Petrol + Diesel = More mileage?

amitk26 · 16th December 2009, 15:34

Actually small percentage of Diesel in Petrol will increase lubricity and also improve thermal properties so he may be getting more milage.
How it impacts cylender bore and pistos is another matter . But I think mixing diesel in Petrol will not be as disasterous as mixing Petrol in Diesel engine becuase Diesel Engine is compression based and a high octane fuel like petrol will damage the engine.
Kerosense in Diesel is far better and in some cases recommned ( in sub 0 temperature ) up to ratio of 50 - 50 also known as winter mix. Kerosene robs lubrication of Diesel so it affects the fuel pump and generally some sore of cetane booster is required.

Shan2nu · 16th December 2009, 17:15

Diesel requires very high temp to ignite. Though a spark plug/compression ratio in a petrol engine is incapable of doing so.

Im not sure what would happen to a small amount of diesel when petrol ignites.

Shan2nu

Gansan · 16th December 2009, 17:36

I have seen an old Morris Minor running on Kerosene during my school days. Belonged to a friend's dad. He used to take us to Mahabalipuram in the car. There will be two containers near the front passenger seat, a small one with petrol and a larger one with kerosene, from which the fuel tube will go out to the engine. The car will start and run on petrol, and as soon as it crossed city limits, it was the 'duty' of the passenger in the front seat, usually my friend, to quickly remove the tube from the petrol bottle and insert in to the kerosene container. The car will stutter for a moment, then run on. Just before reaching the destination, the tube will be quickly transferred to the petrol bottle again, otherwise it will not start. Don't remember if it was pure kerosene or laced with petrol though.

siedo · 17th December 2009, 10:05

I have seen trucks carrying sand and other construction materials using kerosen

echo77 · 28th May 2010, 13:00

Kerosene is distilled diesel, so actually a very pure/clear form of diesel and is used as jet fuel for airplanes. It has similar combustion temperatures etc as diesel so IMO its not extremely harmful if you have to use kerosene in an emergency in a diesel vehicle. However petrol and diesel have vastly different properties, so kerosene+petrol or diesel+petrol is more likely to harm the engine.

Refer the wikipedia. Also found this simple article:

The difference beween Diesel Fuel and kerosene

prateek99 · 30th May 2010, 12:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by echo77

Kerosene is distilled diesel, so actually a very pure/clear form of diesel and is used as jet fuel for airplanes.

Echo, are u sure on this? To my knowledge, ATF is inferior form of kerosene and not a purer form. The simple logic which goes is purer the fuel higher the cost. And the jet engines are so designed that they can operate on these lower calorific values of inferior kerosene.

If kerosene were distilled diesel, it would be dearer. But it is not.

I remember a friend of mine owning a small HCV fleet once telling me that some Bus operators add petrol to diesel to facilitate quick combustion. Any idea on this?

echo77 · 3rd June 2010, 13:58

Kerosene is highly subsidized in India, therefore the low cost.

Yes, ATF used currently is an inferior form of kerosene. My sources below:

Kerosene - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quote:

Kerosene is widely used to power jet-engined aircraft (jet fuel) and some rockets, but is also commonly used as a heating fuel and for fire toys such as poi.

Quote:

Kerosene is a thin, clear liquid formed from hydrocarbons, with density of 0.78–0.81 g/cm3. It is obtained from the fractional distillation of petroleum between 150 °C and 275 °C, resulting in a mixture of carbon chains that typically contain between 6 and 16 carbon atoms per molecule.[4]

Quote:

The heat of combustion of kerosene is similar to that of diesel

Jet fuel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quote:

most jet fuels are still kerosene-based

The jet fuel page indicates there used to be a gasoline+kerosene mixture used earlier as jet fuel, so my earlier statement that petrol and kerosene do not mix well stands retracted. But I guess it is harmful for normal petrol engines.

rajivanoj · 3rd June 2010, 22:25

I have also got some news regarding this notorious API auto, Only coimbatore and Ooty has this auto in more numbers, I have not seen this auto anywhere in Tamilnadu.

