Fuel oil vs Jet A

[Clear-&aMillion]

The DA42 can operate on both diesel or Jet-A. Pretty neat.

 

[Say Again Over]

Ya, so what, my Mercedes 300D can do the same.

 

[atr42flyer]

Jet A does not have the lubrication properties that Diesel/heating oil does, because in a turbine engine there are no parts requiring lubrication by the fuel.....the same is NOT true with engines that run off of diesel/heating oil. You may have fried a bearing that is lubricated with the fuel.

Hopefully, all that needs to be done is mix sufficient heating oil with it to make it burn properly(since Jet A has a higher flashpoint, though not much)...but I suspect you caused some damage.

A trick I have learned over the years operating diesel engined vehicles is that if you put something like Jet A in it, or even end up with half a tank or more of gasoline in a diesel tank, is to mix a quart of oil into the fuel, or dump a few quartz of Crisco in it for lubrication properties.

A diesel engine will burn gasoline...but the lack of lubrication is what really destroys the engine. Same with your furnace, I suspect.

thanks for the input, i actually do not think that i damaged anything. there is more to this story. i bought a 55gallon drum from a guy that works at a bakery. some kind of crisco or oil they use comes in them so there was actually a some left in the barrel not much but along the sides and bottom layer. when i pumped the fuel out of the sump tank at the fbo i could see the dirt and rust particles flowing in the tank. i thought that since it most likely weighs more it would sink to the bottom of the tank and when i transfered the fuel into my house i would not let the hose sink to the bottom of the barrel just let it skim the top. i was not prepared and just winged it my first time. monday i get clean barrels and the proper pump and filter. im also going to get in touch with the company that produces my furnace just to be sure and check with the lubrication issues. im glad you said that i should dump crisco in it i was worried that was the problem in the first place.

 

[Diesel]

crisco or any type of bio diesel has 3000 time the lubrication properties that straight diesel has.

Trust me you aren't really going to hurt a furnace. There are no moving parts besides the pump.

Aslong as youcan hold a flame put her to it.

 

[FracCapt]

im glad you said that i should dump crisco in it i was worried that was the problem in the first place.

Small amounts of it won't hurt at all. I don't have any clue whether or not your pump is lubricated by the fuel(if it's submerged, it probably is). If you run straight jet A through it, and certain parts ARE lubricated by the fuel, then dump a couple quarts or so of vegetable oil in that 55 gallon drum....or use some type of diesel fuel additive that lubricates and boosts cetane....or dump a quart of motor oil in the drum. They will all accomplish the end goal of adding lubrication that is severely lacking in Jet A.

 

[mzaharis]

The DA42 can operate on both diesel or Jet-A. Pretty neat.

I remember reading that it can only run on Diesel in Europe. American diesel has too much sulfer. Apparently, Europe, with its greater number of high-performance diesel cars, has a higher fuel specification.

 

[avbug]

Actually jet fuel does have lubrication properties, and most fuel controllers and fuel pumps are fuel lubricated. Operation sans fuel can be very damaging. It's also partially for this reason that many systems operating on suction feed can suffer damage or have life limits.

All diesel fuels are kerosine fuels. Some types of jet fuel are cut fuels mixing avgas or other gasoline blends, some are not.

I've run a lot of #2 diesel in pratts under Ag.

When using alternate fuels, some will require resetting the fuel controller, and in some cases, the use of different fuel nozzles.

The biggest danger of using jet discard fuel is dirty fuel; filter it and check it before burning it to avoid contamination. It should run in your truck or heater quite well.

 

[troy]

We use Jet-A sump fuel in all of our fuel truck diesel engines (saves lots of money). No problems as of yet, with new Cat and Mercedes engines

 

[sky37d]

The DA42 can operate on both diesel or Jet-A. Pretty neat.

Actually, it can not operate on US diesel, at least not yet. It needs a purer form of diesel, available in Europe. US diesel fuel has to much sulphur in it for the DA42. That's why, even though it is a diesel engine, it needs Jet A.

 

[jergar999]

Anytime you want to run an engine designed for diesel on Jet A, just add a small can of two stroke oil (the type for lawn mowers, I can't remember the liquid ounces right now) per 50 gallons. The will almost exactly replicate the lubricity of Diesel.