Gas Oil

[Jelly]

Is gas oil the same as diesel? I thought it was, and our marina invoices for gas oil at the diesel pump, but many in the marina think that they are two separate products. Anyone know for sure?

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[DepSol]

Marine Gas Oil is different to what is classed as normal Diesel fuel. It is what most large ships run on and has a different weight and specific value to that of Derv.

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[mjf]

Agree - MDO is not clear. MGO is.

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[plombier]

For info the reason that it is called Gas Oil is that, many years ago, the gas industry was the largest user of the stuff and the name stuck. Ironic, eh!!

It is actually 35sec or 28sec fuel oil for boilers, etc and the stuff you may have in the tank in the garden (if you have an oil heating system) does not have the same additives that road diesel does. It's also red in colour which is a bit of a give-away to HM Customs if you try and put it in your road vehicle tank!!!!

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[Jelly]

Having looked at various web sites that show the process for refining crud oil, they show gas/diesel oil as one product, and then heavy gas oil as another. Dont ships run on the heavy stuff when underway and switch to the lighter stuff before stopping in order to start up again?

The stuff I get looks and smells like red diesel, but is invoiced as gas oil.

Thanks...

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[mjf]

The fuel used in ships these days is as follows

For slow speed main engines

IFo Heavy Fuel Oil either 180 or 380 CST - RME 25/RMG 35

The CST 180 is the more refined.

For use by aux engines and for harbour use etc there are basicially 2 gardes


MGO - DMA this is more refined like the stuff we buy for our boats

MDO - DMB this is more opaque and dirty....


Apart from visocity issues the main diiference is the amount of chemical elements that each has contained within.. Sulphur is more and more an issue.


Enough from me as I am sure there are Marine Engineers and Petro-chemical people on this site who will give chapter and verse.....

M

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[Jelly]

Thanks, but not sure what all the acronyms mean. From a simpletons perspective (that'll be me!), should I be worried about being invoiced for gas oil as opposed to diesel?

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[longjohnsilver]

No worries

Almost all the suppliers call it gas oil, both oil companies and marinas.

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[kindredspirit]

To make it simple. Gas Oil is the duty free diesel and Derv is road diesel. That's what appears on the delivery tankers dockets anyway!


Heavy gas oil is a different ball game and isn't on sale in marinas.



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[dickh]

Why does my central heating oil invoice from Shell have "NOT TO BE USED AS ROAD FUEL" stamped all over it? Appears to be clear not coloured red, so can I use it in my car & boat? Should be easy to syphon off a few gallons now and again and should cut my motoring costs considerably!

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[kindredspirit]

Ah! Bung it in! You'll have a real "hot" engine then!







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[[448]]

Your central heating oil is probably kerosine, which is slightly yellow in colour. This will run a diesel engine quite satisfactorily except that it doesn't have any lubricant for the fuel pump, which will wear out quite rapidly.
Cheers, Dave.

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[dickh]

Thanks for the info - I won't use it then, but tempting though is'nt it? - perhaps a 50:50 mix would be OK?

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[kindredspirit]

Yep, 50/50 will work fine although it'll run a little hotter than your ordinary diesel.

(This is with the proviso that you normally drive your car in fields and not on the public road !!! )



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[TrueBlue]

Everybody's going round in circles on this one:-


NOT TO BE USED etc, is just a "label" required by the Petroleum Regulations (or some such); just like "Don't try this at home".

28 sec heating oil = Kerosene; used by most home heating peeps in a reasonable sized house.

35sec: heating oil is Gas Oil, used by owners of large houses, not so usual as burning it creates lots of soot.

Diesel = generic term used by ordinary folk covers Gas Oil, and DERV

DERV = DiEsel for Road Vehicles (Get it?), Gas Oil which has had Road Duty paid on it. Not a term in use by ordinary peeps. I suspect that in time (if not actually now) all DERV will be ULSD (Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel) whether or not it is sold as such in the same way that unleaded petrol is now ULSP. The reason being that refineryies and distribution points are not equipped for a multiplicity of grades of fuel. As a result of ULSD, Gas Oil is likely to be of poorer quality than hitherto.

Clear now??

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Stop what you're doing and wait my signal