Kubota Gas vs Kubota Diesel engine option

[John Joseph McVeigh]

I Love (old School) Diesel Engines. I must say though, that the Steiner I had with the Gas Kubota Engine. was one sweet and smooth running gasser unlike the diesel.

I wonder if those like me that love our diesels give them the benefit of the doubt over gassers because we just love them so much.

One of the reasons that I decided to go with the Model 4500Y over one of the gasoline motors is that, in this age of ethanol, it is easier to store diesel fuel than gasoline without running the risk of carburetor damage. I just had to replace the carb on a Stihl hand-held blower/vac that is less than three years old, despite the fact that I have used gasoline preservative with all of the fuel that the Stihl has burned. Gasoline is like beer. Time on the shelf is not its friend. Diesel does not degrade as quickly as gasoline, especially gasoline laden with ethanol.

 

[Industrial Toys]

One gets spoiled having bulk diesel on site.

 

[buickanddeere]

The Ventrac doesn't operate like your D1105 or RTV. So that is not going to help but thank you anyway.

The Ventrac automatically activates the glow plugs on first turn of the ignition. No special positions required. After about 4 seconds it goes out. I believe most operators turn the key, wait for the glow plug light to go out, start, and then have an engine that will run and not die. Not me.

I've tried cycling the switch on/off several times before turning the engine over to start and that seems to help. Giving it several glow plug cycles before cranking. But it is still cold blooded and sometimes needs at least several tries before it will start and stay running.

Any other thoughts from those with experience operating Ventrac diesels? I did not see any air bubbles in the fuel lines / filter / water separator.

So once get get over your snots about your beloved Ventrak. Have you tried holding the key switch halfway between run and start ?

 

[ChiefBodie]

So once get get over your snots about your beloved Ventrak. Have you tried holding the key switch halfway between run and start ?

Thank you again for your care, concern, and suggestions.

 

[buickanddeere]

Why do people use ethanol fuel in small engines when the alcohol causes problems ?

 

[buickanddeere]

Thank you again for your care, concern, and suggestions.

I did care enough to write and ask if there is a way to hold the glow plugs on while running as the Kubota 1140 allows . As for multi cycling the glow plugs , some designs are susceptible to over heated and burned out glow plugs with re-heats .

 

[Industrial Toys]

Off topic but, a friend in the small engine repair business says he uses only premium (gasoline) fuel that he claims does not have Ethanol. Is this true? That would be too simple a fix.

 

[aczlan]

Off topic but, a friend in the small engine repair business says he uses only premium (gasoline) fuel that he claims does not have Ethanol. Is this true? That would be too simple a fix.

In many cases, premium does not have ethanol in it. I know that since I have switched our gasoline powered small engines to premium only, we have had less issues with fuel storage causing carburetor problems. Granted, we have also been using stabil and seafoam, so who knows what the true cause is.

Aaron Z

 

[Industrial Toys]

Very true. A few years ago I thought that using premium in my small engines was the way to go for the little I need. I was told, and I don't remember why, that I should not. Now, the opposite. Butter will kill ya, eat margarine, now the opposite!

Either 60 minutes or W5 did a piece on fuel grades. Whether it was worth the extra money for the premium. The retards never even checked the octane of the fuel they were using. I once spoke with a tanker driver that said it was not uncommon to put regular in the premium tank on occasion!

 

[buickanddeere]

To listen to some people with small engines and deciding on regular or premium. They act as I if they are saving thousands of dollars a year by using regular instead of premium.
I’ll splurge the cost of a six pack to avoid damage from ethanol and detonation.