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 | blizzard
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 282 Central Maine 
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2003-08-09 61398
I'm getting an L3130HST.
Anyone got any info as to fuel economy. What I mean is how many gallons per hour do you think you use for:
1)Loader work
2)Mowing
3)Woods work
4)Brush cutting
5)PTO Auxilliary ( generator, woodsplitter, pump, etc.
6)Snowblowing
7)JFA ( having fun using my tractor at some possibly useful task)
I'm asking 'cause I would like to prepare myself for the cost of a fuel tank here where it is not easy to get to town. Espcially in Winter. Figures you give don't have to be EXACT, just a seat-of-the-pants educated guess.
Thanks in advance,
bliz
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 | Hillslider
Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 8 WV
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2003-08-09 61405
Well congrats on your soon to be purchase. I am a new owner of a L3130HST and there is nothing better than that little tractor. The only thing I have really used it for is brush cutting with a 5' mower and some back blading on the driveway. I can tell you that the longest I used it at one time was when I first got it. Mowed all of my 10 acres of property. I went slow to really enjoy her. I used about 3/4 of the tank.....about 6 hours of use. I now have 36 hrs on her and have used only about 25 gal of fuel. For me I have just been using 5 Gallon cans......but from what I here this is hard to do with a FEL. I would love to get one of those fuel caddys with a built in pump and hose but they are big bucks and CFO says no. CFO said maybe after the new baby is born I can have some more toys! So until then I will lug the cans around. ....
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 | jeff r
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 428 burton. michigan
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2003-08-09 61409
Hillslider,
Get a nice 55 gal drum from a local body shop that had automotive paint thinner in it. That will be a clean barrel for diesel fuel. Then get yourself a nice rotary fill pump with hose and you will be all set. Just saw a rotary pump for a 55 gal barrel bung at Harbor Freight for 9.97 reg 19.97. Looks like it will do the job cheap. Now you can get the fuel oil guy to home deliver to you or use your front loader to put it into your pick-up truck or trailer. A 55 gallon weighs about 450 pounds filled based on 8 pounds per gallon. 55 gallons of fuel sitting around is plenty for what you need. You can add to it by 5 gallons at a time at your convenience if your fuel oil guy doesn't do 50 gallon orders.
Jeffr ....
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 | Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York 
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2003-08-10 61421
You might go to the dealer that you bought your tractor from. We fill enough tractors in a year to have an extra 50 drums or so. Often in the surrounding counties we sell them for 5. per for burning barrels. If a customer asked that just bought a new tractor from me I'd just be asking which one would you like! We also are getting quite a few 35 gallon drums now which are quite manageable. I might recommend those so not to have to much winter, summer concentrations left over. ....
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| blizzard
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 282 Central Maine
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2003-08-10 61446
Thanks for the info.
I must be suffering trom the dreaded CRS 'cause when I was at the dealer last week he offered some free pallets to store my attachments on. I never thought to ask about empty drums! Oh well, another trip down I guess.
bliz ....
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 | Neophyte
Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 13 ME
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2003-08-11 61482
Can you use standard home heating oil in diesel tractors, generators, etc.? This would be home heating oil for an inside tank and not an outside tank. I have always thought about putting a spout on one of my 275 gallon tanks to fill fuel cans, etc. Obviously, I would need to put a lock on this spout so kids can't open it and fill my basement with heating oil.
What is the difference between home heating oil (inside tanks), home heating oil (outside tanks) and diesel fuel at a gas station, besides the taxes?
....
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 | F350Lawman
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 411 Goshen, NY
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2003-08-11 61484
"What is the difference between home heating oil (inside tanks), home heating oil (outside tanks) and diesel fuel at a gas station, besides the taxes?
My home heating oil bill says Diesel #2. The only difference is they put red dye in it so that the authorities know it is untaxed. ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-08-11 61498
Inside furnace oil usually is #2 diesel and outside oil usually is close to #1 diesel in cold areas. #2 diesel will gel but #1 won't in most places. I use mostly #1 disel in my tractor during the worst parts of winter. #1 diesel also is called stove oil since heavier oil doesn't work well in stoves.
In the past there may have been an issue of the standards used to handle and store fuel sold for furnaces and for diesels but any distinction likely is history now. You might ask your oil distributor, but the answer likely would be that off-road diesel and furnace oil comes from the same place. Outside oil likely is closer to #1 and also has less btu's and produces a bit less power.Tax is the main difference. Taxed fuel probably has a lower sulfur content if that's an issue. If inside oil is used in a cold climate, anti-gel additive should be used.
