# How to tell gasoline from kerosene?



## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

smell.....pretty obvious.....

also....kerosene will have a slightly oily feel to it.


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## 12penny (Nov 21, 2008)

Couple ways. One is smell...gas smells like gas and kero smells more like diesel fuel. Second is feel...kero has an oily feel to it. Third is flammability...put a thimble full of it in a can and throw a match in it. Gas ignites immediately and kero wont lite before the the match goes out. Theres color too...gas has a yellow tinge to it and kero I think is red. Could be wrong on the color of kero but I think it was red last time I bought it.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Smell, texture (feel) and color. If you have ever been out at a airport, you will find out very quickly, that all they burn in airplanes for the engines & apu's, is Kerosene.


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

gregzoll said:


> Smell, texture (feel) and color. *If you have ever been out at a airport, you will find out very quickly, that all they burn in airplanes for the engines & apu's, is Kerosene*.


Ayuh,.... Only in Jet engines,....

Prop planes burn AVGas,... Which is Hi-octane Gasoline...

I agree with the above posts, Smell is the test I use...

'n, No, a gallon of kerosene in 15 gallons of gasoline, won't hurt the motor...


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## 747 (Feb 11, 2005)

Smell kerosine has a oily smell.


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## Toller (Jan 2, 2013)

My wife says they both smell like gasoline to her.
I tossed matches in both and both caught. Kerosene is supposed to put the match out.
I guess they are both gasoline.

Maybe one has stabilizer in it and the other doesn't, which causes the difference in color and the what I smell. I donno.

Right now I have two small cups out in the wind and sun; gasoline is supposed to evaporate and kerosene is supposed to just sit there. We will see if there is a difference.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

put some on your fingers....if it evaporates quickly....gas....if it stays....not gas


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## oldhouseguy (Sep 7, 2011)

Toller said:


> My wife says they both smell like gasoline to her.
> I tossed matches in both and both caught. Kerosene is supposed to put the match out.
> I guess they are both gasoline.
> 
> ...


You dont need cups to do this, just a drop of each and you should be able to see it happen pretty quickly or not.

In DIY fashion, I would like to suggest that you send both to a lab in order to be certain, and make sure you get a permit!!!


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

What the heck put it in your car and forget about it that small an amount you will never know the diff.


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## Nailbags (Feb 1, 2012)

Just a FYI when I was young I found out you can run Diesel in a gas engine not gas in a diesel. Kerosene is a step above diesel. and it would not hurt your car But don't make it a habit


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## InspectorZo (Apr 19, 2013)

*Lol*

Maybe it's just me on a lazy sunday afternoon is sunny SoCal. I'm sipping on a Firestone Brown Ale and finding this entire thread very funny to read... twice!
Great post! :thumbsup:

InspectorZo


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## Toller (Jan 2, 2013)

InspectorZo said:


> Maybe it's just me on a lazy sunday afternoon is sunny SoCal. I'm sipping on a Firestone Brown Ale and finding this entire thread very funny to read... twice!
> Great post! :thumbsup:
> 
> InspectorZo


I am pretty sure it is just you. But I am certainly glad you are amused.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

In my opinion you've done a wise thing by asking. As mentioned a half gallon of kerosine in your car probably won't hurt anything. As a matter of fact with the price of it your car should be honored.

For future reference for you and others in doubt on matters of this nature your fire department is usually a very good reference and glad to assist.


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## frenchelectrican (Apr 12, 2006)

Nailbags said:


> Just a FYI when I was young I found out you can run Diesel in a gas engine not gas in a diesel. Kerosene is a step above diesel. and it would not hurt your car But don't make it a habit


It depending on the mixure level between the gazoline and diesel fuel for each type of engines.

For Diesel engines : they can run pretty good batch of gazoline with diesel fuel but it will run like crap and loose alot of power plus hevey knocking and a hint ., harder starting as well. 

But burn staight gazoline useally don't work very well due super hard to start and it will run super rough. 

