Is it time for a gasoline engine tractor?

[buickanddeere]

My Dixie chopper can't hang with my diesel mower in fuel consumption or power. The rated HP is identical and the actual power output isn't much different, but the diesel smokes it in fuel economy. The gas burns about 1.5 gallons per hour and the diesel burns about 1/2 gallon per hour. Diesel is about 2.20 here and ethanol free gas is about 2.60.

I had to look up what a Dixie Chopper is.
There is no way a modern gasser would burn 3 times the fuel to do the same work as a diesel. Unless the gasser was leaking fuel onto the ground.

 

[Redneck in training]

Modern gas engines are way more complicated than modern tractor diesels so I don't know what would you gain. Maintenance nightmare possibly.
On the other hand there is no reason why gasoline engine can't be as efficient as diesel. In example put gas in a diesel. It will not start cold but once started it will run. Most military diesels can run on gas, diesel or kerosene. Direct injection gasoline engines will have compression ratio in range of diesel engines.
I know a guy who works on a diesel engine with CO2 injection. The reasoning is that instead wasting energy by cooling you inject liquid CO2 dropping the temperature while increasing pressure acting on the piston during power stroke. There is a lot of production capacity of CO2 already. Every ammonia fertilizer plant produces CO2, so called clean coal will also produce huge amount of CO2 as waste.

 

[Loadstar]

The ethanol fuel causes huge problems with most low use engines due to phase separation. The water rusts out fuel tanks, corrodes carbs and fuel pumps, sometimes so badly they are not rebuildable.

Am I missing something? I must be the only guy around that does not have these devastating issues. It's getting shovel deep in this thread

 

[daugen]

The ethanol fuel causes huge problems with most low use engines due to phase separation. The water rusts out fuel tanks, corrodes carbs and fuel pumps, sometimes so badly they are not rebuildable.

this was what I was referring to. The gas goes stale/bad if it sits over winter, needs all kinds of doping with Stabil and SeaFoam. I don't remember having to do that thirty years ago... my local repair shop says almost half of their repairs are due to gasoline crud in the lines. Constantly replacing carburetors or putting them in the ultrasonic cleaner. Now if one is ultra careful and drains all tanks when not in use, maybe no problems, but the instructions on most engines now say drain the tank if going to sit for one month.
One month...absurd.

I pay thirty cents more per gallon to get gasoline without ethanol btw.

Just paid fifty bucks for a new carb for my 1968 Cub Cadet under renovation; old one would not flow fuel.
I'm a believer in non ethanol gas.

 

[Loadstar]

It's a miracle! I can absolutely abuse my equipment and not do any gas maintenance and it runs every season. My allis chalmers was leaking rainwater in lid of tank and I was continuously draining water out of sight glass and I still was having less problems. I've had chainsaws sit out all winter in elements and start fine in spring. I'm starting to think many on here do not know how to start or work on equipment and ethanol is an easy excuse. Bottom line is everyone can think it's such a scary terrible idea like in the last thread but now beloved kubota is doing what everyone said would not happen.

 

[Turbys_1700]

The BTU value of diesel is 30% greater than gasoline. Thus the better economy of running diesel. That plus the typical savings per gallon through the years have rendered it a cost savings versus gas. That price difference has flipped in the last few years though and the complexity and maintenance, upkeep, and cost differential of diesel engines specifically in pickup trucks are now harder to justify over gas. I know Kubota is developing gas replacement engines but I don't know if you will see much more movement and development in tractors for gasoline engines. Heck around here we get our pants all wet when we have a thread started about a F150 diesel possibly looming in the future. It is a macho thing with some guys. JMHO

 

[truckdiagnostics]

It is going to come down to $. The same way people that haul something occasionally in there pick up and purchased a diesel and now that it is time to get a new one they are looking at gas. So will go the the tractor. It is just a matter of time. And what becomes available in what will depend on demand.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

My mower has a Kubota diesel in it, I could have got the Kubota gas.

My dealer told me the gas version used a lot more fuel, so I talked to a couple guys that bought the gas version. Both of them said they wished they had bought the diesel and just as the dealer warned me, they said the gas version uses 30 to 50% more fuel...

This is something I've experienced with every gas power "tool" I've owned....then add in the problems "I" have had in the past with todays gas, I knew there's NO WAY I was going "backwards" back into a gas powered tool, especially one I have to depend on!

SR

 

[houstonscott]

Because pretty much EVERY CAR MANUFACTURED SINCE THE 80's HAS RUN ON 10% ETHANOL WITHOUT ISSUES....

You don't park your car for months, I guess you don't have a tractor. HS

 

[buickanddeere]

Modern gas engines are way more complicated than modern tractor diesels so I don't know what would you gain. Maintenance nightmare possibly.
On the other hand there is no reason why gasoline engine can't be as efficient as diesel. In example put gas in a diesel. It will not start cold but once started it will run. Most military diesels can run on gas, diesel or kerosene. Direct injection gasoline engines will have compression ratio in range of diesel engines.
I know a guy who works on a diesel engine with CO2 injection. The reasoning is that instead wasting energy by cooling you inject liquid CO2 dropping the temperature while increasing pressure acting on the piston during power stroke. There is a lot of production capacity of CO2 already. Every ammonia fertilizer plant produces CO2, so called clean coal will also produce huge amount of CO2 as waste.

What ? Take another look . A tier IV gasser is less complex than a Tier IV diesel.