....
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| blizzard
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 282 Central Maine
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2003-08-11 61499
I looked up the MSDS sheet for #2 fuel oil at www hess com.
One line caught my attention:
SYNONYMS: #2 Heating Oil; 2 Oil; Off-road Diesel Fuel
BUT there are some differences in #2 fuel, Diesel, Marine Diesel, Off Road Diesel, mostly relating to "special additives" ,and of course amount of sulfur. Also diesel has a flash point greater than 125F, fuel oil, kero, JP-A around 100. This could be a safety problem.
Home heating oil for outside storage has additives to lower the 'cloud point' and pour point for low temperature use. One site said their diesel was formulated to have a Cold Filter Plug Point below -25F.
JP-4 contains benzine (very hazardous) and has a flash point from -30F to 10F which puts it close to gasoline (-40F) in flammability.
FYI, Flash Point of a liquid is determined by heating a liquid and measuring its temperature when a small open flame will ignight the vapors just above the liquid and cause a 'flash' Continuous burning usually occurs at a (very) slightly higher temp.
I guess there are 'Industry Standards' that fuels have to meet.
If you buy reasonably fresh diesel or off-road diesel or Special diesel or Marine diesel your machine should run fine.
If the standards change, you will be aware of the changes, either from the machine manufacturer, fuel supplier, or the news (TractorPoint) .
This is not true if you use a 'replacement' fuel.
Add a quality diesel fuel conditioner and change the filters at the recommended intervals. Unless you use a lot of fuel, can you justify the cost of downtime/repair versus fuel savings?
I probably should post this in the fuel forum, but the thread is here (; bliz ....
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| F350Lawman
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 411 Goshen, NY
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2003-08-11 61507
Call the company. I'll bet you they will tell you it is #2 diesel that alltheir indoor customers receive.
I think what others on here have said is true, the distinction is a thing of the past. It is cheaper for them to have one product and add dye.
If you check other forums there are countless people running the stuff in everything from big trucks to little diesel generators. The "legality" is another issue :) but I have never seen a post where equipment was harmed. I also had a friend who commuted everyday about 160 miles roundtrip in a Mercedes diesel it never saw anything but home heating oil and had over 200,000 miles. ....
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| blizzard
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 282 Central Maine
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2003-08-11 61514
I hadn't thought of it in those terms F350Lawman, but I do see it would really simplify their inventory.
Thanks for the info,
bliz ....
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 | Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-08-11 61516
I think Art hit on the easiest solution. Get 3 or 4 35 gallon drums and take them to a local petroleum distributor or Coop. They are pretty managible, you can move them around with a hand truck. That is how I move mine and my 55 gal. drum of engine oil. I also mounted a 55 gal. fuel tank to a shop wagon. I take them the a local Shell petroleum distributor on a trailer and fill them up. I paid 95 cents a gal. last fill up. They said they would deliver for 5 cents a gallon. Some places may deliver it for free if you buy a minimum amount. If the CFO is not up for a pump and filter, you can still buy a squeeze bulb type siphon hose (like the fuel hose for an outboard boat motor and gas tank) into the 5 gal. cans. I definitely agee with the climbing up on the tractor to refuel it. Kind of a pain in the butt and helps to build those arm muscles! ;-) With the fuel tank and pump I have about 12 ft. of hose and a gas station type pump nozzle that I can hold the nozzle and the wife works the pump lever. If I mover the pump real close the tractor, I think I can both work the pump and nozzle at the same time. Tractor Supply Center has all the stuff for setting up a tank, pump, and filter. I have pictures of my tank, pump, & filter saved to my profile if anyone is interested. I would add a note of caution. If you do decide to go with a tank, drum, etc of fuel; make sure you add a good fuel additive, a microbiocide, and fuel stabilizer or buy only enough fuel that you could reasonably use in a season. If you let the fuel set for too long, it will go bad . When I bought the tank I have now; the owner had 55 gal. of fuel in it that had been setting for at least 2 years or more. He pumped the tand empty before he sold it to me and put the fuel in his dozer. The dozer would barely run with that fuel and he had to remove it and replace the fuel filters and then it ran fine. He ended up using the bad fuel to burn tree stump piles. I also noticed that little beastie's were growing in the tank when I looked inside it. That is why I added the microbiocide. Having the filter on the tank and pump also allows me to recurculate the fuel through the filter periodically and and ensure it is clean and the additives are thouorghly mixed. ....
