"Roger Long" wrote in
:

That reminds me that I meant to ask if anyone here knows what the real
and practical differences are between heating oil and diesel fuel.
I've know a lot of commercial operators who run their boats on heating
fuel. The first tank of fuel I burned in Strider was heating oil
because that was all the yard could get to put in the tank while the
boat was on the hard. They told me it might produce a little less
power but I didn't notice any difference after my first fill up with
marine diesel.

The yard told me to use an octane booster with the heating oil but
I've had others tell me boosters are a bad idea for small diesels.



The difference between #2 Fuel Oil and #2 Diesel Fuel is TAX.

They both come from the same filthy tankage from the refinery floating on
seawater....(c;

Some home heating oil is kerosene (#1 fuel oil) or the heavier #3 fuel
oil as their application is far less critical. I suspect you may have
been running your boat, in Maine, on kerosene, which does make less power
per gallon, but is fine for the engine. If you find a real deal on #3,
just blend it with kerosene #1 50/50 so it doesn't smoke too much. All
your fuel up there must be "winterized" diesel all year round, I'd
suspect. If it gels up, just heat it with your electric heater until it
liquifies, then the engine heat will keep it flowing as the engine room
warms....the reason most fuel tanks are in the engine rooms on pleasure
boats.

"home heating oil" is a kind of nebulous term that could mean any of the
various grades of thin fuel oil, or combinations of them, whatever the
oil jobber has cheaper this week. If it smokes and starts hard, pour in
some kerosene to thin it so injection is more successful.

Octane has no place in a diesel engine. Octane is in gasoline, an
aromatic that evaporates at room temperature. "Octane Boosters" are
grain alcohol, exactly what oil companies now use to make 87 octane
Regular gas into 93 octane "SooperDooper". Too bad they deliver medium
grades to marinas, not regular, to try to justify the awful markup at the
dock. Medium grade gas has alcohol in it which ATTRACTS WATER like a
magnet....in a boat?!! Insane.

Diesel "Booster" is a CETANE enhancer like:
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives...3830.Ch.r.html
CETANE enhancers make a diesel easier to start in the freezing cold
(Maine? COLD?!!) and also reduce diesel knock because it makes the
mixture fuel/air explode at a lower temperature. It hardly changes the
"power" at all. To change the "power", we open the injection to a higher
setting (more throttle), up to the smoking point, where more injection
just causes wasted fuel as we're out of oxygen to burn.

Lots of real snake oil crap is also for sale at amazing prices....
http://www.idealtruevalue.com/servlet/the-19105/Detail
http://www.dieselfiltersonline.com/P...Diesel-Cetane-
Booster-and-Performance-Improver-PM22A-PM-22-A.aspx
http://www.shopdiesel.com/index.cfm/...roduct_id/1266.
htm

If you open any of these wonderful products selling for about $60/gallon,
you'll immediately notice their "Fragrance of Diesel Fuel", and diesel
fuel color and VAGUE promises of Diesel Utopia pulling the gearbox apart
with such amazing power. Who in hell wants to pay $60/gallon for Diesel-
Fuel-In-A-Bottle?? What nonsense....

Take that money and buy us an extra oil change and fuel filter change.
You can NEVER change the oil in a diesel too often!...(c;

If you need more power....We have your solution!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7JpIdkehdD0
No Cetane Booster necessary.....(c;

LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT PISTON!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVezfnW3Wu4&NR=1
Careful...Don't fall in the cylinder hole. IT'S A LONG WAY DOWN!

Remember those TV commercials from inside the crankcase for Bardahl?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCGen0kxwG0

And when you get the throttle set just right:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5A3So5eoL8&NR=1
She cranks right up on the first pull!

Just don't get your pants caught in the starter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI7byyL4wMA

Maybe this little one would be more appropriate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSx0AKguOtw

God I love You Tube....(c;