jet fuel for your oil burner ?

Frenchie

Holy smokes, Steve! Thank you for such a detailed and informative post. That was great information. I knew a little about jet fuel before, but not nearly that much!

A.J.

What is the octane of jet fuel ?

I was working on a plumbing rough today when my buddy casually asks if it is O.K. to burn jet fuel, that's right jet fuel in his friends oil furnace ! It seems that he got a deal a dollar a gallon because it fell of the back of someones truck. I told him no way not knowing for sure about the flammability of jet fuel. Does anybody know how flammable it is. This can't be safe.

tommyoil

Never had a problem

I used to have a customer with a Kohler 22 oil boiler. The guy worked at the time for Teterboro Airport. They used to drain residual from the bottoms of the jet fuel tanks before flight. He used to collect it and put it in his 1000 gallon tank. That Carlin 100 kept that boiler SPOTLESS while burning the jet A. It worked like a charm and I never had any problem EVER. After all, isn't it just kerosene on steroids?

Tom Hopkins

Kerosene

Basically jet A and A-1 fuel is kerosene, but has a number of additives though. Jet B is more volital because it has Naptha as a cold weather additive thus is limited in use to cold weather locations due to its volitility.


Was this a HazMat clean up? Don't think a buck a gallon is worth the risk at all. If it is'nt good enough for a jet engine I don't believe its good enough for a boiler.JMHO


Gordy

JoeV_2

I had a buddy who sumped airliner fuel tanks every night and would pull about a four gallons a night. He'd then mix in a quart of oil and toss it into his deisel oldsmobile. For years, he has never paid for fuel and saved his company disposal charges.

Unknown

I've talked to a guy in Antarctica

They only burn jet fuel in Beckett burners in oil boilers at McMurdo Station.

Noel

Todd_32

It can be done. It's been talked about during Beckett training classes that I have attended. Years ago when I was in the Air Force working as a jet engine mechanic, we would save fuel that we collected when servicing. I would burn that fuel in my kerosene heater. There are different grades though, such as JP4 and JP5. I don't remember which one, but Beckett only approves one.

Norm Harvey

I have one customer that uses nothing but Kerosine. He is a retiree that has an outside oil tank and an outside boiler which heats his double wide mobil home here in Mass. He will use nothing else and for years and years he has never had any problems aside from needing a fuel pump replacement. Apparently #1 fuel lacks some kind of lubrication thta #2 oil provides?

All in all its usually more expensive than #2 at least around here, but this peticular customer demands it.

Most heating equipment is rated for #1 fuel as well so I see no issue with it

Bruce M_2

JP8

The Air Force mostly uses JP8 while the Navy uses JP5. I would want to know exactly what type fuel it is rather than "jet fuel".

upsellovoto

Different Jet Fuels

JET A-1

Jet A-1 is a kerosene grade of fuel suitable for most turbine engined aircraft. It is produced to a stringent internationally agreed standard, has a flash point above 38°C (100°F) and a freeze point maximum of -47°C. It is widely available outside the U.S.A. Jet A-1 meets the requirements of British specification DEF STAN 91-91 (Jet A-1), (formerly DERD 2494 (AVTUR)), ASTM specification D1655 (Jet A-1) and IATA Guidance Material (Kerosine Type), NATO Code F-35.

JET A

Jet A is a similar kerosene type of fuel, produced to an ASTM specification and normally only available in the U.S.A. It has the same flash point as Jet A-1 but a higher freeze point maximum (-40°C). It is supplied against the ASTM D1655 (Jet A) specification.

JET B

Jet B is a distillate covering the naphtha and kerosene fractions. It can be used as an alternative to Jet A-1 but because it is more difficult to handle (higher flammability), there is only significant demand in very cold climates where its better cold weather performance is important. In Canada it is supplied against the Canadian Specification CAN/CGSB 3.23

MILITARY

JP-4

JP-4 is the military equivalent of Jet B with the addition of corrosion inhibitor and anti-icing additives; it meets the requirements of the U.S. Military Specification MIL-DTL-5624U Grade JP-4. (As of Jan 5, 2004, JP-4 and 5 meet the same US Military Specification). JP-4 also meets the requirements of the British Specification DEF STAN 91-88 AVTAG/FSII (formerly DERD 2454),where FSII stands for Fuel Systems Icing Inhibitor. NATO Code F-40.

JP-5

JP-5 is a high flash point kerosene meeting the requirements of the U.S. Military Specification MIL-DTL-5624U Grade JP-5 (as of Jan 5, 2004, JP-4 and 5 meet the same US Military Specification). JP-5 also meets the requirements of the British Specification DEF STAN 91-86 AVCAT/FSII (formerly DERD 2452). NATO Code F-44.

