“Fool” seems a bit harsh, but certainly the risks may outweigh the benefits. I have some outdoor “Tiki” torches, mesquite-shrubs, winged-elm, and weeds that could benefit from kerosene or diesel, either.
Kerosene opps....
- Thread starter J.Schiefelbein
- Start date
I think of these things as a risk vs reward. If he uses the kero and nothing happens he is not out $20. That is the reward. The risk, however small, is that something bad happens to the tractor. Nothing bad happens that doesn't cost a lot more than $20.
Even peace of mind has to be worth $20 so I would simply keep the kerosene for something else. It is a great starter for burning brush.
Some oldtimers throw kerosene on their carrot patch. They say it kills weeds but not the carrots. This is not something I would do but my neighbour does it every year.
Even peace of mind has to be worth $20 so I would simply keep the kerosene for something else. It is a great starter for burning brush.
Some oldtimers throw kerosene on their carrot patch. They say it kills weeds but not the carrots. This is not something I would do but my neighbour does it every year.
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torch
Well-known member
Equipment
B7100HSD, B2789, B2550, B4672, 48" cultivator, homemade FEL and Cab
Kerosene is also a good coolant when machining aluminium.
Of course, $20 worth would last a very long time...
Of course, $20 worth would last a very long time...
Update, I posted this a couple of weeks ago. And thought I would post the results here for the reference of the next person.
I followed the advice of the group and called the fuel station. what they told me is their Kero is a further refined of the Dyed at this time of year. they did offer to buy it back for credit toward another product, so I will be using it as is.
Thanks for the help all I appreciate it!!
Jason
I followed the advice of the group and called the fuel station. what they told me is their Kero is a further refined of the Dyed at this time of year. they did offer to buy it back for credit toward another product, so I will be using it as is.
Thanks for the help all I appreciate it!!
Jason
Just came across something relevant to this thread. Kero is not the same thing as #1 diesel.
From "Diesel Fuel Technical Review" by Chevron, 2007:
"Some petroleum products have similar, but not identical, physical properties and specifications. .... No. 1-GT gas turbine fuel oil, Jet A aviation turbine fuel, and kerosene, the product specifically sold for use in lamps and stoves, are similar to No. 1-D diesel fuel. ... .The specifications for each product are developed to ensure that it is suitable for its intended use. The fuel properties needed to keep a lamp burning are not nearly as stringent as those required to keep a jet aircraft aloft. Products with similar physical properties should not be used interchangeably without a complete understanding of the requirements of their intended use."
I'd say #1 diesel has a lot more QA got into it than kero. The OP did the right thing, the saving wan't worth the risk.
When we had an unexpected cold snap two years ago, lots of diesel trucks were freezing up. The dealers were telling customers to just run a little kerosene to help dilute the #2...this was on brand new pickups. I don’t think there would be much harm in this case.
Go back to the pre electronic diesels and many manufactures had specification for mixing gasoline into your diesel fuel for cold operation. Never felt comfortable with that so used lots of kerosene. Then I found Power Service winter.
Gas man is right, you guys are REALLY overthinking this. We run kerosene, Jet A, off road diesel, or regular diesel (basically its a "whatever we got, or whatever is cheapest") in our airport tractors without any problems, What.So.Ever.
And then there are the new aircraft diesel engines like they are now putting in the Cessnas...they also can run on all of the above.
I grew up on an Airport, if it had spark plugs it got avgas, if it didnt it got Jet-A, sometimes if we got a load heavy on Prist, it would make the fuel truck exhaust smell like grapefruit!!! Also ran a dodge pickup with a cummins motor through collage with sump jet-A from the local airport I worked at.
The Cessna’s mentioned above are not “diesel-Cessnas”. They are engines that operate on the diesel-principle that use JET-A or JET-A1 aircraft fuels. They are NOT approved to be run on common diesel fuel. If they were found to be flown on diesel fuel they’d likely be condemned engines and that would destroy an already ridiculously-expensive engine.
So the implication which that example used proves tractors and other ground equipment can run on kerosene is an incorrect segue.
The occasional use of Jet fuel in an ordinary diesel-powered street-vehicle is unlikely to cause immediate damage. (Not to mention it was likely added to a fuel tank already containing diesel fuel.).
It’s also unlikely any street vehicle was run exclusively on jet fuel sufficiently to prove that it is a safe practice either. (And it’s a ridiculously expensive operation to do that also. Running a street vehicle that ordinarily uses $2.50/gal diesel on $5.00/gal jet fuel is.... well... ‘toopid. (Unless the jet fuel is being stolen,... an equally questionable practice intellectually speaking.)
