Fuel oil and diesel

[nautiduck]

Does anybody know the difference between the two. I know certain grades (#2?) are similar. The reason I ask is I have a tank of home heating fuel oil (about 150 to 200 gallons) sitting out back that isnt being used anymore. I want to know if I can run it in my 4330 kubota tractor. Anyone for sure? Frank I figure if anyone knows it would be you.

[colorado]

It should have a different color dye in it, because no hiway taxes have been paid on the heating fuel. Other than that it should be fine to run in a tractor.

[ElMar2530]

What he said. Same stuff just taxed different.

[B.C.]

If your using it in a tractor you don't have to pay highway tax on it. All off road fuel is dyed red. Heating oil and diesel used to be the same but they now have different sulfar content.

[Avenger]

The base stock for these fuels is the same, the difference is in handling, and of course, taxes. As long as what you have is clean and not too old you should be fine. Filter it if possible, goose it with a good cetane-boosting additive like Stanadyne and mow away!

[nautiduck]

Thats what I was concerned about, things like the sulfur content and any added or missing additives. What will these do to the tractor if anything? It is a 2006 4330 Kubota so I dont know if it being newer will make a difference or not. I know my uncle burned just about anything in his old 9n but its a little different beast. Oh yeah Frank is a member here who happens to run a marine diesel shop.

[BlueH20Boss]

that kubota tractor would run on kerosene....... Heating oil is OFF ROAD DIESEL, aka red diesel... All it is is dyed red. No need to worry about low sulfer diesel unless you are putting it in a 2007 or later diesel truck. I use to run heating oil in a pinch in my 6.0 ford when plowing and stations were closed...But yea, no worries on using that fuel for your tractor at all. later..

[nautiduck]

Thanks everyone, I kinda thought it would run, but I have aboslutely no idea of the intricacies of a newer diesel, hell Im not that familiar with the older ones either. I just wanted to make sure I wasnt going to screw something up.

[Avenger]

Oh, Seapower Frank. Gotcha.

As stated before, there's no critical emissions equipment on a tractor. At least not yet. So burnwhatchagot.

I can go on about this for hours but there's no need. The main concern with heating oil is that it tends to be dirtier than on-road fuel because of the way it's handled. So it wouldn't be a bad idea to throw in some extra filtration when you pump it out of that tank. And with all fuel today an additive is important.

Happy mowing!

[luv2fish67]

I have a story to share regarding diesel fuel.
I have a friend who owns a trucking company, with about 80 trucks. Some of the drivers take their trucks home at night, which is fine with the boss. However one guys rig seemed to be going through a lot of fuel. The boss decided to follow the guy home for a few nights, and keep an eye on him. Sure enough, every night after dinner the guy would go out a suck a few cans of fuel from the truck, and dump it in his heating oil tank.
So he was heating his house all winter on the boss's nickel.
Needless to say , he was fired.