Is it time for a gasoline engine tractor?

[daugen]

Earlier I asked about torque. Here are gas engines with the horsepower for this segment,
but would twins last? My gut says no.
A straight four or even a three. Ford is selling turbo threes now...

CH1-31
EH99D-S11

if we agree that gas engines could be a reasonable alternative, then in today's market, which ones? Who currently makes
four cylinder engines that meet all emissions standards? Geez, will it need a catalytic converter?...

 

[buickanddeere]

I'm told running biodiesel can smell like popcorn.
while I believe there is nothing like the smell of diesel in the morning,
popcorn would be ok...

what is the cost difference between Number 2 and biodiesel? More than one type/grade of biodiesel I assume too.
Now if you also owned a restaurant, you could use your old cooking oil after some good filtering.

Those older tractors with the large propane tanks; could they stay out in the fields all day? For most of what most of us do, as not "real" farmers, capacity not much of an issue. And I already have a big propane tank on the property. There are some small handtools that run on those camping propane bottles. Since you can't recycle them, or get them refilled, seems an odd solution. But...I think the propane powered hand tools and small mower were a direct result of gasoline powered equipment not starting. I think the gasoline issue may be more of an issue in the Northern states where mowers, weedeaters, etc get used for a smaller portion of the year. Then they sit.

what there should be is a law where all gas engines have to have a fuel shutoff. Then you could run them dry easily, though I've read that's not a cure-all either.

For point of discussion, could we all agree to comparing gas and diesel for a 50hp CUT? Something most of us might have?
Could the best source of proven gas engines for long term use be the engines they use in propane generators, which are converted car engines?

And don't tractors normally have inline engines versus V for compactness? I know Cat 3208's were used in tractors, maybe not for long, of course no engine could be wider than the tires on a tractor... So what inline gas engines are we thinking of? Are we ready for gas turbo fours in our tractors?

With both my tractor and my diesel lawn mower I have to wear ear protection or it's just really tiring after an hour or two.
Would be nice to have a quieter alternative. But not as nice as good performance and much better fuel economy.

Would be nice to see some stats on tractors currently offered with both gas and diesel in the same hp, and see what
today's real world is like, not what many of us remember from 30 or 40 years ago.

Given that the world outside of North America prices diesel 10%-40% cheaper than gasoline. Manufactures who think global are not going to build gas tractors and eliminate themselves from the majority of the world market. As long as north American and western Europe CUT tractor purchasers will pay extra for Tier IV/Tier V diesel emissions. And NA & west Europe CUT customers will continue to pay for the Tier IV emissions as there is no way to revolt or repeal the EPA standards.
Manufactures are reluctant to invest in Tier IV/Tier V gas CUT as it's such a small market. If crude oil stays cheap this will lower the cost of ULSD and keep it about par with gasoline . Of course if crude returns to the prices of the past decade, ULSD will once again be 20%-30% more $$$ than gasoline.

 

[buickanddeere]

Yes, that's not an issue here either. Several stations handle off road diesel. I've got a 50 gallon tank with a pump I utilize on the back of my truck to fill with off road diesel.

Any gas stations sell dyed off road gasoline which would be cheaper ?

 

[pmsmechanic]

I don't know how it is in the US but here in Alberta most people don't run their small engines on off road fuel even if they have access to it. It seems to be a poorer quality fuel and the dye leads to carburetor problems.

I had one customer that bought a used truck wonder why his used oil looked so red after an oil change. Turns out he bought the truck from a farmer. There are some farmers here locally that won't used dyed gas in any gas engine on the farm even though it's .09/liter, .34/US gallon cheaper.

This has been my experience with dyed fuel. Your experiences might be different.

 

[aircommuter]

If you have never experienced phase separation with ethanol fuel then you haven't let you fuel sit long enough or you live in a very dry region or you have sealed fuel systems.
Lew Gibbs, a senior engineering consultant at Chevron, worries that leaving a few gallons of gasoline might attract enough condensation to cause phase separation. If that were to happen, the highly corrosive ethanol/water mixture would settle to the bottom of the tank and would remain there even after the fresh fuel was added in the spring.

 

[buickanddeere]

If you have never experienced phase separation with ethanol fuel then you haven't let you fuel sit long enough or you live in a very dry region or you have sealed fuel systems.
Lew Gibbs, a senior engineering consultant at Chevron, worries that leaving a few gallons of gasoline might attract enough condensation to cause phase separation. If that were to happen, the highly corrosive ethanol/water mixture would settle to the bottom of the tank and would remain there even after the fresh fuel was added in the spring.

That thar be why small, seasonal use equipment here is either fueled with 100LL or 91/94 octane premium with no ethanol.

 

[paulfun9]

Yeah and carbs can be setup to run in exactly two places in the power band. Sorry but it's EFI for me, more power, less fuel etc. etc. etc. Installing a carb with so much EFI gear out there is downright next to stoopid. Why you may as well get a mule.

You really don't understand carbs very well do You? Carb technology is much better than that but to match fuel injection it becomes cost prohibitive not impossible.

 

[aircommuter]

Do you have efi on your roto-tiller, lawn mower, chainsaw, etc.?
I think think 100ll is good way to protect those low use engines. Can you imagine the cost and danger involved with have e10 in your wet wing aircraft. I flew to work in my wet wing aircraft for ten years and after the what was happening to my generators like a Honda, new fuel tank 160.00, paving machine, fuel pump 120.00 and new carburettor 125.00 and (both were corroded beyond rebuilding), I cannot imagine that stuff in my wings.

 

[sixdogs]

That thar be why small, seasonal use equipment here is either fueled with 100LL or 91/94 octane premium with no ethanol.

I don't understand 91/94 octane premium. If that's just premium gas, doesn't that have ethanol in it as well? I'm not sure but thought it does here in Ohio.

 

[Fordman1981]

I don't understand 91/94 octane premium. If that's just premium gas, doesn't that have ethanol in it as well? I'm not sure but thought it does here in Ohio.

Depends on the station and the area. We can get 91/93 with or without ethanol same for 87 octane.