Gas, Kerosene, Diesel Fuel Differences

[jimmoore]

I think that is because that diesel here in the south is seldom used for "heating oil". The fact that it is used more in the northern states is probably the reason for higher cost. Supply and demand?

jim

 

[dmccarty]

Taxes?

I think Georgia is one of the cheapest states to buy fuel. I notice this everytime I drive to Florida. There is a truck stop, a BP if I remember right, that is just north of the GA/FL border. I noticed its ALWAYS packed with trucks filling up before heading into FL. The price difference in GA is much lower than in FL.

I think the difference is how much that the state taxes fuels.

Just my guess....

Later...
Dan McCarty

 

[jimmoore]

All the 2 cylinder Johnny Poppers here in Arkansas had a 1 gal tank for gasoline and the other we used a fuel called "distilate", it had a greenish tint to it and was nearer to gasoline than kerosene. You started the tractor on gasoline and after it was warmed up you turned a valve on the dash and it shut of the gas and turned on the fuel. if it wasn't warmed up enough and you put a load on the engine it would pop and die.

jim

 

[brewerbob]

My dad worked for the gas company, and they had distribution gas lines from many gas wells. Distillate was a natural condensation from the high pressure gas in those lines. It had to be drained, and was something like a natural gasoline or something. We always had distillate around the house for use as paint thinner and solvent. My dad's cousin worked for either Conoco or Sun, I don't remember which, and he would run his new Chevy on distillate. I don't remember any real problems except the exhaust manifold would get red hot. Can't say his car had a long life, though.
Bob

 

[Bird]

Bob, that sounds like what I used to hear about "drip gas" that folks supposedly stole from pipelines. I don't remember much about it, but heard it mentioned a lot when I was a kid living in the Oklahoma oil fields.

Bird

 

[jimmoore]

Bird, the summer of 1957, I was 15 y/o and I spent a summer with a farmer and his family out in the oklahoma panhandle near Elkhart Kansas. There was a lot of gas well out there. There were tanks under ground in the pipilines for condensation and the farmer would hook a hose to the outlet valve, open her up and the pressure wold force the condensed gas into his tank, They called the stuff "casing head gas". you could tel when someone was running it in their vehicle. It would smell terrible because of the sulpher and other impurities. when you went to shut off the engine it would just keep running "dieseling". you had to put it in high gear and lug the motor down untill it stoped running. Nasty stuff.

jim

 

[Bird]

Same stuff, Jim; just never heard the term "casing head gas", it was just always referred to as "drip gas" by folks I knew in southern Oklahoma.

Bird

 

[Anonymous Poster]

<font color=blue>Diesel Fuel FAQs</font color=blue>

What is diesel fuel?
What specification requirements of diesel fuel should concern me and why?
How do I know which grade to use?
What are some fuel-handling causes of poor diesel engine performance?
Why do diesel engines smoke?
Why was the sulfur content of diesel fuel reduced?
Do Low Sulfur Diesel Fuels cause fuel system leaks?
How can I avoid having filter plugging problems?
How does water get into diesel fuel and what problems can it cause?
What does the heat energy or BTU content of a diesel fuel mean?
What should I do in the Winter to adjust for the cold temperatures?
Why don't I just use Diesel Fuel No. 1?
What are the differences among Diesel Fuels, Heating Oils and Kerosenes?
How long can I store Diesel Fuel?
What effect does blending used lubricating oil into diesel fuel have on engine performance and fuel quality?
Does diesel fuel color affect performance?
What is flash point?
What is diesel fuel lubricity?

Answer's for Diesel Fuel & Gasoline

 

[MDNick]

Know this is an older thread, but am a new member, and have something to add. My dad bought a '51 International TD9 ('bout this size of a Cat D4.5, not that it exists) last summer so he'd have a tractor too, my brother and I 'own' the 2 rubber tired tractors./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

The old beast starts on gasoline, then switches over to diesel after warmed up. There is a chamber in the head over each cylinder where the spark plugs are and an extra valve in the head going to that chamber. To start, you open those valves which also must allow the intake to draw gas from the carb, and shut off the diesel throttle. She starts real easy, no problem at all. During the summer you only need to let her set for a 10-15 seconds, winters 10-15 minutes. Then slowly open the diesel throttle until you see some black smoke, then in one quick motion close that extra chamber valve handle, add more diesel, she bellars a bit and off she goes. They recommend doing the reverse at shutdown to aid in restart, but she doesn't seem to care. They did this for the obvious cold weather starting, but also the older electric starter systems just couldn't handle diesel compression. These system were quite common and still in use in many older road graders, Gallion and such. IH sold the engine as a powerplant in various heavy equipment much the same as cat (and 'bota) do today.

Some of the old pony motors also shared cooling systems with the big engine.

Ain't powerful starters, block heaters (long as you have electricity) and glow plugs a wonderful invention?

Nick

Farmer kid usetabe, Farmer Wannabe

 

[jimmoore]

MDNick, Ditto. I have started the old TD9 many times. The WD5 also used the same engine, just smaller. TD=track diesel. WD= wheel diesel. I worked for a farmer in the oklahoma panhandle in 57. He had a WD5. We pulled bedders in a circular pattern around the fields to keep the sand from blowing in the unplanted fields in the winter months.

jim