Kerosene/Diesel question

[Will_C]

I feel silly asking this question, but here goes. Can I use kerosene in my Kubota? I get confused with all the talk of #1 fuel oil, #2 fuel, home heating oil, kerosene, etc. I don't use very much diesel at all in the winter time, only 1.5 gallons since November. I do use quite a bit of kerosene in my heater, say I have that around. Would I be safe if I used it in my tractor? I know that the kero is more expensive, but that does not matter given the tiny amount I use in the winter.
Thanks, Will

 

[kevinj]

I would not use more than 25% Kerosene. Most winter blend is about 25% #1. Kerosene is a very light fuel with less lubricating properties.

 

[rdbrumfield]

would not worry about it, al the fuel they take out of jets goes into a storage tank and they use it for the trucks that support the airport

 

[DennisFolsom]

I'm tractor shopping at this point, but have had some past experience with equipment. I have also wondered about winter fuel recommendations, so I am glad to see this post here. I hope we get some more response on the subject.

I'm not sure the two previous posters made it abundantly clear, but it is my understanding that #1 fuel oil is kerosene, and that jet fuel is also kerosene, with some different additives and a higher price. Someone please correct me if there is anything wrong with what I have just said.

One time on a cold winter Sunday, I was having trouble finding a local source that was open for kero for my garage space heater. I went to the local small airport and bought 5 gallons of jet fuel. It worked fine. Their nozzle was a bit large for filling a 5 gallon can, but they filled it up cheerfully. (You can probably get better service at a small airport on a slow day.)

A friend, who bought a Kubota this fall, was talking about running kerosene in it in the winter time. I told him I was a beet leery of the idea of running 100% kero.

One of my Dad's old International tractors had a "multi-fuel" setup. The W-6 Owner's Manual recommended draining off the top of the oil once a day when running kero, because some would leak by the rings and thin the oil. The tractor had two oil check/drain taps on the side of the oil pan for that purpose. I believe you were supposed to do that draining and refilling in the morning, after the oil and kero had set still overnight.

I agree with the thought that a blend would be best. I'm not sure of the proportions, but the suggestion of 25% sounds reasonable. I would think you would want to keep the oil change interval short when running kero, though. Of course a modern diesel probably has much tighter rings than the old gas/multi-fuel W-6!

Dennis

 

[BXMMCC]

Thank someone else for this - they posted it and I copied the bookmark!

all about diesel, includung kerosene

 

[tawilson]

The dealer I use switches to a 50/50 mix in the winter.

 

[RalphVa]

We once had a house in Vermont. Up there, the locals used 1/3 to 1/2 kero in their diesel in the winter time to keep diesel from gelling.

Ralph

 

[art]

Most all fuel in the north gets cut with kerosene after September. We are fighting with a few tractors now that were filled with summer fuel tring to get it thru the tractors system to put in the winter mix. It is cut fifty-fifty.

 

[Richard]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I went to the local small airport and bought 5 gallons of jet fuel. )</font>

You might want to call them first /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I phoned my local "international" airport couple years ago to get some "Avgas" for use in my dirtbike.

They simply laughed at me and said in no way would they sell it to me.

Being the persistent hard head that I can be, I called the local airport of a tiny nearby community and his main concern was method of payment. I said cash... he said "shhhh, come on out"

This was before 911, so what ever their concerns were, both places seemed to be afflicted with the same thoughts.

Richard

 

[kevinj]

Check the Amoco site below, it lists Kerosene as the lightest of the distallites. It has very similar properties to #1 fuel but is a lighter more pure fuel. When I worked for an Amoco distributer Kero was in a seperate tank and #1 was used to make winter blend. I use Amoco Power Blend or Premier for my tractors. It is all blended for winter.



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