Jet fuel vs diesel fuel

[ALehman]

I have a 1986 volkswagen jetta turbo diesel and my boss just gave me 110 gallons of good clean jet fuel (jet A). I'm and aircraft mechanic. I want to run it in the jetta but have some concerns. Along time back I ran it in my 94 CTD with no problems but that was after I found a post that said the p-7100 pumps could run on diesel based fuel such as diesel, kerosene, home heating oil, and jet fuel because the pump was lubricated by engine oil, not the fuel itself. The jetta's pump is lubricated by fuel. Now would some one agree that I could mix jet fuel with diesel fuel or run it straight or just add fuel treatment to the jet fuel to increase the lubricating properties of the fuel.

 

[TBartlett1]

If you run straight Jet A it will damage the pump you definitely need a lubricity additive. What to use and how much I do not know.

Mixing it 50/50 with diesel also would not work as todays diesel fuel is marginal.

 

[AABEN]

You might try some out board motor oil TCW3 1oz per gal. If it was me I would go with 2oz to start with to be on the safe side. I thank jet fuel has less oil . Try here www.mopar1973man.com

 

[BHanna]

I've read that Stanadyne was developed for the military so they could run diesel trucks on JP-8 jet fuel.

 

[Grizzly]

I don't believe it's worth the risk.

 

[WDixon27]

i ran a tank or two through mine and noticed less smoke and a little less power, it is definitely not the same as diesel but i think the p7100 would run the truck on chunks of bacon and still be happy

 

[ALehman]

This year at work we did a diesel conversion on a cessna 182 which runs on jet fuel. I was told that if you ran diesel fuel it would burn a hole in the piston because of the higher engery content of diesel compared to jet A. I think the bosch pump which looked identical to a p-7100 but 4 cyl was oil lubricated. Anyways most airports run there diesel ground equipment on jet a thats drained from jets. I don't know, i guess mix it with the diesel I got and then just dump a gallon or so of fuel conditioner in to aid in lubricating.

 

[fest3er]

You might try some out board motor oil TCW3 1oz per gal. If it was me I would go with 2oz to start with to be on the safe side. I thank jet fuel has less oil . Try here www.mopar1973man.com

Like 4-stroke lube oil, 2-stroke oil has lots of additives. The only oil I would use in fuel would be straight, base oil with no additives, and then only if I absolutely had to.



Jet fuel has no additives. Remember that spate of failed pumps back when ULSD was first on the market? Refiners could not include additives in the fuel they sent down the pipelines, because they use the same pipes for jet fuel which cannot have additives. And some distributors were not adding adequate amounts of lubricity if they were adding any.



On the frivolous side, if you really want to use the JetA in the car,

• mix one part to 3-4 parts #2 (i. e. , 3 gal. JetA to 12-15 gal. #2),
  
• double-dose the whole tank with a commercial lubricity enhancer,
  
• sacrifice a few rodents to your mouser,
  
• cross your fingers,
  
• pray to your god, whether you conceive him as Hairy Thunderer, Cosmic Muffin, or some other entity, and
  
• (optional) play Johnny Mathis' song, "Chances Are", repeatedly on the VW's stereo.

As old as it is, you probably owe the car more than it owes you, so let it pass in a blaze of glory: full tank of JetA, double-dosed with lubricity enhancer. Also make a few passes at the local drag strip (before on #2 and after on JetA) and post the results here; it'd be interesting to know the actual power and performance difference between JetA and #2.



Click here to address the serious aspect. JetA is akin to, but different from, #1 oil (kerosene). It has a lot of sulphur. So you get to decide if mixing it the same as you would mix kero in your fuel is 'safe' for your 23-year-old car. Were it mine, I'd run a 50-50 mix with a double-dose of lubricity enhancer and not think twice about it.

 

[PVanderlugt]

As said above, Stanadyne makes an additive developed for the militairy for just that purpose. I have the same availability as you, lots of free Jet A available, I normally mix it 50/50 with 20% biodiesel that I buy at the co-op. I has been proven over and over again that biodiesel as low as 2% has superior lubrication. Put many gallons thru my VP equipped 5. 9 that way with no ill affects. Enjoy the free gas and don't worry about it.
Pete

 

[Ereynolds72]

Aside from there being 110gal of free fuel, what is to be gained by burning JetA? More power?

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Aside from there being 110gal of free fuel, what is to be gained by burning JetA? More power?

I would think that several hundred dollars of FREE fuel is reward enough - even with the required couple of gallons of lubricity additive or Biofuel... :-laf

 

[bheiting]

You might try reading the owners manual. If that doesn't answer your question,
VW must have a customers assistance tech line like Cummins.

 

[PVanderlugt]

Aside from there being 110gal of free fuel, what is to be gained by burning JetA? More power?

Actually a little less power, and a little loss of milage as well, but who cares, it's FREE

Pete

 

[Buffalo]

A few years ago, at May Madness in Parumph, NV. , I attended a seminar given by the Las Vegas Bosch repair facility Rep. Part of his talk had to do with the lack of lubricity in the new ULSD fuels & how to address the problem. As an example, he mentioned that all the diesel equipment at McCarron(sp. ) Airport, in Las Vegas, used Jet Fuel that was additized with Stanadyne Lubricity Formula & they have had no problems with that mixture.



You might want to get ahold of Stanadyne & see what they have to say. They build fuel injection pumps & have a lot of experience with diesel related stuff. They could probably tell you exactly what ratio of lubricity formula to mix with the jet fuel.



From what I've heard, it doesn't sound like it should be much of a problem.



Joe F.

 

[ALehman]

Just found this online brochure

www.stanadyne.com/docs/.../99549 Additive Brochure.pdf

It mentions jet fuel so i'll go and pick some of the lubricity formula up and try it.

 

[ALehman]

N/M try this one
http://www.stanadyne.com/docs/puba/99549 Additive Brochure.pdf

 

[Adventure Bob]

We run straight JP-8 (milspec Jet-A) in everything that takes diesel in the Air Force.

Not sure of hte diff in Jet A and Jp-8 but it cant be that far off.

 

[WDaniels]

The best way to understand JetA is that it is alot like #1 diesel or JP4. Less BTU content per gallon and dryer. It also has lots higher distallates like benezines and all that stuff. Jet B is more like #2 diesel. Both the jet fuels have anti jelling and moisture additives in them. JP8 has almost no higher distallates in the fuel making it harder to ignite. Because of its lack of higher distallates its flash point is 204 degrees while Jet A is around 194 or 5. JP8 will gell at -58 because of its lack of higher distallates(sp). When we get to 50 to 55 below at base the pilots have to check with Metro(weather) to make sure that it doesn't get so cold that they risk a flame out. If we have a bird that has to go, they will bring it inside over night and "hanger launch" it the next day. Once they get in the air, it warms up,( if you call -28 to -35 below warm) and it isn't an issue anymore.

WD