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Can Diesel Fuel Be Used for Home Heating?

Posted On: March 12, 2018

When the winter drags on considerably longer than you expected (like this year!), sometimes your heating oil supply might start to wear thin. Maybe you’ll call your trusted oil company for an emergency or supplementary heating oil delivery. Or, maybe you’ll reach for the diesel fuel available at your local gas provider.

Is this a problem? Can you actually use diesel fuel to heat your home? As heating oil and home fuel experts, the team at SOS Xtreme Comfort wants to talk to you about whether this alternative will work as a long-term solution.

If you’re in a pinch, contact SOS Xtreme Comfort for a heating oil delivery in northeastern Pennsylvania, southern New York, and North Jersey.

Can Diesel Safely Heat My Home?

The very short answer is yes, it can. Diesel is close enough to home heating oil to act as a substitute, and it will burn fairly safely. Our team recommends keeping a moderate amount of diesel on hand for an emergency, as you never know what might crop up, be it bad weather or a sudden and unexpected shortage.

Be aware, though, that if you choose to store diesel at your home, it needs to be in the correct container (yellow means diesel, red means vehicle gasoline, and blue is kerosene).

You should also never keep diesel fuel longer than six months at a time, as it degrades in quality and becomes unsafe. You can use fuel additives to prolong the fuel’s life span, but even then, storing for a year is the maximum length of time that is wise.

But this should only be a temporary solution! While diesel is perfectly safe and functional as a temporary heating oil substitute, it isn’t intended for long-term use in your tank. It’s a good option in a pinch, but for long-term heating, diesel fuel is ineffective and not advised.

Why Can’t I Just Keep Using Diesel?

There are a few pretty vital reasons why diesel is only a temporary solution. One, and probably the biggest, is that your heating equipment was designed, installed, and constructed with very specific parameters in mind.

Things like long-term changes in fuel type can increase wear on the unit, shortening its life span and necessitating repairs that could have been avoided.

Plus, diesel burns a bit hotter, which is a cool bit of trivia and might be welcome if you’ve got a shortage on a cold night, but it can also harm your equipment over time.

Outside of the mechanical complications of prolonged diesel use, there’s also the fact that it’s not cost-effective. At all. Due to road taxes that have to be paid on diesel, and state-by-state pricing, diesel tends to run you a whole lot more per unit of fuel, which can stretch a bank account in no time.

Dependable Heating Oil Delivery Services in NY, NJ & PA

So diesel fuel may work, but only for a short period of time. The better solution is to never have a shortage at all! If you’ve been looking for fuel experts near you, then you’ve come to the right place. At SOS Xtreme Comfort, we offer a complete range of fuel delivery and scheduled fuel delivery services, helping you stay well-equipped to stay warm, no matter the weather.

Instead of guessing at your current heating oil level, we use a wireless remote tank monitoring system, which gives us the ability to provide a “no run-out” guarantee.

Contact us to learn more or request a delivery, or call 845-351-4700 if you’re close to Tuxedo Park, NY, or  570-618-8055 for our Milford, PA, team.

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