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| Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2003-08-11 61525
You DO NOT run kerosene straight in a diesel engine as many of the injection pumps use the fuel oil for lubrication!!!! Or just send me a check for $1500. and we'll help you get your nose back!!! ....
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| F350Lawman
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 411 Goshen, NY
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2003-08-11 61530
"the wife works the pump lever"
Keep it up Chief, she'll approve the electric pump SOON. Run everything to EMPTY then fill the truck, the tractor and whatever else you have and then start dropping hints :) ....
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| Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-08-11 61535
Art is definitely correct about the Kerosene. The John Deere 4710's I ordered for the 101st Airborne all run off of straight JP-8 (Jet A-1) but they use the John Deere Summer foumula fuel additive which has a good pump lubricant in it. The only reason they burn JP-8 is for fuel standardization and simplification of fuel inventory. It is the DOD Single Fuel for the Battle Field concept. Although a diesel will run off of these fuels, the engine does not make as much power as the Kerosene based fuels are less dense and have a lower btu content than #2 diesel. ....
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| Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-08-11 61537
I would do the pump lever but the wife is not really keen about getting diesel fuel on her so she does the honors. It is not that bad. Only ten gallons at a time and the pump does about a half gallon each stroke. ....
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 | Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2003-08-11 61538
Although it looks a little akward and dicey to me the fellow up the road from me has a rather unique solution for filling his FEL-equipped CUT from a 55 gal. drum.
He got a pipe 'reducer' fitting that fit the larger of the 2 openings which stepped it down to 1.5" then threaded a pipe down inside to almost the bottom of the drum and a 12 hose equipped with a trigger nozzle that was intended as a replacement unit for an electric fuel pump on the outside. The second hole was fitted with a 'vacuum breaker' vent cap which allows air in, but not fuel back out.
All he does is stand up the drum full of fuel in the bucket, then straps it in using binder straps to the hooks he has mounted on the top of the bucket. The hose is tied along one loader arm with bungey cords. When the drum is about 6 feet up he rolls the bucket back slightly, opens the fuel filler cap and squeezes the nozzle trigger and taa-daa, gravity does the rest.
IMHO, it seems, as I said in the beginning, a little bit risky, but he claims it is perfectly safe since he is never UNDER the raised loader, and the machine is off and the parking brake is engaged.
Best of luck. ....
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 | DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2003-08-11 61540
Cheif.... now you have me thinking. I have several hundred gallons of home heating oil in an underground tank. The fuel is two years old cause the furnace died last year and we just went to wood heat.
I bought a 12 volt transfer pump and planned to start using it to run the tractor.
Maybe not such a good idea? ....
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| Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-08-11 61542
Mark, I would try running a tank of fresh diesel and then a tank of the stuff you have in the heating oil tank to see if there is a difference. My suspicion is that there probably will be. I am like you, I'd hate to waste the fuel oil. You may be able to get away with mixing it with fresh diesel and put some cetane raising additive in it. When my friend put that 2 year old diesel in his dozer, he said it ran like crap, so bad in fact that he initially thought the filters were stopped up. He replaced the filters and it still ran bad and would not make much power. When he replaced the fuel with fresh fuel, it ran good as new. Come to mention it, he said the engine did not sound right. He wear ear muffs so I am not sure if it sounded louder but he said he could definitely notice a difference. ....
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| Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-08-11 61545
Mark, I would try running a tank of fresh diesel and then a tank of the stuff you have in the heating oil tank to see if there is a difference. My suspicion is that there probably will be. I am like you, I'd hate to waste the fuel oil. You may be able to get away with mixing it with fresh diesel and put some cetane raising additive in it. When my friend put that 2 year old diesel in his dozer, he said it ran like crap, so bad in fact that he initially thought the filters were stopped up. He replaced the filters and it still ran bad and would not make much power. When he replaced the fuel with fresh fuel, it ran good as new. Come to mention it, he said the engine did not sound right. He wear ear muffs so I am not sure if it sounded louder but he said he could definitely notice a difference. ....
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| F350Lawman
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 411 Goshen, NY
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2003-08-11 61548
"Only ten gallons at a time and the pump does about a half gallon each stroke."
Not bad, I wouldn't bother with electric either.
....
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