Heating oil vs diesel

Can I use heating oil (diesel) in ag tractors and heavy equipment? It comes off of the same delivery truck as the diesel for my machines.
I just filled my heating oil tank about a week before my furnace got a crack in the heat exchanger and got condemned. So, I need to empty the tank as I'm not getting another oil furnace

Yes, as far as I know, it all comes from the same tank. Just be careful of any sediment that got stirred up from the delivery. Could let it settle for a few weeks and pump off the top, or pump it all into a different tank. Use the last dregs on the bottom for starting brush fires or rustproofing solvent or whatever.

Sort of depends on what what part of the country you are in, ULSD#1 vs #2. No problem using your furnace fuel in your machines.

Interestingly enough, parts of Alaska still get 250 ppm ULSD#1 for home heat. I don’t recommend that for anything
with after treatment.

In Vermont (somewhat cold in winter) indoor furnace tanks get the same oil summer & winter.
Outdoor tanks get cut with kerosene.

Same is true of diesel, it needs a dose of kerosene for winter.

Around here stove oil is #1 and furnace oil is #2 and it's red.
Bob

I've been told that heating oils don't have any lubricants since there are no moving parts in a burner. But diesel has some sort of lubricant added to keep your cylinder walls happy. They both burn the same though so you likely won't notice a difference short term. But you may end up with excessive wear if you use it long term.

My 2¢

materthegreater said:

I've been told that heating oils don't have any lubricants since there are no moving parts in a burner. But diesel has some sort of lubricant added to keep your cylinder walls happy. They both burn the same though so you likely won't notice a difference short term. But you may end up with excessive wear if you use it long term.

My 2¢

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Talking with my local Deere dealer and my heating oil supplier suggests that here in Massachusetts, what my heating oil supplier delivers (#2 heating oil) is low sulfur, contains limited bio diesel, and is pretty much the same stuff as their off road product except for dye to differentiate it from taxed diesel. My delivery company suggested putting a filter and a water separator on the storage tank side. I've done that, but have not seen any water or junk in the bowl. They also suggested adding biocide in the summer, and biocide and antigel in the winter.

I use Hotshot Winter Diesel Anti-gel and Biobor JF biocide. These allegedly have lubricating properties as well. I chose these after seeing a youtube video that showed these products in action. They fared the best out of all the offerings out there.

Since I'm not running the unit on the roads, I don't worry about the tax issue.

I love the fact that I don't have to deal with leaky, heavy jerry cans, and worrying about fueling my tractor when winter snowstorms are a regular thing. I like the idea of knowing that I potentially have 275 gallons of diesel available when I need it. I haul out the hose, turn on the electric pump, and fill my tank.

materthegreater said:

I've been told that heating oils don't have any lubricants since there are no moving parts in a burner. But diesel has some sort of lubricant added to keep your cylinder walls happy. They both burn the same though so you likely won't notice a difference short term. But you may end up with excessive wear if you use it long term.

My 2¢

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I don't know. My Sister was once manager in Jamaica Kearly Fuel on Route 30. She assured me the same truck delivers the same commodity for heating, or summer diesel. It comes by tank truck from Port of Albany, and gets different die for taxible on road application. In winter they added kerosene for diesel fuel.

Once this wasn't the case. in an earlier day, sulfur content was different.
She died in 2012, so my info might not be up to date.

I have been using home heating oil in my equipment for years, I mean everything, including Mack lowboy tractor, Cats with direct injection & PC engines, Hitachi with Hino engine, Case with Cummins, even space heater in shop. Always use bioside and run through raycor filter.

I installed a Fill Rite filter on my tank. Does Raycor offer advantages? Mine looks like a large oil filter. I do have a filter / water separator plumbed in before that Fill Rite. I figured that filters and water separators were cheaper than fuel injectors or engine work.

I use a 2 micron raycor plumbed on suction side on my tank.

Blending is a thing in some places. We don’t blend. Petro AK and Tesoro switched over to ULSD#1 on October 1st.

#1 and #2 are both ASTM D975 and meet the minimum lubricant requirements. Your particular distributor may additized it.

Some places even sell Jet A for home heat. Especially, places with limited storage. Or, sometimes Jet A is less expensive than ULSD #1. Or, sometimes the Jet A doesn’t meet spec, so now it’s heating oil. Trans-mix usually ends up being blended and sold as heating oil.

All heating oil around here is #2 treated, can't find #1.

Interesting. Are UST’s common in your area? What keeps the oil from gelling up in outside tanks? Toyotomi and Monitor oil stoves require #1. Then again, I really don’t see traditional forced air furnaces except in commercial buildings and school customers.

My old man has been running home heating fuel in his machines since 1985 our 410 backhoe that is a 1988 and has never had anything in it but home heating fuel, we just did its first injection pump 2 months ago with 10, 000 hours on it. The fuel guy almost stopped delivering to us because we had him filling directly into the tank that had the fuel pump on it so all we did was put the fill outside of the fuel shed and there hasn't been a problem since. Our newest machine which is a 2012 e50 bobcat Mini has no problem with the home heating fuel as well

Most oil tanks are in the basement around here, fewer and fewer every year though. Outside ones get a blend or additive. #1 fuel oil and ULSD are available at one or two pumps if you know where they are. Kerosene is available at several more pumps in Amish areas. The north side of La Crosse must have a lot of oil stoves yet, there's a #1 pump at the Kwik Trip. Very rare otherwise to see a gravity oil stove.

Delivered bulk Diesel and other fuels in the 1980s, are All from the same tank, dyed diesel is not dye infused until placed in consumer's tank then dye packet is added to that tank never to the supplier tanks. ULSD #2 fuel oil is Number 2 fuel oil anywhere you go furnace truck farm any #2 fuel comes from refiners as same oil, Midwest supplies are blended after Oct 15th or there about, using #1 ULSD as a cold weather aid for LESS gelling, will still gel up below freezing temps where additional additives are required.

Fuels delivery guys I have been around for the last thirty years note Nothing is different other than sulphur content and cannot get to or above 250ppm here anymore, have not for several years.

DMiller,

Good info. I didn’t think there was any 250ppm ( or 500ppm) fuel being distributed anywhere in the L48, nowadays. I do see it in SE AK because that fuel often comes from the Singapore rack. In South-Central, it’s all 15ppm from North American refineries.

Alaska has an issue with storage. Not enough tank farms. The fewer products, the better. Exempt from the dye requirements, too.

Some communities only get fuel once a year, so only ULSD#1 or JET A is delivered.

Knew a few idiots 'Thinned the Mix' on their trucks with JP4 or 7 we delivered to a couple of airports, mainly for Mil Surplus copters used in Commercial apps. All claimed HP increase until smoked a piston or seized injector failures as were trying other BS as well.

Here, we buy diesel from whatever source & trust we aren't getting something destructive to an engine. While I have little understanding of modern emissions control systems, it has always been believed that diesel fuel is pretty foul. Depend on filters to protect.
I've always accepted the fact that diesel fuel is same as #2 heating oil, about 140,000 BTU per gallon. Kerosene (gels at much colder temperatures), is 130,000 BTU per gallon. I've heard many claim more power on warm weather fuel than cold.