Newbie

[meanmerc]

Howdy fella's

Been coming by for the past while now, researching various kinds of tractors, very informative site! I'm the proud owner of a brand new MF 1528 with with R4's, 60" bucket, quick attach, 39" pallet forks, 6ft box scraper and a 64" hydro snowblower. Supposed to be delivered late this week. Already got a few ideas off this site for mods like a roof, tool box etc...
Just a quick question, probably stupid but, my neighbour was telling me to use the heating fuel oil for my garage furnace to fuel the tractor???? I was telling him that I was looking for a barrel to set up in the yard and fill it with diesel for the tractor.......I`m not to sure this is good...I can almost hear you guys saying, "Is this guy from this planet or what"
Anyways I`m open to any ideas to make this rig better with various mods!
Thanks

 

[plowking]

It could depend on what state you are in. I think there was a law passed ths year specifying what offroad fuel to use. Fuel should be ultra low sulfur after a certain date . I also don't know of the lubrication properties,additives that off road has compared to home heating oil...... Good Luck with your tractor. plowking

 

[jaybrad]

From one newbie to another - welcome.

I'm just getting back into tractor ownership after a decade without, but for many years I used home heating oil in my JD 755. Year around, with no problems, ever.

Here in Maine, diesel fuel is blended in the winter time with kerosene to keep it flowing - but home heating oil is not. Just the same, I never had an issue with perfomance and used my tractor all winter to clear lots of snow.

In a couple days my new tractor will be delivered, and I'm not looking forward to hauling 5 gal diesel fuel containers in my car. (We've moved to a new house and no longer have an in-ground tank from which I can easily pump fuel.)

Good luck!

Jay

 

[ChuckinNH]

Jay, I have one of those rubbermaid style under bed storage boxes in the back of my RAV4. I tossed the lid, and it makes a great container for keeping cans of fuel from sliding around (bungee cord) and the sides are about 4" high to catch any spills, and smells. It's worked great for me.

 

[jaybrad]

Hi Chuck,

That's a great idea! With my tractor being delivered soon, I want to be sure to have some extra fuel on hand in case a certain neighbor of mine needs help with a stump or two.

The idea of diesel fuel getting into the carpet in my trunk was not very appealing.

Jay

 

[meanmerc]

Thanks
Oh ok ...well maybe he wasn`t that off then, I'm in canada, so not sure what the difference is in the heating oil and diesel fuel here, thanks for the replies!

 

[shutt40]

I wouldn't use furnace oil it will gell in the cold. You won't need to haul that much diesel, I get 15 hours plus out a 5 gallon can with my 1529. Be nice to your new tractor and get it some nice clean diesel.
Frank

 

[WarrenF]

I wouldn't use furnace oil it will gell in the cold. You won't need to haul that much diesel, I get 15 hours plus out a 5 gallon can with my 1529. Be nice to your new tractor and get it some nice clean diesel.
Frank

That doesn't make sense. Furnace oil sits in a barrel outside my home all winter long. Have gone through winters of 0 degrees and it doesn't gel. Matter of fact furnace oil is mixed to specifically NOT gel.

 

[meanmerc]

I heard that the only difference was one is dyed (un taxed), but I think it's probably safer too just to use clean overpriced diesel!!

 

[jaybrad]

I could be wrong about this, but I regularly see home heating oil trucks deliver diesel to construction sites, then go on to people's homes and continue their deliveries.

Granted there is not as much construction activity in Maine during the dead of winter, but my own limited experience never yielded any problems - and a the time my tractor stayed in an unheated garage, and didn't have a block heater, either.

In this area I know there is a difference between the oil they deliver to outside tanks (I think it's K-1, kerosene) instead of #2 (diesel) fuel.

I don't have such a setup at my current home and am not going to go through the hassel of setting up a special storage tank just for this purpose. I don't know how many hours I'll get per tank in my 2310, but if it's anywhere near 15 hours, it won't be too much trouble to just haul the stuff from the gas station. Besides, I'm sure the state and federal government need the tax money from me to help pay for road and bridge improvements.....