kerosene/thinner?

[wiseleyb]

Thanks for all the replies guys... now, if I can just find this stuff up in Friday Harbor I won't freeze at night on my way down to Seattle (I'll keep a port or two open, CO). This place... it's raining and 50 or clear and 30... should be a cool full moon.

[rrgane]

Originally Posted by wiseleyb

Thanks for all the replies guys... now, if I can just find this stuff up in Friday Harbor I won't freeze at night on my way down to Seattle (I'll keep a port or two open, CO). This place... it's raining and 50 or clear and 30... should be a cool full moon.

Wave as you pass Everett!

[sailingdog]

Might want to read this page.

The cleanest burning, lowest odor fuel for any wicked appliance is Low Odor Mineral Spirits. Jet A fuel is extremely close to kerosene and burns well in kerosene heaters, and therefore is the fuel of choice for those who heat with kerosene heaters in many remote areas of Canada and Alaska. In northern climes, anti-icing additives are often added at the pump nozzle instead of being pre-mixed with the fuel: Don't get the additives when obtaining Jet A for kerosene heater use. NOTE: Jet A is not the same as JP-4. Do not use JP-4 in a kerosene heater.

[mightyhorton]

Paint thinner works fine. Many of the local live-aboards here in Puget Sound burn paint thinner all winter in their kerosene stoves with no ill effects and have for years. It burns cleanly, doesn't hurt their heaters and is way way cheaper than kerosene. Not sure if it is releasing anything that might be bad for you in the long term, but after years of burning it nobody seems to be suffering.

[Hartley18]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Might want to read this page.

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That's bizarre! If he's right, they must be pretty desperate up there in Alaska and Canada since JET is not freely available for purchase by the public in most parts of the world.

I don't want to get too pedantic SD, but it seems to me that your correspondent only half knows what he's talking about:

- JET-A (a.k.a JP-8, F-34, AVTUR) is Kerosene... with lubricity improver, static dissipation (ASA) and anti-icing inhibitors (FSII) added. Actually, depending upon where you are in the world, "Kerosene" sold in supermarkets is actually off-spec jet fuel with a dye added to distinguish it from water.

- JET-B (a.k.a JP-4, AVTAG) is a 50-50 mix of Jet A and gasoline so he's correct that usage in a kero stove is not recommended - if you can buy it since AFAIK it hasn't been commercially available in years.