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Tractors that burned Distelite

H

Hayfarmer

Well-known Member
I have a new production sign that advertises JD tractors saying they burn low cost fuel. Got me wondering what manufacturer had the first tractor using Kerosene. Also did all makes have models that could use it? I know JD and IH did but not heard of others such as Case, Ford or liver.
 
Waterloo Boy, and Rumley (as well as a wide variety of prari tractors (Twin City, Mogul, Pioneer, etc.) operated on Distillate or Kerosene. Distillate is not the same as Kero, and has (today) far more cost, and issues with running in distillate engines. Distillate (tractor Fuel) is not available so do some research if you decide you need to operate a tractor on Kero. Jim
 
Case offered it as a option for many years until 1955, this DC-3 is a dual fuel tractor, even has all items on and in working condition to use it if I chose to,, she runs very well on premium for the work I do with her
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At one point almost everybody made distillate burning tractors. My great grandpa farmed with a IH W9 distillate burner. JD offered the option all the way to the end of the 2 cylinder production.
 
also to add, distillate needed the engine to be warmed up good so it would burn. plus at the end of the day , or morning you had to drain down the oil pan level. lot of the distillate went past the rings into the oil diluting the oil causing poor lubrication. thats why a lot of those tractors were worn right out. for example you could mix 1/2 diesel and gas in you vehicle and sure it will run... but check the oil level and it will be rising from the unburned diesel going into the pan. on the tractors they had a small gas tank for starting then once up to temp.you switched tanks to burn distillate . it was just a cheap type of fuel before the diesel engines came out. kerosene was a better product and is actually used to thin out jelled up summer blend diesel in the winter. winter blend of diesel has some wax removed to prevent jelling.
 
We had bought a JD a long time ago that had some Distillate in the tank. That was some nasty smelling stuff when it was running on it, since it didn't have that much in it we just filled it up with gas, and only ran gas in it.
 
My 1939 Cat R2 dozer had two tanks--a small one to start on gas and then a transfer valve to the lareer tank with Kerosene in it
 
This 1930 Case model C has two tanks. Rear tank held gasoline for starting and the front bigger tank held distillate for operating after the engine warmed up.
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(quoted from post at 13:03:46 10/08/18) I have a new production sign that advertises JD tractors saying they burn low cost fuel. Got me wondering what manufacturer had the first tractor using Kerosene. Also did all makes have models that could use it? I know JD and IH did but not heard of others such as Case, Ford or liver.
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Keep in mind that gasoline started as a byproduct of kerosene, and was a waste/cheap product. It was one of the selling points of early automobiles. You could make your own distillate on the farm... you just needed a little gas to get her fired up and to clean out the fuel system after use. You can still get tax exemption for distilling your own alcohol for fuel use today... it's a semi legal way to make moonshine, and a good reason for any moonshiner to keep an old tractor around as an alibi.
 
My 1953 DC case still has the extra hole in the hood for the dual tank, but only has the single tank.
 
ALL the early IHC tractors were kerosene burners. Later ones included Titan 10-20, Mogul 8-16, IHC8-16, McCormick-Deering 10-20, 15-30, 22-36, W-40, W-12 Farmall(Regular), Farmalls F-12, F-20 and F-30. When the 1939 tractors (Farmalls A, H and M and associated W-4, W-6 and W-9) were initially either kerosene or distillate with gasoline as a later option except for Farmall A where gasoline was an initial option.
 
(quoted from post at 13:39:30 10/08/18) ALL the early IHC tractors were kerosene burners. Later ones included Titan 10-20, Mogul 8-16, IHC8-16, McCormick-Deering 10-20, 15-30, 22-36, W-40, W-12 Farmall(Regular), Farmalls F-12, F-20 and F-30. When the 1939 tractors (Farmalls A, H and M and associated W-4, W-6 and W-9) were initially either kerosene or distillate with gasoline as a later option except for Farmall A where gasoline was an initial option.
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Distillate was the standard fuel. Kerosene was an option. Gasoline was also an option. The Farmall museum in Avoca, Iowa has a Farmall 450 equipped to burn distillate. Came from the factory that way. It also has a factory installed H4 magneto.

Carburetor parts and carburetor model numbers differ for the distillate, kerosene, and gasoline models.
 
My A/C Model M crawler can be run on Distelite. The exhaust manifold has a part that is reversed to make the intake hotter. I have never used it. Be interesting to try. Stan
 
On my old 1938 G my dad always ran what he referred to as "stove oil" guess that was distillate. He farmed with it and did custom thrashing. He said it would do more work on the stove oil than on gas. I just run gas in it as it is easier and I don't use it very much.
 
Early Allis Chalmers model WC had the distillate manifold and a small tank under the hood...put gas in that, start the tractor, run til warm, switch to distillate.
 
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