On the premise that Jet fuel is the purest kerosene (British: Paraffine, Norwegian: Parafin), I would like to draw your attention back to my earlier mention of BBQ starter liquid, or charcoal lighter fluid (NB: the petroleum based kind, of course, and not the alcohol variety): I mentioned this in a previous post, and have since tested this in several stoves, and it is by far the cleanest and purest replacement fuel for kerosene stoves, now that kerosene seems harder to come by and/or more expensive since its decomissioning as a general home heater fuel in many countries. My experience is that it has less odour, but burns as clean and as effective as pure kerosene. So I decided to investigate a little, and the facts support the anecdotal evidence from testing: Jet A, or common jet fuel, has a density at 15 deg.C. of 0.820 kg/L, and an energy density of 9.8 kWh/L, which means that you would get approximately 5 kWh out of a 1/2 pint stove. Jet A-1, which is the jet fuel preferred in colder climates, due to its freezing point of −47 °C (−53 °F) rather than −40 °C (−40 °F) as for Jet A, has a slightly lower density of 0.804 kg/L, and an energy density of 34.7 MJ/L (9.6 kWh/L). Now, BBQ starter liquid sits right in between the two, but is closer to the more energy-dense Jet A. (In fact, Charcoal lighter fluid, known as LF-1, was used in the Pratt & Whitney J57 engine which powered the Lockheed U-2 aircraft. With an additive to improve thermal oxidative stability it was covered by a military specification and known as Thermally Stable Jet Fuel, JPTS, which has a density of 0.816 kg/L.) So, if Jet A is the purest kerosene, then BBQ starter at a third of the price of camping kerosene seems like a good deal, and available everywhere. Also, if it was good enough for the U-2, it is probably good enough for my stoves. All the best, T
Iv just received my order of 10ltr of Husqvarna power 4 to run my petrol stoves on from.. Husqvarna XP Power 4 Fuel 5 Litre Good service at what I think is a reasonable price @ £39 delivered. (UK)
I got a small airport up the road from me, got 1gallon of jet fuel, 90p a Lt, put it in a 8 wick stove, the stove cost £7.50, now around £20 plus, it works, but it burns at a higher Temp, will try it on a 96, one day
The wife and I were running errands yesterday and one of the stores we visited had charcoal lighter fluid for sale. A half-gallon was about $5 USA, so I figured I'd pick one up to try it out in the stoves. A gallon of undyed K1 kerosene can be found at Home Depot for about $11 a gallon, so it's similar in price to kerosene sold in stores by the container, but has the advantage of being very common and easy to find. I can still get kerosene here pretty easily - just bought about 5 gallons of it for about $25 at my local gas station, but it is red dyed kerosene. In the past, it has been of questionable quality. The current batch seems pretty good - burns well in the kerosene stoves. Just got done trying it out in my Svea 16 roarer. (SRG: Another Svea No. 16) This Svea 16 is not my best running stove and tends to have a little bit of a yellow flame even when pre-heated and fully warmed up. I dumped out the kerosene from the tank and filled it about half full with the charcoal lighter fluid. Ran very nicely with a completely blue flame and was pretty much odorless. When burning on the pump red dyed kerosene, I do get a little but of odor from the stoves when running. Used the stove to cook up some lunch - browned about 3 pounds of ground beef in a cast iron skillet to be made into tacos. Yum! I love a good taco. thanks much, ben
I've done it backwards; I use K1 kerosene to light charcoal. Mostly because I fire up the briquets only a few times in season, I have lots of kero on hand, and it takes very little.
Ever since I tried Holts Professional Brake cleaner in my white gas (Petrol NOT!) stoves and lamps, I'm a convert, it's even better than Aspen4, and better than Panel wipe in my opinion and cheaper as well and has less smell. With that out of the way, here it is for just £12.99 for 5 Ltrs, buy 2 get delivery free. I placed an order on Monday evening just before 10 PM and it arrived Wednesday morning. Holts HMAI0201A (202A) Professional Brake Cleaner | at Zoro Its pure Naptha, nothing else added. I now only use this in my Coleman dual fuel stove and lantern and my modern MSR stoves. Kerosene or paraffin C1, the cheapest I can get it for around my area is for £7.99 for 4L pre-pac from TFMSUPERSTORE a local farming supplies, agricultural and country store Farm Supplies, Agricultural & Country Stores | TFM Superstore this is a store only purchase but if you live anywhere near Bridgnorth, Penkridge or Newport (Shropshire), then you can pop in and get some.
If your driving past J6 of the M6 (Birmingham), then just a few minutes away from the junction is this place: Kerosene supplier Birmingam Erdington - Buy Kerosene Fuel From GB Fuel
What’s your thoughts on heating oil I’ve been running my Tilleys and Bialaddin lamps and our two plumbers furnaces on this for a couple of years now with no issues
Very rare indeed, but still exists: Paraffin loose purchase today. I wonder if there are any more pumps in the country.
Called called my local 'Harvest Energy' petrol station in Bedford . No paraffin pump but a 4l 'can' is a sensible £8.29 I was told.
Sensible? For their profit margins maybe! Domestic kero is curently around £1 per ltr so thats more than twoce as expensive.
Managed to load up heating oil for £1.20 last week at a pump. Pump prices tend to be a bit higher than large volume delivery. Sill, way better than the cheapest C1 paraffin drums I've seen. Not done a burn test yet, hope it will work both in my lamps and my heater as I expect to use 2-300L this winter.
