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Petrol & Kero don't mix????

Submitted: Monday, May 01, 2006 at 21:49

Stuart

Hi all, just bought a Flo & Go syphon pump from Repco. The're on sale at the moment for $20 instead of $50 and the little one is only $10. Anyway in the blurb it says that the pump cannot be used for petrol and then kero or visa-versa and that separate pumps must be used. So, why can't petrol and kero be mixed? A LITTLE bit of petrol in your diesel won't hurt or visa-versa so what's the go with kero?
Cheers Stuart.
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AnswerID: 170153   Submitted: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 at 01:26

Muzzgit (WA) replied:

I remember my old man telling me to stay away from kero unless it was to burn it.

When he worked in the Midland rail yards, in the late 40's, they used it as a cutting agent when drilling or sawing. He told me to never use it to wash bearings or internal engine parts.

When I worked in a factory operating rollformers (making corrigated iron and perlins) we used it as a lubricant when rolling galv between the rollers.

But why the two do not mix is a mystery to me, they come from the same base product. I'd say it would be the additives, maybe?

Someone with petrochemical knowledge will speak up shortly, I'm sure.

Trying to wash out black smelly mud.
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Cheers,
Muzz.

I don't mind my missus having the last word, I just wish she'd get to it.
Reply 1 of 9
AnswerID: 170206   Submitted: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 at 11:39

V8Diesel replied:

Used to drive an old International tractor that you'd start on petrol (hand crank too - no starter motor) and when it was running you'd switch it over to the main tank and run it on straight kero. That seemed to work fine.
Reply 2 of 9
FollowupID: 425587   Submitted: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 at 15:21

Member - Bradley posted:

damn you, you have just brought back some very bad childhood memories, having to use the old inter, an A7 i think it was. yep start her on petrol, once warm switch it over to kero.

and the old belt drive on the side, hmmm i can still feel the itches from rolling oats in the old roller.

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On the lookout for 98 onwards v6 auto jack.
FollowUp 1 of 5
FollowupID: 425596   Submitted: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 at 16:15

V8Diesel posted:

'Armstrong' steering and such a silky smooth and progressive clutch too.

FollowUp 2 of 5
FollowupID: 425614   Submitted: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 at 17:43

disco driver posted:

Don't forget that there was a big difference between the kero used in the tractor(Power Kerosine) and the kero used in the old fridge on the back verandah and/or the hurricane lanterns (Lighting Kerosine).
At a real pinch you could use lighting kero in the tractor but not power kero in the fridge or lanterns.

Brings back memories of days long gone, sitting on an iron seat with a hessian bag made into a cape (well before the days of tractor cabs) in the pouring rain ploughing the paddocks with an Inter W9 tractor.

Bring back the "good old days"???. Not for this old fart.

Cheers
Disco
FollowUp 3 of 5
FollowupID: 425672   Submitted: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 at 19:48

Exploder posted:


Probably just to cover themselves if anything happens,

Valve Lube has kero in it, Washing engine parts in kero> done that.

Old Kero tractors, yep run on ULP fine, but spoil the buggers with PULP and some valve lube.
FollowUp 4 of 5
FollowupID: 425863   Submitted: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 at 15:18

Member - Bradley posted:

ohhh yeahhhh forgot the old steel springer seat, and i remember the steering wheel did break off at the hub once :-))))

was in a new header a while back - wacko - climate control, flash seat, entertainment system, gps guidance etc etc..... ahhh the "good" old days :-((

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On the lookout for 98 onwards v6 auto jack.
FollowUp 5 of 5
AnswerID: 170254   Submitted: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 at 17:10

Member - Darren T (VIC) replied:

Father in Law used to own an old David Brown tractor (about 1957 model I think) that was supposed to be started on petrol and switched over to Kero onc it had warmed up. Some of other farmers around the place to him he could run the thing on straight unleaded, so he did, no problems.
Can`t see why it would cause any problems mixing petrol and kero, only 3 things I can think of is
1 - I think kero may attract moisture (not 100% on this one, someone may correct me on this).
2- materials it is made out of may not be suitable for use with petrol ?? But I see this as unlikely if it could be used with either petrol or kero.
3- They want you to spend more money by buying another another pump :) .