Even an 30 year old auto is still running in coimbatore, They mix fuel in the ratio as mentioned in above thread. So that they may save some money. The smoke will be bluish white, You cannot go behind those autos. It will suffocate you.

I have asked about it, they say it is cheap to buy, Just 20k is enough to buy this API, and maintenance is also low, You can add diesel. Passenger dont bother about the make, model of auto. Even if it is New Bajaj RE, He will pay same amount and he asked why to spend much investment when i get same returns.

16th December 2009, 15:34	#16
amitk26 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,089 Thanked: 715 Times	Actually small percentage of Diesel in Petrol will increase lubricity and also improve thermal properties so he may be getting more milage. How it impacts cylender bore and pistos is another matter . But I think mixing diesel in Petrol will not be as disasterous as mixing Petrol in Diesel engine becuase Diesel Engine is compression based and a high octane fuel like petrol will damage the engine. Kerosense in Diesel is far better and in some cases recommned ( in sub 0 temperature ) up to ratio of 50 - 50 also known as winter mix. Kerosene robs lubrication of Diesel so it affects the fuel pump and generally some sore of cetane booster is required.
	() Thanks

16th December 2009, 17:15	#17
Shan2nu Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Hubli - Karnata Posts: 5,533 Thanked: 125 Times View My Garage	Diesel requires very high temp to ignite. Though a spark plug/compression ratio in a petrol engine is incapable of doing so. Im not sure what would happen to a small amount of diesel when petrol ignites. Shan2nu
	() Thanks

16th December 2009, 17:36	#18
Gansan Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 4,534 Thanked: 5,544 Times	I have seen an old Morris Minor running on Kerosene during my school days. Belonged to a friend's dad. He used to take us to Mahabalipuram in the car. There will be two containers near the front passenger seat, a small one with petrol and a larger one with kerosene, from which the fuel tube will go out to the engine. The car will start and run on petrol, and as soon as it crossed city limits, it was the 'duty' of the passenger in the front seat, usually my friend, to quickly remove the tube from the petrol bottle and insert in to the kerosene container. The car will stutter for a moment, then run on. Just before reaching the destination, the tube will be quickly transferred to the petrol bottle again, otherwise it will not start. Don't remember if it was pure kerosene or laced with petrol though. Last edited by Gansan : 16th December 2009 at 17:38.
	() Thanks

17th December 2009, 10:05	#19
siedo BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 129 Thanked: 15 Times	I have seen trucks carrying sand and other construction materials using kerosen
	() Thanks

28th May 2010, 13:00	#20
echo77 BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: goa Posts: 359 Thanked: 116 Times View My Garage	Kerosene is distilled diesel, so actually a very pure/clear form of diesel and is used as jet fuel for airplanes. It has similar combustion temperatures etc as diesel so IMO its not extremely harmful if you have to use kerosene in an emergency in a diesel vehicle. However petrol and diesel have vastly different properties, so kerosene+petrol or diesel+petrol is more likely to harm the engine. Refer the wikipedia. Also found this simple article: The difference beween Diesel Fuel and kerosene
	() Thanks

3rd June 2010, 22:25	#23
rajivanoj BANNED Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 398 Thanked: 52 Times View My Garage	I have also got some news regarding this notorious API auto, Only coimbatore and Ooty has this auto in more numbers, I have not seen this auto anywhere in Tamilnadu. Even an 30 year old auto is still running in coimbatore, They mix fuel in the ratio as mentioned in above thread. So that they may save some money. The smoke will be bluish white, You cannot go behind those autos. It will suffocate you. I have asked about it, they say it is cheap to buy, Just 20k is enough to buy this API, and maintenance is also low, You can add diesel. Passenger dont bother about the make, model of auto. Even if it is New Bajaj RE, He will pay same amount and he asked why to spend much investment when i get same returns.
	() Thanks