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Hotsy- Mix kerosene and diesel ?

Milacron

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Dec 15, 2000
Location
SC, USA
Hotsy 555 hot water pressure washer, bought used, 1/4 tank of something in there...probably kero since doesn't smell like diesel. Ok to mix in diesel or should I seek out kerosene ?
 
The hot water pressure washer I used to have had a lever/valve under the machine that was flipped one way for diesel, and the other way for kero. Don't know what it did and never moved it, always used diesel in it. It was a KEW.

Maybe has something to do with viscosity.

I think I'd drain the kero and then put diesel in it.

Wayne
 
You might draw some of the fuel out and look at the color in a glass jar. Kerosene is often dyed red to help prevent people from using it in diesel vehicles. There is no road tax on kerosene, so it is cheaper than vehicle diesel in these parts.

Larry
 
For that matter, what exactly *is* kerosene anyway ? Of course it's a petrochemical, but how does it differ from gasoline or diesel or home heating oil ?

I don't recall ever using the stuff in my life for anything, but I have a vague memory of folks using it in certain portable heaters and as a cleaning solvent when I was a kid.

What's it used for these days ? (besides Hotsy's !)
 
I guess what I'll do is just use the kero in there until it runs out and then pour the diesel in. I just had some notion of kero "working better" then diesel for this application, but was afraid I wouldn't be able to find any (except in one gallon cans at Lowes for $8 bucks a gallon ! :eek: ) But apparenty it doesn't make a whit of difference which fuel you use as long as it's one or the other. I suspect kero is better for situations where it might sit in the tank for a year or two..possibly less prone to bacteria/algae issues ?
 
I use it to clean the chain on my mc and other parts. I don't think it's as oily as diesel.

I think it was over $5 a gallon at the Citgo station last time I looked.

According to Wikipedia kerosene is now mainly used as a jet fuel.

Wayne
 
#1 Fuel oil is Kerosene
#2 fuel oil is basically what we commonly know as Diesel fuel.

That's how I always understood it. One's a higher grade. My steam cleaner uses either fuel interchangeably. I'm told Kerosene used in a diesel engine doesn't lube the injector pump so well and shortens its life. That probably varies from whichever make of injector you're talking about.

I also understand it will make a diesel easier-starting and is often put into equipment that needs run long enough to sell in an auction and then it's another's problem.

Richard
 
No. 1 diesel fuel is what we use way up north in the winter in diesel engines. It is physically very similar to kerosene. It is not a "higher grade" than No. 2 diesel. It simply has a lower temperature to freeze, cloud, wax or gel. Of course it also has a lower boiling point, flash point, etc., so it might make an engine easier to start.

I used to run diesel engines, in trucks, at -40 and even -65 deg. F. That was in a drive-in freezer, since it won't get that cold around here. The temperature requirement was for Federal safety and military and emergency vehicle performasnce tests. At those temperatures, even No. 1 diesel would wax and clog the fuel filters. We used JP-4, which is a grade of jet propulsion fuel that stays clear at those temperatures and is nearly the same as kerosene.

With the latest regulations on ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel for vehicles, there may be differences other than road taxes, name and color between K-1 kerosene and road-type No. 1 diesel. Kerosene just has to burn, in lamps or heaters. Diesel fuel has to lubricate fuel pumps and injectors and burn very very cleanly to meet vehicle emission requirements, which keep getting tighter.

Larry
 
There is a different BTU output from kero, lower than diesel. The nozzle should be changed, or airflow adjusted to best use whichever grade you choose. #2 fuel oil is most likey the right stuff to use, and cheaper than kero or diesel.
 
K1 is Kerosene, jet fuel is almost the same but jet has a lower freezing point so it dosen't freeze at high alt. Kero is also like LSD diesel which is where it goes when our kero tank gets full. Kero is also mixed with HSD diesel to lower the sulphfur level when making HSD diesel. Kero is also mixed to help the cetenes in the diesel, both LSD and HSD. I know its confusing, try making the stuff which i do.
LSD= Low Sulphfur Diesel
HSD= High Sulphfur Diesel the off road stuff
ULSD= Ultra Low Sulphfer Disel which will replace LSD which will replace the HSD. HSD will be gone in a few years....Bob
 
I hate to open a can of worms all over Don's thread, but I really want to ask something. You gents seem knowledgable, so here it is. What is the role of sulfur in diesel? Just there? Good? Bad? Neither, but too much is bad? Too little is bad?

I understand about lower content being pushed for the environment's quality and all, but my question is directed toward engine performance. What factor(s) does sulfur play?

Thanks

Richard
 
When I was in college I worked at a place that sold/serviced pressure washers and coin-operated car washes. The service guy was always draining diesel out of the steam cleaners and having to de-soot the coils. He'd also load the water tank up with muriatic acid (or something like that) and let it recirculate for a few hours to clean deposits out of the insides of the coil.

cheers,
Michael
 
sulfer was used as a lubrication component in the injection system, injectors and pumps.

de-soot is done to improve heat transfer, and is usually followed by servicing the injector and adjusting the "air"

bob g
 
From memory
the different cuts of petroleum distallates from lowest boiling point (most volatile).

Lighting kerosine (the usual type)
Power kerosine (for kerosine engines)
Distillate (No1 or high speed diesel)
No2 diesel.

Sulphur is naturally present in many fossil fuels, it is removed at aditional cost to prevent the reactions S + O2 -> SO2 SO2 + H2O -> H2SO3 and 2 SO2 + O2 -> 2SO3 SO3 + H20 -> H2SO4 Sulphurous and sulphuric acid ar not things you want in the atmosphere.

Diesel has a Cetane rating like Petrol (gasoline) has an octane rating, products like Kerosine usually have a low cetane rating making them a very rough runner in a diesel though high compression and plenty of boost can allow diesels to run on Petrol even.
 
Diesel fuel burns a little hotter. Not much difference though.

Table 1: Average Heat Content of Various Fuels*
Fuel Type BTU/Unit
Kerosene (No. 1 Fuel oil) 134,000/gallon
Burner fuel oil (No. 2 oil) 140,000/gallon

* Source: U.S. Department of Energy
 
I bought 2 Jenny Hot Washers from Gov Surplus and went to their web site and down loaded owners manuals for them.
I run Kero in them and they work fine. I've been paying $2.99 gal. Diesel has more carbon in it and can cause more smoke, though I've never tried it in mine.
On a simular note, how does the new diesel fuel smell? I got a machine in with some kind of oil in the fuel (gas) tank. It didn't smell like anything especially diesel! It wasn't kero or mineral sp either. The owner had a diesel PU but claimed he didn't put it in the small engine.
 
Dodge, PSSST wanna run your diesel engine on kero? add 2 stroke oil at 50-1, engine oils ok but 2 strokes better.

With low sulpher diesel 2 stroke at 100-1 helps a lot, especially in older worn engines, cuts down smoke for the mission laws over here too.

Take care. Sami.
 








 
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