Diesel substitute for Home furnace
Hello All,
Has anyone here used Diesel instead of fuel oil in their home furnace. Any issues? smoke? smell? We are moving in a few months and do not want to dump 150 gal. into our tank knowing that we are only going to need a fraction of that to heat our water.
Thanks,
GregII Heating oil=diesel. Only difference is diesel has a colorant for tax purposes. Should be fine for a small amount. We got five gallons for friends who ran out of heating oil when I was a kid. Don't know why you would pay more for diesel when heating oil is cheaper.
MeisterNJ If you are selling your home you will be reimbursed by the buyer for any remaining oil in the tank. If you are renting dump in 10-15 gallons and you should be fine.
Greg Exactly what Greg said...there will be an oil tank reading very near closing and your new home buyers will actually purchase what is left in the tank. No worries you are not getting beat. Do not use diesel. It will cause a problem.
Steve-0 There are some places that sell "dyed" or "off-road" diesel, which is essentially the same as #2 heating oil. I've used it when I've run out (of course if you let it run out before putting some in you'll have to bleed the air out of the system usually).
The dyed diesel is a little less than regular diesel (since it doesn't have the road tax on it and is used for heavy machinery not operated on the highway) so that's usually the one to get unless you find regular diesel cheaper somewhere else. It's usually in a special pump beside the station, rather than out with the regular gas and diesel pumps. It can be dispensed into normally the yellow diesel container or the blue kerosene ones, although yellow is the standard for diesel.
You really have to take care when adding it to the tank as well, since most have the sideways spout without a tall vertical opening above the sideways portion. Spilling it next to the tank may causes issues later,
Make sure the master furnace switch is turned "OFF" and leave it off for about 10 minutes after adding the oil to the tank. That's because you are adding it to the very bottom where any sediment will be and you want to make sure the furnace isn't pulling fuel while disturbing that layer and you need to wait for it to settle so that any particulates (if present) are not sucked into the fuel line. They will be caught by the downstream filter, however it's better to try to avoid making an issue, rather than having to correct it later.
Yes also, both MeisterNJ and Greg are correct as well.
Phil D. There is no issue with using Diesel. It will work fine. But you will need to have your tank measured for the amount of oil in there prior to moving. The new owners will pay for all that oil.
sackI've also seen selling the oil in the case of a rental, usually the landlord acts as a middle man.
I do understand about the 150 gals because that's usually what an oil company has as a minimum to deliver. But that's only because of the delivery, not the price of the oil. You should also be able to go to some of the home oil companies and buy a small amount directly. You just have to go there with your own containers instead of having them come to you. That's all.
GC 
Calico696 Thanks everyone for your input. I know the new owners would pay us back for unused oil but it's just a matter a cash flow right now. I just didn't want to take 300-400 dollars out of savings, and then there is the matter of what if prices go down, then the new owners get the current rate (which I understand is only fair) but then I loose. I'll call around and see if any oil compaines sell by the gal. for pick up.
#2 HHO Home Heating Oil 40 cetane rating
#2 Diesel Oil ... ... ... ..40 cetane rating
Both the same.. The #2 diesel may have less sulphur content as is in Premium Diesel fuel.
They are Both Frationated distillates so, Yes..you can burn both in a fuel oil burner in a heating appliance. The flash point is 126ºF with both fuels.
It is not good to burn home heating fuel oil in the modern diesel engines due to carbonization properties due to the high sulphur content in HHO.
Winter Grade is usually 15% #1 Fuel oil (Kerosene or K1).. #1 is a lighter oil, and has less BTU per gallon. It is just used to help with anti-jell of #2 oil in outside above ground tanks...and in Vehicle fuel oil tanks.
K1... (#1 ) Kerosene burns cleaner in a Diesel engine...but there is a definite loss of horsepower and is due to the Less BTU content in the K-1 Oil.
It's just like the winterized gasoline; when they add cutting with alcohol (Ethanol) products...You Get Less mpg because there is a lesser btu content in ethanol.
It burns clean, but you are paying for less mileage per gallon. Too much cutting with ethanol in gasoline (i.e. 15% or more ) can do damage to injectors and related metal parts in a modern vehicle engine. The most problems being with the new gasoline direct injection systems. Ethanol works better in the tummy, and makes cars and trucks engines turn gummy!
Oh! BTW...ethanol plays heck with catalytic exhaust devices.
Oh! The dye in the Off Road Diesel fuel can be removed. Red oil in clear containers (like water 5 gal. jugs) left in the sunlight for a few days will bleach the oil, and all the red goes bye bye! ..... At least it worked for me years ago. Don't get caught with red fuel in your On the Road Vehicle. Shame Shame...No Tax for the uncle Sams!!! Tsk Tsk Tsk!
embryodad Same basic topic but a little different, has anyone seen any bio style replacements for HHO? I've seen an advertisement around the Newton area for bio HHO (I'm guessing dyed biodiesel) but can't find any information if it causes issues or burns as well.
Also, I've heard of using old cooking oil in older VW Diesel Rabbits, and I'm sure it wouldn't work in a home furnace, but has anyone heard of it being tried?
MikeGuida 
Bruin I bought a vehicle that had off road diesel in it. I got a certified letter from the prior owner stating it and why. Plus I haven't seen anyone walking around with glass tubes checking tanks except for at a few weigh stations and randum motor carriage inspectors.
CJ. MikeGuida - Biofuel for heating is generally a mix of biodiesel up to 20% and regular HHO. It actually burns cleaner which is generally good. However there's a catch in that it cleans out your furnace too well and the deposits it loosens may cause clogs. You're supposed to gradually increase the % of biodiesel and make sure the proper filters get cleaned until that's your regular fuel.
My co worker used to work for a refinery so also mentioned biodiesel is no where close to just cooking oil either. It's not just filtered, or even blended, it's a manufactured product. You have to change the type of fat molecule. Yes, one of the raw materials can be cooking oil, but has to be chemically processed before it becomes biodiesel.
I know a guy in New York state who gets nice $ rebates from the state to use alternative fuels. He says he can burn practically anything in his diesel truck. And has pretty well tried it all. Yes, you can burn cooking oil but that doesn't mean it won't clog or break down engine parts. (particularly rubber) He's handy can can just clean the thing out if he has to, so he doesn't care much. Everything is a quick fix for him anyway.
Embryodad you no your stuff n I've been running just on road diesel in my house for years its fine I have noticed the new low sulfur diesel
makes metal fuel tanks rust bad in my work trucks
I am using off road diesel in my fuel oil furnace and am getting the smell of diesel when the furnace comes on! what can I do to stop the smell? HELP!
Diana Young Check for leaks, do you see any liguid leaking around your fuel line or filter?
Check your flue for leaks too.
I was under the impression that off road diesel is the same as #2 home heating oil?
http://www.enviroharvest.ca/dieselvsheating.htm
Darrin Get your furnace inspected and cleaned out. The soot buildup on the heat exchanger can have a bad effect on the draft/exhaust.
The Bishop Some good and accurate info contained here.
If you want the "warm and fuzzy feeling" and don't like the label of diesel or "off road diesel" even though they are perfectly fine to use ( and as pointed out, actually the same thing) , some local stations sell "fuel oil". I would not go through the effort for a few gallons as the tax savings not worth the aggravation of the drive to Great Meadows to get it.
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