Kerosene for diesel engine

[TomM]

Originally Posted by Pizzazz

My Cummins 6CTA manual says diesel, kerosene, Jet A, JP-5 are OK (suggests a blend of 5% lube oil) but Jet B, JP-4 and JP-8 is not OK. Apparently, some fuel injection pumps are better suited than others. The P7100 is OK to run with the kerosene fuels.

I am tempted to try to get some Jet A1 from a nearby airport, it is 40% less expensive but I have no idea how to ask for it

Just go to the FBO at your local airport with a container and ask for some fuel.

[The Sun King]

I routinely run Jet A, a form of kerosene, in my farm tractors and generators because I sometimes get a few hundred gallons at no cost. I know an air transport pilot who has run his Volkswagen diesel on it for years, also because it is free. Kero is dryer than diesel, so I add a little 2 stroke oil or used motor oil to lube the injector pump.
If your injectors are the pointy kind, as a general rule, if it burns and can get through the filter it will run. I am talking gear oil, paint thinner, old motor oil, etc. The injectors with flat ends can crust over with some improvised fuels.
I think you'd be ok with kero, but I'd add a little oil.

[howardatviking]

I have used 6000 ltrs of paraffin which is what i think you are calling kero with no problems it was and old gardener engine however i used to recycle a small amount of old engine oil with it for lubricating the injectors as per manual.

[skenn_ie]

I was going to state the lubrication issue, but if you are going to burn oil with it, is it going to save any $$ ? You might be violating pollution laws too.

[P3sailor]

Diesel has lubricating qualities that I don't believe kerosene may not. What I do know is, jet fuel (a low grade of kerosene) can be burned in diesel motors but one must add ATF fluid to the mix for the required lubrication. I would like to venture that kerosene would do the job but with the addition of automatic transmission fluid. Don't take my word for it, do some research and I think you'll find some interesting answers.

[P3sailor]

Getting any type of fuel from an FBO in the U.S. may be a bit troublesome without providing the operation with an aircraft "N" number. This is mainly because of tax purposes and to cover the operators butt. Some may be ok without it but these daze, who knows.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by bermynick

Forget Kero; A mate, Dutch total gypsy, has used old fryer oil for years. Restaurants put it out by the dumpster in handy 5 gal jugs for disposal and don't care if you take it. He passes thru an old tee shirt and apparently has never had an issue with fuel hoses or starting

This was true 15-20yrs ago. Restaurants had to pay people to take it away. Now it's a commodity that they get paid for.

[Sailorman4009]

It might work for an old hand cranked two cylinder 1960 engine, but I would never use it in a new naturally aspirated electronically controlled engine of recent manufacture. Your warranty would be toast if you had one.

[skipperpete]

Originally Posted by Bowdrie

Well, kind of.

The Multifuel engines used what was termed by the inventor as a "Hypercycle" engine.

In a "normal" diesel the injector squirts a fine mist into the cylinder, in the "Multifuel" engine the fuel squirts a stream into a "cup" built into the top of the piston, this allows heat dissipation and a slower vaporization of "hot" fuels to slow the burn rate.

They also have a much higher compression ratio.

Yes, you add motor oil when using other fuels.

The engines also have a device in the injector pump that adjusts for the density of the fuel, using a lighter weight fuel results in a smaller injection charge.

They're not bad engines when operated within their envelope, but soldiers tended to abuse them.

That’s an excellent description of the injection/combustion system that IHC adopted from the “Hypercycle” for an engine they called the DV550, originally planned as an environmentally friendly V8 diesel that idled on 4 cylinders and ran on 8 under load. Squirt is precisely what the injectors did and on the DV 550 pistons the “bowl” in the piston crown was some type of alloy steel like a precom chamber. These engines made white smoke to an astonishing degree at startup and the whole engine was discontinued. Maybe A1 jet would have made em run cleaner.