I figured this question must have been asked previously, but could not find an answer in the archives. I have a storage supply of approximately 50 gallons of kerosene that I kept on hand for the past year for an emergency. I want to rotate the stock. I was told that I could add these 50 gallons to my 250 gallon home heating oil tank and the furnace would burn the kerosene as efficiently as it would the oil with no danger to the system or of fire/explosion. Any advice?

-- Rod Steel (zog2000@excite.com), April 03, 2002

Answers

Home heating oil is a thicker kind of kero and if your furnace calls for heating oil only do not use the kero. If it states number 1 or 2 then you can use the kero. The info should be written at the lighting area.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), April 03, 2002.

yes you can, kero IS heating oil/deisel fuel,, its all the same except for the sulfer content, and the color dye they add to it

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), April 03, 2002.

I agree with Stan. We burned kero for years because when we were getting fuel oil it would live a black residue. Kero burns cleaner and hotter. Went back to # 1 grade oil this year because of cost. Also we mainly heat with wood now.

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), April 03, 2002.

Kerosene is a lighter fraction than No.2 diesel/heating oil. It unquestionably burns cleaner but has less heating value per pound (BTU). It also will not degrade as quickly as diesel/heating oil, which will grow bacteria and form nasty sludge after a year or so storage with no preservative (Stabil or similar) added. Gas turbine plants, which commonly operate on either natural gas or No. 2 oil, will maintain a tank of fuel oil to operate when the gas prices make it uneconomical to generate using gas.

Adding the kero to your heating oil tank will not hurt a thing. But if it were my dog, I'd hang on to the kero if there were a chance I'd be needing some in the next year or so.

-- Jake de MA (ringelman5@yahoo.com), April 04, 2002.

tracy, that black residue is CARBON -- SOOT. That means you are not burning all your fuel. Is also why you find the kero burns cleaner; it requires less air than the No. 2.

It's time to adjust the air register on that burner so you can get all the heat you're paying for. Ideally, this should be done using a stack gas analyzer but an experienced burner tech can eyeball it real close by looking at the flame color and pattern.

-- Jake de MA (ringelman5@yahoo.com), April 04, 2002.

Here in Maine many folks have outside oil tanks and in the winter most all the oil companies have a 50/50 mix of no. 2 and kero. The fuel oil will gel when the temp. gets much below freezing. The kero keeps it from doing that. There is no problem at all burning it as fuel.

-- Ken in Maine (kenjan@pivot.net), April 04, 2002.