Running Diesel Engine with Furnace Oil

Calculate your costs, especially maintenance, very well. It will depend on the price difference between the 2 proposed fuels. Here a study was not in favor - diesel turned out to be cheaper - all taken into account. But that is a local situation.

the way i understood it awhile back up north it was cheaper to run your diesel

with furnace oil and avoid paying the taxes. what needs converting?

kenn

If it is not too far up North and no low temperatures clog up the filters (paraffin) both should technically work without converting anything.

Where I come from, boats and agriculture tractors could use it without problems.

It was illegal on the road in trucks and cars.

Customs and police were entitled to do on the road checks.

First they checked the reservoir fill, but soon double pipes appeared and many different tricks. Now they just get it from the injection pump.

The furnace diesel had a colorant additive called furfurol - tinting it reddish.

Many setups have been applied to remove it, like molecular sieves, active carbon, some with more, others with less success.

Home heating oil is very close to diesel fuel, except it is dirtier and higher in sulfur content, I think it has a slightly higher Btu content, modern engines and lube oils are designed for low sulfur fuel, the sulfur forms acid in the lube oil, there will be smoke, high maintenance, carbon buildup, accelerated wear, its not worth it.

I had a lot of customers with boilers that shared a common fuel supply with diesel gensets, I talked all of them into running their boilers on#2 diesel fuel. A few pennies a gallon more no modification to the boiler.

Home heating oil is #1. It is better than #2. You will dirty up your furnace if you try to use cheap diesel or #2. As an earlier post said, you are going the wrong way on cost, home heating oil is more expensive!

Isn't #1, Kerosene, you can't use that in most diesel engines because of its lubricating properties, you have to add fuel conditioner, it has a lower Btu content, and its more expensive.