise made over this topic..... Do a search on #2 fuel or ULSD.

Main difference is price due to different taxable uses and such. Sometimes die color varies also adding to the questions

 

[buickanddeere]

Difference is the tax and the colour.All furnace and diesel are low sulphur. Winter to summer will vary with the amount of kerosene and/or low wax #1 diesel blended with the #2 diesel.
The stuff comes from the same tank before the off road colour is added.
Personally I started burning ULS diesel in the tractors as soon as it was available. back when off road fuel was still high sulphur. Don't like the sulphur stink.

 

[madmax12]

Hmmmm I was told buy my distributor, #2 fuel IS ULSD cut with kerosine to ensure cold weather performance........stove oil.

Oh, there is a lot of keyboard noise made over this topic..... Do a search on #2 fuel or ULSD.

Main difference is price due to different taxable uses and such. Sometimes die color varies also adding to the questions

Difference is the tax and the colour.All furnace and diesel are low sulphur. Winter to summer will vary with the amount of kerosene and/or low wax #1 diesel blended with the #2 diesel.
The stuff comes from the same tank before the off road colour is added.
Personally I started burning ULS diesel in the tractors as soon as it was available. back when off road fuel was still high sulphur. Don't like the sulphur stink.

My understanding is that is not the case in Mass and Vt.

In New England, their is clear ultra low sulphur diesel, dyed ultra low sulphur diesel, and #2 heating oil (dyed only). The OP should check with experts in his location, like one of the loading terminals managers where the trucks load the products. In Mass, it probably comes out of Revere. In Vt, it could come from just over the border in NY, or from Portland, Me, Portsmouth, NH, or Revere, Mass.

In a few years, #2 fuel oil is supposed to be phased out. But it is still used for home heating in New England.

It's your engine.

Be sure.

Note: Some of this depends on the age of your tractor. A really old diesel can run on #2 High Sulphur Fuel Oil (I think). A newer pre-2007 diesel can run on Low Sulphur Diesel. A 2007 and newer must run on Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel.

Check your manual. It should tell you what to use.

 

[buickanddeere]

My understanding is that is not the case in Mass and Vt.

In New England, their is clear ultra low sulphur diesel, dyed ultra low sulphur diesel, and #2 heating oil (dyed only). The OP should check with experts in his location, like one of the loading terminals managers where the trucks load the products. In Mass, it probably comes out of Revere. In Vt, it could come from just over the border in NY, or from Portland, Me, Portsmouth, NH, or Revere, Mass.

In a few years, #2 fuel oil is supposed to be phased out. But it is still used for home heating in New England.

It's your engine.

Be sure.

Note: Some of this depends on the age of your tractor. A really old diesel can run on #2 High Sulphur Fuel Oil (I think). A newer pre-2007 diesel can run on Low Sulphur Diesel. A 2007 and newer must run on Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel.

Check your manual. It should tell you what to use.

Ultra Low Sulphur is only required with diesel engines using particulate filters and/or cat converters. That is pretty much anything built 2007 and later.
Diesel Fuel | Fuels and Fuel Additives | US EPA

 

[madmax12]

Ultra Low Sulphur is only required with diesel engines using particulate filters and/or cat converters. That is pretty much anything built 2007 and later.
Diesel Fuel | Fuels and Fuel Additives | US EPA

I agree, and have that in my post, too.

 

[Grateful11]

Wife had over over 200 gallons delivered to the farm 2 weeks ago and the driver said he can't get anything but low sulfur fuel oil anymore.

 

[mikesee]

Hi: I heat my home with dyed #2 diesel. As with others I was tired of burning fuel to buy fuel when I had 275 gallons in the basement. I called the local delivery outfit and told the guy my wife was a tree hugger and I wanted to know whether the heating oil he was selling me was ULSD. He said it was as it was a NYS requirement for all heating oil to be ULSD. Searching on that subject and came to the following link http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=5890 I guess it may vary by where you live. I installed a GPI 12 Volt 25 GPM pump with an inline filter and a hose that can reach out the basement window. Now I line the 5 gallon jugs up in the loader and pump out 35 gallons in a couple of minutes. If me it was very important to get the pumping system right. I did not want to rely on a chinese pump placing diesel under pressure in my basement. Total fabrication of the pumping system was expensive ($500) so I paid a lot for the convience. The up side is if I get a transfer tank for my pick up I swap out the pump to either tank.

 

[90cummins]

Off road diesel & heating oil at one time were the same, exhaust emission requirements pushed us to low & ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel. In some areas of the country the only difference between on road & off road fuel or heating oil is the color which indicates you paid the road use tax.
Cetane is the diesel equivalent of gasoline’s octane.
Octane ratings are a measurement of gasoline’s resistance to auto ignition in gasoline engines.
Cetane is a measurement of diesel fuels auto ignition qualities for diesels. The higher the Cetane rating the more readily the fuel ignites when it is injected into a cold combustion chamber.
Cetane’s only purpose is to enable a cold diesel to start easier.

90cummins