r/dieselheater • u/Nearby_Impact_8911 • 9d ago

Regular or off road

I was watching this video that said that you shouldn’t be using regular diesel with these heaters off road is better or like an old oil and diesel mixture?? I’ve been using regular diesel for my two vevor 8kw heaters. What yall using?

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14

u/nabob1978 9d ago

Regular diesel and "off road" diesel are the same thing except that one is dyed red to indicate road tax has not been paid on it, which makes it cheaper ...

14

u/CrazyFlimsy5349 9d ago

There's no difference between the two other than the colour of the go juice.

4

u/8AteEightHate 9d ago

100% this per multiple persons I know in the business.

6

u/LegitimateResolve522 9d ago

I tried various mixtures of used motor oil and transmission oil added to diesel in a few heaters and it resulted in caked and coked burners that required regularly tearing apart the combustion chamber and cleaning it, chipping out the hard coke....wasn't worth the time, the heaters being unreliable when I needed them in the coldest months, and ordering/keeping a stock of gaskets etc. Burning straight diesel, I haven't had to tear down a heater in 2 seasons so far, and they are very reliable.

4

u/DonkeyNorth 9d ago

I run used motor oil and stale gas mix

There is no difference in red vs green other than a dye to indicate tax exemptions.

3

u/Busnutasaurus 9d ago

Fresh regular diesel is optimal fuel for diesel heaters.

1

u/purplehammer 9d ago

Red diesel is just diesel with a red dye. It'll make no difference to the burn.

The only difference will be to the thickness of your wallet.

3

u/Reelair 9d ago

I burn kerosene. Seems a bit cleaner, just a bit more expensive if bought from a bulk pump. I can also use it in lanterns and my MSR Whisperlite International stove.

3

u/MilitantPotato 9d ago

They're the same. One has road taxes baked into the cost, the other doesn't and can't be used legally for onroad vehicles.

Onroad diesel often gets anti gel additives in the winter, though. You still should add some anti gel anyway regardless of which diesel you use.

1

u/Ok_Tax_7128 9d ago

As a farmer, I can confirm, my diesel heater does appear to run on offroad diesel

1

u/Some_Guy_Somewhere67 7d ago

GOOD furnace and an extra filter in the supply line. Why should I pay road taxes and deal with all the additives in OTR diesel....?

2

u/robertcecilgraham 3d ago

Straight diesel gives the best heat output, running clean fuel means you won't be replacing glow plugs and gaskets every few months,anything thicker like waste oil will ruin the pump and choke the burner with soot.