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Home Heating Oil & Your Generator.
#1 and #2 Diesel Fuel are the primary fuel types for mobile and fixed diesel engine applications.
When buying fuel, #1 is often labeled at the pump as "Premium Diesel" or with a Cetane number of 44 or 45. It is thinner and a better choice in the winter.
#2 Diesel Fuel is thicker. Since it is thicker, it has more lubricating properties. Diesel #2 Fuel will gell easier in cold weather. This makes starting harder. It can also cause rough-running.
#2 Diesel is often labeled at the pump with a Cetane Number of 40
Home Heating Oil is NOT #2 Diesel oil. It is very close. It may have the same in ignition quality and lubricating ability only. Refiners do not intend Home Heating Oil to be used in an internal combustion engine. Fuel that is intended to be burned in your furnace, may not have the smoke suppressants, ignition accelerators and biocides to kill fungi and bacteria that is generally are present in the Diesel Fuel at the pump. The ones that Automotive vehicles use.
Fuel Additives
Additives are chemicals that can be added to fuels and are used to enhance certain performance characteristics. Some are designed to help eliminate carbon build-up inside the engine. There are also additives that are used to improve the lubricant properties of new low sulfur diesel fuels for example.
Additives are chemicals that can be added to fuels and are used to enhance certain performance characteristics. The quality of the fuel available to consumers can vary significantly. Many fuel companies add detergents to their fuel to meet a minimum requirement by law however it is often not enough. New low sulfur diesel fuel no longer has the lubrication properties it once had and an additive is needed to restore it.
How do deposits affect my engine?
Deposits at the tip can impact fuel flow, upsetting the air/fuel mixture.
WHAT IS DIESEL FUEL?
Diesel fuel is principally a blend of petroleum-derived compounds called middle distillates (heavier than gasoline but lighter than lube oil) and may or may not contain additional additives. Other middle distillates include kerosene and No. 2 Heating Oil. Diesel fuel is designed to operate in a diesel engine where it is injected into the compressed, high-temperature air in the combustion chamber and ignites spontaneously. This differs from gasoline, which is ignited in a gasoline engine by the spark plugs.
Why are diesel engines so popular?
Diesels engines deliver 20% to 40% better fuel economy than gasoline engines. Diesel fuel does not require as much refining. The engines are simple and easy to maintain. There is no spark plug, ignition cables, carburetors and complicated fuel control devices. Diesel fuel has less harmful emissions from diesel fuel than gasoline. Now with new ultra low sulfur diesel fuel the benefits to the environment are huge.
Winter vs Summer diesel fuel
In order to keep diesel fuel low temperature flow characteristics, fuel suppliers adjust the fuel properties through the year according to historical temperature data and where the fuel is sold. Generator owners may have fuel sitting in their tanks or in storage for long periods of time. In cold weather it would be advisable to add a fuel anti-gel additive. Anti-Gel treatment may be conveniently poured into the fuel tank before filling. It is inexpensive and worth spending the time to do it. More on this later.
Diesel Fuel Injectors.
When a gas is compressed, its temperature rises and a diesel engine uses this property to ignite fuel. Air is drawn into the cylinder of a diesel engine and is compressed by the moving piston at a compression ratio as high as 25:1, much higher than needed for a spark-ignition engine. At the end of the piston stroke, diesel fuel is injected into the combustion chamber at high pressure through an atomizing nozzle. The fuel ignites directly from contact with the air, the temperature of which reaches 700–900 C (1300–1650 F). The combustion causes the gas in the chamber to heat up rapidly, which increases its pressure, which in turn forces the piston outward. The connecting rod transmits this motion to the crankshaft, which delivers rotary power at its output end.
The generator’s fuel pump is a plunger type. They are moved by a lobe on the cam shaft that pushes on the fuel pump plunger to generate a precisely metered high-pressure pulse of fuel to the injectors.
Excess fuel at the injector is returned to the fuel thank by a “spill return” fuel line.
Approximate Fuel Consumption Chart
This chart approximates the fuel consumption of a diesel generator based on the size of the generator and the load at which the generator is operating at. Please note that this table is intended to be used as an estimate of how much fuel a generator uses during operation and is not an exact representation due to various factors that can increase or decrease the amount of fuel consumed.
Can I use Biodiesel in my generator?
While biodiesel is certainly appealing in some ways, in its current state of refinement it is totally unsuitable for long range cruisers, sailboats, boats with very large tanks and standby generators.
Here's the short version of why:
- Biodiesel degrades quickly, like milk. It must be used within 90 days of manufacture, a near impossibility in marine applications and standby generators.
- Biodiesel's strong solvent-like properties do a great job of cleaning normal accumulations of asphaltenes from tanks and fuel lines; the freshly loosened debris plugs the filters.
- Most of the flexible hose components, gaskets, seals, diaphragms and O-rings will be gradually softened and/or dissolved by biodiesel. The problem is insidious because the engine will run extremely well until the problems begin.
- Once the dissolved materials begin to enter the fuel system, fuel injection system failures and upper cylinder failures can occur - these materials were never designed to be burned in the combustion chamber. External leaks and filter plugging are the least of your worries. The longer term fuel system and engine component failures are likely to be much more oppressive and expensive.