For Gazoline engine : they can burn diesel fuel again depending on the fuel mixure if very little diesel or kenorsne it don't bother too much on carburated motours but fuel injection some case it will not affect too much but for some it will just clog up the nozzle(s)

But run staight diesel fuel on gazoline motour useally kill it most of the time unless you have very high carbon on the pistion then it will run like convental diesel engine until you manually shut the fuel source off or choke the air supply ( they can get much hotter than gazoline and can melt the pistion ) 

Now in State side I know most common Kenornse useally are either dyed or undyed depending on where ya get it from and it will feel oily feel on it and it will stay " wet " longer than gazoline will be and gazoline will make your skin feel more dryer after it dry up.

Merci,
Marc


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

From the "Believe It or Not" column: Back in the mid-60's we, who were barely old enough to drive legally, would mix about a half-gallon of either diesel or kerosene into a half tank of gas in our late '50's-early '60's cars to help lubricate the "top end". This would be the rocker arms, valve stem seals, and to help clean out some of the sludge. The cars smoked a bit before all of the diesel or kero was burnt out but it did run better in the long run.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

When I was a long haul driver in the winter when it would get _really cold the diesel fuel would gel up so we would add a couple gallons of gas to a hundred gallon tank to keep us running._


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## shad182 (Nov 29, 2015)

The "add to a full gas tank in your car" is the best thing, instead of agonizing over it.


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## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

shad182 said:


> The "add to a full gas tank in your car" is the best thing, instead of agonizing over it.


I think it has all evaporated in the last 2.5 years.


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## Hug. (May 24, 2021)

12penny said:


> Couple ways. One is smell...gas smells like gas and kero smells more like diesel fuel. Second is feel...kero has an oily feel to it. Third is flammability...put a thimble full of it in a can and throw a match in it. Gas ignites immediately and kero wont lite before the the match goes out. Theres color too...gas has a yellow tinge to it and kero I think is red. Could be wrong on the color of kero but I think it was red last time I bought it.


 red in canada but in usa clear


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

I think it has been resolved in 8 years.


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## ekperaphael (May 18, 2021)

If you have both fluids, smell them. Smell is an easy way to tell the difference. Gasoline has a much stronger odor than kerosene oil. However, odor alone is not sufficient in distinguishing which is which, but it can be a tentative guideline.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

deleted


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## hbg1990 (May 27, 2021)

Interesting query! I work on oil tankers, moving refined product from place to place in the GOM, and i can tell you that a little residual kerosene isnt going to hurt anything. it might slightly change its API and Flash Point, but what i can tell you is that on a spectrum Gasoline is very volitile with a flash point well in the negatives, wheres as kerosene is well above that. thats why Gasoline evaportes, if you put gasoline in a kerosene jug, its going to cancel out the kerosene. they also get catogorized by the Coast guard under the same Miscallaneous Hydrocarbon products, so very compatible.


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## Ronnie833 (Jan 9, 2021)

Why would you want to put it in your car? Just to save a few bucks? Kero would be okay for a diesel engine, but not okay for a gas engine. The best case scenario is you save $5 worth of gas. The worst case scenario is you end up with $100’s worth of repairs to your car. My advice is that if you’re not sure what it is, open the can and let it evaporate away. That’s the best way to get rid of it. Well, that’s the ONLY way to get rid of it.


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## FirebirdHank (Jan 31, 2021)

SeniorSitizen said:


> .
> For future reference for you and others in doubt on matters of this nature your fire department is usually a very good reference and glad to assist.


If you call the fire dept. and tell them you have a container of flammable liquid and don't know what to do with it they will probably show up with a couple of trucks sirens blaring in hazmat suits and evacuate the entire block. 
If you are sure it is one or the other do as recommended by others and just add it to a full tank and burn it up. It will not hurt anything.
I think it as federal law that gasoline be put only in red containers and kerosene be in blue containers only.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Apr 21, 2013 (Edited)


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

I guess we're gonna resurrect the thread anyway, huh?

Go ahead and put gas in a diesel truck. Be sure to make an audio/video tape when you crank it, up to the point that it revs beyond its capabilities and pistons come through the hood. We'll wait.


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