Imagine that you’re in the middle of a snowstorm, and you see yourself stuck in your house. You need to use your truck, but you know that you ran out of diesel. The next gas station that you can have access to diesel gallons may be too far away. Walking by yourself all the way there may not be safe or even possible.
This is why knowing other alternatives that you can use in this situation is so important. For instance, you can consider other kinds of fuel that you use. It’s important to know your options, especially because this can save your life. After all, snowstorms are quite dangerous and should be taken seriously.
Thinking about solutions to replace diesel, I wondered, can you use kerosene in a diesel engine? You can use kerosene in a diesel engine for emergencies that the engine will work perfectly. Now, there may be problems due to certain characteristics that kerosene has, but that can be solved with the addition of lubricants.
Anyway, the important thing that you should keep in mind is that in case of emergencies you can use the kerosene with no problem. Still, there are a few red flags that you should consider, and that’s what you’re going to find out below.
The important thing is that you learn how and when you can make this sort of replacement. The kerosene is similar to the diesel but isn’t the same thing, so you will have to consider that.
Diesel Is Pure Fuel
The main reason that you should be able to use kerosene in a diesel engine is that kerosene is pure fuel. In other words, it’s a purer version of diesel. It burns really well, although you should expect to lose some power in your engine if you make use of it.
Now, you shouldn’t worry about giving any sort of problems to the engine due to the continuous use of kerosene. The pipes should work accordingly and not suffer any damage from it. All you should keep in mind is that it’s better to make this an exception and not a rule.
So, you can use the kerosene since it’s pure fuel. The engine will be able to work with it normally, but it’s also important to make it clear that it’s not the ideal situation. You should use diesel as much as you can. You just have to make sure that the kerosene is of good quality and that you don’t use it all the time.
Add Lubricant
Since kerosene is pure fuel, you should remember that it may cause the engine to burn drier. The only way to fix this is to add lubricant to make sure that things run smoother. Of course, you should look for lubricants that are good to be added in this specific situation. They’ll work better with diesel engines and with the kerosene.
The reason you should worry about all this is that the kerosene has little lubricity. This can cause damage to the engine in the long run. Also, it can damage the fuel pumps due to this loss in lubricity compared to the diesel fuel. That’s why a smart, fast solution would be to add a lubricant.
So, if you want to make sure that your engine and your fuel pumps won’t have any problem due to the use of kerosene as fuel, you should consider adding a few drops of automatic transmission fluid to the kerosene. The Royal Purple 06320-6PK Max is the best transmission fluid for kerosene use. Take a look here.
Benefits Of Using Kerosene
The main benefit of using kerosene over diesel is that kerosene doesn’t gel as easily during the winter. Kerosene burns cooler than diesel. This is a great solution to truck owners that have to drive during harsh, cold winters for long periods. It’s a great way to protect the engine and save some money. There’s some debate if putting some additive to diesel wouldn’t be a better solution, but kerosene is also great.
Now, it’s important to point out that using kerosene would make your engine lose some power and efficiency. This, in turn, may not be worth using kerosene, depending on what you want to do. Obviously, you should understand that you have to consider that you still have lots of advantages of using it during cold weather periods.
So, as much as there’s the major benefit of using kerosene during winter, you should consider that you’re going to lose power and efficiency. This is why the best solution may be to put additive to the diesel instead of using kerosene. The Archoil AR6200 is a great option to use for this. Check it out here.
Store Them In Different Colored Cans
One more tip is to store the diesel and the kerosene in different colored cans. The reason is simple. You do not want to mix them up or confuse yourself that you’re getting one instead of the other. This is a popular method to make sure that you don’t get things mixed and use the wrong one.
You can also store them in different places, but chances are that you have one garage where you store your fuel. This is why it’s important that you have this sort of organization to make sure that you don’t get the fuel confused. After all, if you do, it might give you trouble with your engine.
So, just make sure that you don’t get them confused. The best way to do this is to store them in different colored cans. It’s a simple method that will ensure that you don’t do anything that would damage your engine at any point.
You’ll Lose Some Power And Efficiency
As stated above, the main downside of using kerosene instead of diesel in your diesel engine is that you lose power and efficiency. Kerosene does burn cooler, which is great for the quantity of fuel that is going to consume. It also doesn’t gel as easily as diesel would, but you get the loss of power and efficiency of the engine.
This may not be a problem at first, but if we’re talking about months of continuous use, there might be an economic disadvantage of using kerosene instead of diesel. The best that you can do is to test it out for yourself and see what works better in this case.
So, make sure to see what would work better for you. For instance, if you intend to use kerosene during the whole winter, it might not be worth losing power and efficiency. If we’re talking about doing it for a few days, it might be a completely different conversation.
Diesel Should Be The Rule and Kerosene The Exception
The reason that you shouldn’t make kerosene use your rule is that is arguably bad for your engine. Long-term use may damage your engine. Of course, this doesn’t take into account the use of lubricant along with the kerosene. Also, if you’re going to do the use by season, it may change the whole perspective.
What you should keep in mind is that diesel may be the best for your engine on the long-term. You should try to use it as much as you can. Unless you do a test using kerosene and find it that it works better for you than using diesel.
As long as you test it out and see it for yourself, you’re good to go. Try to change both options a few times and see how the engine behaves.
Final Thoughts
So, you can use the kerosene in a diesel engine even though is not always recommended. Remember to either add lubricant to the kerosene or transmission fluid to the diesel. These will make sure that your engine works better and that it lasts longer.