The implication that airport ground-equipment is regularly run on jet fuel is also misleading. Yes, some small operations occasionally use jet fuel from the aircraft-servicing trucks to operate their ground/ramp equipment. They can do that because 1) they get that fuel wholesale, 2) airport ground equipment is not heavily-challenged, as it is used intermittently at low-power demands. Tugs and GPUs don’t have the challenges of agriculutural/constuction equipment that must run hour after hour at heavy demand.
Such anecdotes are only that.... Anecdotes.
So the implication which that example used proves tractors and other ground equipment can run on kerosene is an incorrect segue.
The occasional use of Jet fuel in an ordinary diesel-powered street-vehicle is unlikely to cause immediate damage. (Not to mention it was likely added to a fuel tank already containing diesel fuel.).
It’s also unlikely any street vehicle was run exclusively on jet fuel sufficiently to prove that it is a safe practice either. (And it’s a ridiculously expensive operation to do that also. Running a street vehicle that ordinarily uses $2.50/gal diesel on $5.00/gal jet fuel is.... well... ‘toopid. (Unless the jet fuel is being stolen,... an equally questionable practice intellectually speaking.)
The implication that airport ground-equipment is regularly run on jet fuel is also misleading. Yes, some small operations occasionally use jet fuel from the aircraft-servicing trucks to operate their ground/ramp equipment. They can do that because 1) they get that fuel wholesale, 2) airport ground equipment is not heavily-challenged, as it is used intermittently at low-power demands. Tugs and GPUs don’t have the challenges of agriculutural/constuction equipment that must run hour after hour at heavy demand.
Such anecdotes are only that.... Anecdotes.
The military has run extensive studies on determining engine life and side affects of running similar, but not the same fuels in road engines. One of the engines tested was a Ford 6.7L Powerstroke diesel - tested multiple engines using different fuels, including kerosene, #2, jet-a, etc. The engine was able to run a significantly long time on many of the different fuels, although eventual failures were noted.
Cool greenacresnorth, I practically live at an airport now, as I'm there daily. I think the Avgas could do damage in a normal combustion engine due to the lead content much faster than the Jet A would to a diesel. Yet we also run the Avgas in the snowblowers, crew car, etc.
I think Jet A = Kerosene, as near as I can tell. Looks like it, smells like it, etc.
I spend all day in a fuel lab. I test JET A1 and JP8 as well as DS1 and ULSD. It is interesting to watch the distillation processing crude into fuel. The kero stream is at the lighter end (more refined at a higher temp) and has a lower flash point than JET. The military buys commercial JETA1 by the millions of gallons. They use it as JP8 in aircraft, trucks, HUMV's. Buying one single fuel for everything saves you and me alot of taxpayer dollars.
Running pure KERO in a diesel engine something that would not be good. One factor is lubricity. Fuel pumps really need it. Remember a diesel engine operates differently then a high or low bypass turbine engine.
Adding or reducing KERO in the JET fuel stream is how specific gravity and flash point are adjusted. It would be adviseable to blend a bunch of diesel into kerosene and not vice versa if it will be used in a diesel engine.
Just my 2 cents
Running pure KERO in a diesel engine something that would not be good. One factor is lubricity. Fuel pumps really need it. Remember a diesel engine operates differently then a high or low bypass turbine engine.
Adding or reducing KERO in the JET fuel stream is how specific gravity and flash point are adjusted. It would be adviseable to blend a bunch of diesel into kerosene and not vice versa if it will be used in a diesel engine.
Just my 2 cents
This one? "Evaluation of Military Fuels Using a Ford 6.7L Powerstroke ..."
apps.dtic.mil › dtic › fulltext by AC Brandt - ***8206;2011. Unfortunately the link doesn't work. An official report outweighs a ton of anecdote and conjecture, if someone has a working link to the report, it could be very useful.
I spend all day in a fuel lab. I test JET A1 and JP8 as well as DS1 and ULSD. It is interesting to watch the distillation processing crude into fuel. The kero stream is at the lighter end (more refined at a higher temp) and has a lower flash point than JET. The military buys commercial JETA1 by the millions of gallons. They use it as JP8 in aircraft, trucks, HUMV's. Buying one single fuel for everything saves you and me alot of taxpayer dollars.
Running pure KERO in a diesel engine something that would not be good. One factor is lubricity. Fuel pumps really need it. Remember a diesel engine operates differently then a high or low bypass turbine engine.
Adding or reducing KERO in the JET fuel stream is how specific gravity and flash point are adjusted. It would be adviseable to blend a bunch of diesel into kerosene and not vice versa if it will be used in a diesel engine.
Just my 2 cents
Running pure KERO in a diesel engine something that would not be good. One factor is lubricity. Fuel pumps really need it. Remember a diesel engine operates differently then a high or low bypass turbine engine.
Adding or reducing KERO in the JET fuel stream is how specific gravity and flash point are adjusted. It would be adviseable to blend a bunch of diesel into kerosene and not vice versa if it will be used in a diesel engine.
Just my 2 cents