quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
No advice, but I just wanted to say that when I was in Durango CO a couple of years ago I found a station that sold 100% Pure Gas, no Ethanol.(very rare in Colorado).

Right next to it was an identical fuel pump, same as any other gas station pump, except it had a large sign on it that had KEROSENE printed on it. Price per gallon was a lot cheaper than going to some store and buying Kerosene in individual containers.

You just brought in your containers and filled them up. I thought that was awesome.

I've got a pic but I can't get the pic posting working. Bah!
.

Not sure how common it is, but that's how my dad got our kerosene. I didn't even realize they sold it in stores until much later.

One thing worth mentioning that I haven’t seen in the threads.

Some kerosene sold through service station/convenience stores is dyed red.
Back in the day (to combat road use with truck diesels), the government required that some kerosene would be dyed red so any offending truck owners could be caught. The red color indicated non-taxable fuel and, if you were caught with it, there would have been trouble.

It is said that the red dye makes kerosene not burn as well and creates more odors in heaters/lamps. (From my experience you can certainly see the red dye in the wicks afterwards).
I also still use vintage Optimus and Coleman Kerosene lanterns and only use K-1 clear. (We found red buildup on the generators when dyed kerosene was used).
We still keep some of the Aladdin Mantle kerosene lamps for emergencies (which are still pretty interesting and put out significant light) and you can see that red dye kerosene residue on the mantles and wicks. Not good. Here's a nice clean one in use-



That is why it is best to find the K-1 clear and avoid using the red dye variety in heaters or lamps.

You can find K-1 clear pumps at service station/convenience/co-op/farm stores and you can locate these stores with clear kerosene online.
BTW, the pump-sold clear K-1 is significantly cheaper than canned K-1 sold in stores.