What is the difference between heating oil and diesel fuel?
Heating oil and diesel fuel are essentially the same product. Today, from a practical standpoint, there are only three differences: • Diesel fuel, for on road use, has a lower sulfur content than heating oil. • Heating oil is dyed with red dye • During the winter months, diesel fuel is sometimes cut or diluted with kerosene to improve its winter performance. How is heating oil affected by the cold? The pour point of heating oil is 0F and the cloud point is 10F. Therefore when outdoor temperatures drop below 10 F, heating oil starts to become thick and its ability to flow can be affected. For this reason, Hart & Iliff adds a Cold Flow Improver to outdoor, above ground heating oil tanks so that cold oil problems can be minimized. Is it dangerous to store heating oil in your home? No, heating oil is combustible, but not flammable. This is why building codes allow it to be stored in the basement of a home. The flash point of heating oil is 140F. This means that heating oil will not burn un
