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I ran out of oil in my home, and a plumber friend said that I could add diesel from the gas station while I wait for my oil delivery. Is he right?

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3 Answers

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Yes, no2 heating oil is pretty similar to diesel. Just less clean and usually dyed red.

So yes, it's ok to put diesel in your oil tank.

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cool, now I'm warm. Thanks. – Drai Nov 25 '12 at 3:01
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Yeah, it's perfectly fine to put diesel in your oil tank, but for legal/tax reasons, it's not ok to put home heating oil in your diesel engine

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Heating oil is dyed red -- if you put it in your vehicle's tank it will bear witness to your tax avoidance for some time afterward. – TomG Nov 27 '12 at 1:21
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Yes, diesel will work fine in an oil heater.

But don't try to put heating oil in a diesel vehicle.

  1. It's illegal and will get you slapped with a $10k fine if you get caught.

  2. Heating oil has a horrible cetane rating (in addition to lack of detergents and poor lubrication properties, and possibly higher sulfur content) and will make your engine run horribly and may damage it.

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Thanks, good to know. – Drai Nov 26 '12 at 15:40

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