I remember posting in that old thread, somewhat the same info.
Except for the die added to heating diesel; it and motor diesel are the same product. My BIL mega farmer in OR bought heating fuel for his house and barn and used it in his tractors and trucks. He had 1000 GL tank and had a pumped underground lines to his furnaces. Buying that qty in heating fuel save him a lot of money.
A thing to remember is that the lower (thinner) you get in the distillate chain the lower the BTU content (cetane rating), hence the lower the power output of a given engine. Back in the old days it was not uncommon to use #3 diesel in engines, especially marine, farming, and stationary plants. Not sure it is even made today. It was a dark amber color from the higher carbon content. #4, 5, 6 and bunker fuel had to be heated to thin it out for the injectors. #6 and bunker fuel in effect were asphalt. The residue after refining the thinner oils out of the crude. #3 was also the common heating fuel back in those days where it is now low sulfur #2.
Stationary diesels almost always used #3. That was before low sulfur took over. The power increase was considerable. The large diesel engine ships still use #6. It is heated if I trust my memory to 250 degres C. Then centrifuged and strained to remove water and solids. I have seen those engines with pistons 10' in diameter. With today's environmental hue and cry that may have given way also #2.
During the Vietnam era the military had multi fuel engines in trucks so fuels found locally or when #2 was not available. Not unusual to use jet fuel. The manuals gave you the ratios of motor oil to add to provide lubricity for various higher distillated fuels. A loaded 5 ton truck on jet fuel had a lot less power, difficult to pull much of a grade.
With today's additives, resorting to kerosene may not be indicated except in temps well below 0 F. We Seabees were specially trained in all this stuff when we were the designated cold weather Battalion. The Navy had arctic fuels and lubricants in storage for such contingencies. Almost 60 years now so memory is getting short.
Ron