I use a kero/petrol mix to fuel my Coleman dual fuel camping stove. Tends to burn better and hotter than straight kero and is easier to light.
Instructions say to use straight kero or coleman fuel only. Only difference being the regulator tube from the tank to the burner should be changed over to suit either kero or coleman fuel.
But it all works fine for me :)

Cheers.
2000 Holden Frontera SE Insert funny witty comment here
Reply 3 of 9
AnswerID: 170260   Submitted: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 at 17:53

Member - Oldplodder (QLD) replied:

Trying to get back to the question :-)

Only thing I can think of is that is illegal to run an engine on a non excise fuel like kero.

Also some damage could occur depending on the engine and the quantities, older engines you may get away with a small amount.
The last great petrol price increase in the late 70s (went up 50% in about 6 months), a friend experimented with running his subaru on shellite, which is similar to kero. Up to about 30% shellite worked OK with a bit of fiddling on the timing. But this is now illegal, so be warned.

And if you add metho to your petrol tank to disperse the water, up to a cup per tank seems to be OK.
Bumps up the octane rating too by a couple of points, and helps to stop pinging in older leaded fuel engines running on PULP.

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John C - aka Oldplodder
In touring mode, the way it should be.
Reply 4 of 9
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AnswerID: 170264   Submitted: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 at 17:59

Old Scalyback & denny replied:

could also be if using kero lanterns they would tend to go whoooosh or bang with a bit of petrol in the mix
not that kreo lanterns are real popular these days

steve
steve with beard & hair???
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currently in broken hill for a week or so
Reply 5 of 9
AnswerID: 170335   Submitted: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 at 23:13

Member - Barry C (NT) replied:

Ah the days of kero tractors,,,Inter AW4 if I recall, many hours cold bum even with wheat bag on steel seat.

Only reason I can think of is why you would be advised not to use kero and petrol is IF there is check valve in the system (haven't seen the gear you are referring to) it may retain petrol in it and could, (remote I know) contaminate a kero lantern fill or similar after use on petrol.

Just my thoughts,,, as I've used all sorts of containers for petrol and kero and had no problems mixing the 2 liquids,, as stated in previous post the "mix" is usually minute.

Barry
Reply 6 of 9
AnswerID: 170433   Submitted: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 at 14:03

Austravel replied:

Are they any good? I just use a jiggle hose at the moment.
Reply 7 of 9
FollowupID: 425923   Submitted: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 at 19:16

Stuart posted:

Hi, don't know, there is a lid that screws to your fuel container and it's designed for the US tins and doesn't fit any of mine so I'm taking it back. I could make an adaptor but after getting it home and looking at it I would rather just keep using my jiggle hose, there's not much to go wrong and it's a lot easier to store especially when we're travelling with the camper.
Cheers. Stuart.
FollowUp 1 of 2
FollowupID: 426015   Submitted: Thursday, May 04, 2006 at 08:53

Austravel posted:

Thanks for the heads up.
FollowUp 2 of 2
AnswerID: 170456   Submitted: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 at 15:20

Member - Bradley replied:

sorry yeah back to the question, id say they are doing the lawyer thing and covering their asses, and if you nuy a couple of pumps then they will be very happy. as long as the lines are drained then the dilution rate between fuels isnt even worth worrying about.

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On the lookout for 98 onwards v6 auto jack.
Reply 8 of 9
AnswerID: 170478   Submitted: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 at 17:24

GaryInOz (Vic) replied:

http://www.franksemails.com/video/m030806explode.wmv

Petrol and fire fighters don't mix either...
Reply 9 of 9