JP-8

JP-8 is the military equivalent of Jet A-1 with the addition of corrosion inhibitor and anti-icing additives; it meets the requirements of the U.S. Military Specification MIL-DTL-83133E. JP-8 also meets the requirements of the British Specification DEF STAN 91-87 AVTUR/FSII (formerly DERD 2453). NATO Code F-34.

AVIATION FUEL ADDITIVES

Aviation fuel additives are compounds added to the fuel in very small quantities, usually measurable only in parts per million, to provide special or improved qualities. The quantity to be added and approval for its use in various grades of fuel is strictly controlled by the appropriate specifications.

A few additives in common use are as follows:

1. Anti-knock additives reduce the tendency of gasoline to detonate. Tetra-ethyl lead (TEL) is the only approved anti-knock additive for aviation use and has been used in motor and aviation gasolines since the early 1930s.

2. Anti-oxidants prevent the formation of gum deposits on fuel system components caused by oxidation of the fuel in storage and also inhibit the formation of peroxide compounds in certain jet fuels.

3. Static dissipater additives reduce the hazardous effects of static electricity generated by movement of fuel through modern high flow-rate fuel transfer systems. Static dissipater additives do not reduce the need for `bonding' to ensure electrical continuity between metal components (e.g. aircraft and fuelling equipment) nor do they influence hazards from lightning strikes.

4. Corrosion inhibitors protect ferrous metals in fuel handling systems, such as pipelines and fuel storage tanks, from corrosion. Some corrosion inhibitors also improve the lubricating properties (lubricity) of certain jet fuels.

5. Fuel System Icing Inhibitors (Anti-icing additives) reduce the freezing point of water precipitated from jet fuels due to cooling at high altitudes and prevent the formation of ice crystals which restrict the flow of fuel to the engine. This type of additive does not affect the freezing point of the fuel itself. Anti-icing additives can also provide some protection against microbiological growth in jet fuel.

6. Metal de-activators suppress the catalytic effect which some metals, particularly copper, have on fuel oxidation.

7. Biocide additives are sometimes used to combat microbiological growths in jet fuel, often by direct addition to aircraft tanks; as indicated above some anti-icing additives appear to possess biocidal properties.

8. Thermal Stability Improver additives are sometimes used in military JP-8 fuel, to produce a grade referred to as JP-8+100, to inhibit deposit formation in the high temperature areas of the aircraft fuel system.

POWER BOOSTING FLUIDS

It used to be commonplace for large piston engines to require special fluids to increase their take-off power. Similar injection systems are also incorporated in some turbo-jet and turbo-prop engines. The power increase is achieved by cooling the air consumed, to raise its density and thereby increase the weight of air available for combustion. This effect can be obtained by using water alone but it is usual to inject a mixture of methanol and water to produce a greater degree of evaporative cooling and also to provide additional fuel energy.

For piston engines, methanol/water mixtures are used and these may have 1 percent of a corrosion inhibiting oil added. The injection system may be used to compensate for the power lost when operating under high temperature and/or high altitude conditions (i.e. with low air densities) or to obtain increased take-off power under normal atmospheric conditions, by permitting higher boost pressure for a short period.

Both water alone and methanol/water mixtures are used in gas turbine engines, principally to restore the take-off power (or thrust) lost when operating under low air density conditions. Use of a corrosion inhibitor in power boost fluids supplied for these engines is not permitted.

The methanol and water used must be of very high quality to avoid formation of engine deposits. The water must be either demineralised or distilled and the only adulterant permitted in the methanol is up to 0.5 per cent of pyridine if required by local regulations as a de-naturant. In the past there were several different grades of water/methanol mixtures, e.g. 45/55/0 for turbine engines, 50/50/0 for piston engines (this was also available with 1% corrosion inhibiting oil and was designated 50/50/1) and 60/40/0, however, with decreasing demand Shell now only supplies 45/55/0. The table shows the principal characteristics of Shell demineralised water and of the commonly used methanol/water blend.

A.J.

Thanks Guys

Thanks for all the info.

paul zeszotarski

jet fuel

I have seen jet fuel used in diesel trucks. There was no prooblems with the trucks. i guess tat diesel and jet fuel are similar in the way they are made.

David Efflandt_2

Military fuels/engines

I always though certain military fuels (like JP-4) were jet fuel mixed with avgas, so they would not gel at high altitude/low temperature.

When we had Mercedes 220D company cars, the owner's manual said you could mix up to 30% gasoline with the diesel in cold weather. They did not have sophisticated starting sytems then (no air preheater), you just had to guess how long to glow before starting. They were comfortable economy cars then, 32 mpg city or hwy.