A version of this story ran in 2018. It returns to the Monitor’s online most-read list during every cold snap, so what the heck, here’s an updated version.
There’s an option for homeowners who run out of heating oil and can’t wait for a refill, or who can’t afford to pay the 150-gallon minimum to get a delivery: diesel fuel.
Diesel sold at gas stations is an acceptable replacement for home heating oil in virtually all furnaces. This should only be a short-term option, though. Running on diesel for too many days can interfere with the operation of the furnace.
Most home heating oil is the type known as No. 2, a designation that indicates weight and grade. It and diesel are midlevel or midweight distillations of petroleum. They produce roughly the same amount of heat and can be burned by the same systems.
As it currently stands, cost won’t be much different. Both diesel and heating oil are around $3.20 a gallon. Diesel includes a road tax, while heating oil doesn’t.
Kerosene is another acceptable alternative to home heating oil. It tends to be more expensive, however: Currently it’s about $3.90 a gallon.
Gasoline, on the other hand, cannot be used as a substitute for heating oil, as it is a lightweight distillation of petroleum, a very different type of molecule. Do not put ordinary gasoline in your oil tank – it will damage your furnace and cause other problems.
It’s recommended that you turn off your furnace before pouring the diesel into your heating oil tank, then wait 10 minutes or so before turning the furnace back on. This will allow any sediment that was stirred up in the tank to settle, making it less likely to clog the system.
One final note: It is not a good idea to make the diesel-for-oil substitution in the other direction. Home heating oil is not a good replacement for diesel in vehicles because it lacks lubrication aspects that are important for engines to operate.
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While on-road diesel includes “road tax” which is not paid on heating oil, you can apply for a refund of both the state and local road tax with your tax return. Probably not worth it if you’re using less than about 45 gallons/year of diesel for off-road applications.
Please do more research on the claim “Running on diesel for too many days can interfere with the operation of the furnace.”, I suspect this is not true.
The biggest reason why “It is not a good idea to make the diesel-for-oil substitution in the other direction” is because it is illegal. Off-road diesel (ORD) and Home Heating Oil (HHO) contains a dye additive indicating the fuel is untaxed, being caught with dyed fuel in an on-road vehicle will result in hefty fines.
If your financial situation has you buying diesel for heating because you can’t afford 150-gallon minimum oil delivery, tax refunds don’t matter. Tax credits/refunds are a lousy way to balance out costs to society because they favor the well off (partly because of added complexity to filing).
Good point about the dye/legality – I should have mentioned it.
Re the road tax refund thing. Is that true? I had always assumed that the “using road fuel for non-road purposes” road tax refund involved an actual cash refund, not a tax credit. I could be wrong about this, but I’d be curious to know which it is.
If in the course of a year you are due $750 or more (meaning you’ve consumed upwards of 3300 gallons!), you can request a cash refund before the end of the year.
For smaller users, New Hampshire’s Road Toll Bureau will issue a refund annually per RSA 260:47. This is characterized as a refund, not a tax credit.
Federally, it is a tax credit (not a tax deduction) via Form 4136, “Credit for Federal Tax Paid on Fuels”, which states ” Type of use 8 includes use as heating oil”