Why is kerosene so expensive?

[hockeyhead]

compared to gas at 2.19, diesel at 2.49 and kerosene at 3.49 a gallon.
I only heat my garage with kerosene, a small 50,000 btu torpedo heater.
but I'm going through almost $20 a weekend, just working out there. I don't want to use wood out there, a stove would take up to much room, maybe a gas or electric would be better. The garage is attached and insulated.

 

[DieselPower]

$3.49 pr/gal

Good greif! What are they making it out of up their, gold? Around here it's about the same as diesel. The only thing I can figure is it's low supply in your area and high demand which put's a premium on the price, all be it a large premium.

 

[MikeD74T]

I always use #2 diesel in my torpedo heater.

 

[RalphVa]

Think it's high because it's a low volume specialty product. It's probably less expensive to produce than diesel now that it's ULSD. Don't think it has the taxes that either diesel or gasoline have either.

Ralph

 

[cp1969]

Use #1 diesel if you can find it. It is interchangeable with kerosene. Or if you can find a willing hand at an airport that sells Jet-A, it will work, too. Don't know how much cheaper it might be, though.

 

[Charolais]

compared to gas at 2.19, diesel at 2.49 and kerosene at 3.49 a gallon.
I only heat my garage with kerosene, a small 50,000 btu torpedo heater.
but I'm going through almost $20 a weekend, just working out there. I don't want to use wood out there, a stove would take up to much room, maybe a gas or electric would be better. The garage is attached and insulated.

I asked a local store owner about the price of K1. He told me the price was jacked up(by the state/tax) because people were buying it when it was cheaper than diesel and mixing engine oil and diesel with it and running it in diesel engines. That's when it made a 50 cent per gal. jump. And it's gone even higher since.

His tank is empty now and has been for the last 3 years. Said it was so high he couldn't sell it.

In my area (rural southern Va.) there were a good many folks that used it for winter heat. Older retire folks and most of the less well to do folks. What's happened since is they are on fuel assistance now. So they went from paying for the K! to now using tax money to heat with. If they don't own property besides a house and are on limited income the heating fuel is free now.

 

[cp1969]

I asked a local store owner about the price of K1. He told me the price was jacked up(by the state/tax) because people were buying it when it was cheaper than diesel and mixing engine oil and diesel with it and running it in diesel engines. That's when it made a 50 cent per gal. jump. And it's gone even higher since.

His tank is empty now and has been for the last 3 years. Said it was so high he couldn't sell it.

In my area (rural southern Va.) there were a good many folks that used it for winter heat. Older retire folks and most of the less well to do folks. What's happened since is they are on fuel assistance now. So they went from paying for the K! to now using tax money to heat with. If they don't own property besides a house and are on limited income the heating fuel is free now.

Unbelievable. And we wonder why the national debt is $6 trillion.

Why is it that a subsidy wouldn't have worked? Why does it have to be completely free?

I'm sure I'll get ripped for this 'heartless' attitude, but I'm sorry...if a person can't pay their bills, they need to figure out something different, and that something different is NOT having the rest of us pay their bills.

 

[DrainPondDesign]

HH,

If you are going to purchase a new heater for your garage you might do well to consider a sealed combustion heater like a gas (propane) through the wall monitor type.

Combustion air from the outside, fire chamber or heat excanger and exhaust flue to the outside are all sealed with no openings into the work space.

This has the advantage of you do not breathe exhaust fumes, deplete the oxygen in the shop and there is less chance of igniting vapors from fuel spills.

If you stay with an open combustion heater it is still best to vent the combustion exhaust to the outside, if the garage leaks air that will supply fresh combustion air for you and the heater or consider one of those wood fired outdoor boilers that only feed hot water back into the shop radiator.

It seems like our local paper reports people & buildings lost to ventless heaters every winter in northern NY.

Stay warm
Bill

 

[Charolais]

Unbelievable. And we wonder why the national debt is $6 trillion.

Why is it that a subsidy wouldn't have worked? Why does it have to be completely free?

I'm sure I'll get ripped for this 'heartless' attitude, but I'm sorry...if a person can't pay their bills, they need to figure out something different, and that something different is NOT having the rest of us pay their bills.

I talked to a driver for Foster Fuels two weeks ago. The fuel co. gets the money so it is spent for fuel only. The home owner applies for it and then the check is cut for which fuel service the home owner uses. The driver said we'd all be surprised to see some of the places he takes that free fuel. As with any gov. assistance some is misused. I guess it's no worse than the billions missing in Iraq. At least Americans got this and I know some that really needed it too..

 

[Bird]

Why is kerosene so expensive? Maybe the same reason unleaded gasoline is so expensive??? Now I'm no expert and can't say what the cost difference is in the refining, but 50 years ago when I was selling leaded gasoline for $.25 to $.29 a gallon, we also sold "white gas" (unleaded, in other words, and mostly for Coleman lanterns) and kerosene. Both the white gas and the kerosene were a dime a gallon.