Diesel motors are great...but?

[John_Mc]

Is the fuel jelling at altitude a problem? Last time I checked it gets cold at the altitudes most commercial jet fly and standard diesel fuel wouldn't flow at those temperatures.

Jet fuel is very similar to diesel (actually, it's probably closer to a very clean kerosene). All th ediesel engines presently in use will also burn Jet Fuel (some are certified to run ONLY on jet fuel)

 

[MossRoad]

Is the fuel jelling at altitude a problem? Last time I checked it gets cold at the altitudes most commercial jet fly and standard diesel fuel wouldn't flow at those temperatures.

I doubt it. An aviation diesel would run on jet fuel. Jets fly every day at well over 30,000' so I doubt jelling will be an issue. The fuel is treated to prevent it. Jet fuel is very, very similar to home heating oil at twice the price! As I recall, it lacks the lubrication properties of diesel fuel or something like that, so that would have to be addressed as would a microbiocidal fungicide and anti-icing additives. That's all I remember from my years of working at airports refueling planes. :laughing:

The reasons people are thinking about diesel airplane engines is because in other parts of the world, the only fuel commonly available is diesel fuel. Gasoline is less common and 100 low lead (AV gas) is very hard to come by. And there's always talk of the EPA doing away with leaded fuels like 100LL here in the states.

Also, diesels are most commonly liquid cooled, so that's even more added weight. I'd see a move to turbines happening well before a move to diesel piston engines if gasoline engines are phased out. Turbines are smaller, lighter and more powerful pound for pound. That's what you want in an aircraft, I'd think.

 

[gwstang]

"That's all I remember from my years of working at airports refueling planes. "

Did you ever have the hot rod guys come by for the aviation fuel? I remember reading that some really liked that stuff for going to the track and drag racing.

 

[gwstang]

I've really enjoyed reading the different views on this! :thumbsup: Never ceases to amaze me how diverse a group and knowledgeable people there are on these forums!

 

[PILOON]

My tractor likes running on Jet fuel!

Back a number of years when I was in aviation I occasionally could get 45 gal drums of jet fuel from when they'd work on a fuel tank.
Filtering was a must as those were the last gallons drained and by law they never re load the drained fuel..

Those last gals were very susceptible to contain some water as well as debris.
Jet fuel is after all basically kerosene. Some guys added a qt of oil for lubrication.

 

[MossRoad]

"That's all I remember from my years of working at airports refueling planes. "

Did you ever have the hot rod guys come by for the aviation fuel? I remember reading that some really liked that stuff for going to the track and drag racing.

Yes. Many people liked the 100 octane in high compression engines. It was low lead, so back then, they added a lead additive. I used to run it in my drag bike. It was 2 stroke. And a co-worker would dump our daily sumps from the trucks into his 66 corvette. Ran just fine. We had to sump the trucks daily to check for water. 2 gallons from each truck. Look in the bottom of the bucket for a water bubble. Record findings and dump the fuel into the waste pit tank and pay someone to haul it off.... no way! So he'd open that fuel cap on the back of his corvette, turn an orange parking cone upside down for a funnel, jam it in the fuel filler opening and pour in the sumped fuel with the boss' blessing. :laughing: Funny thing about 100LL is it smells dry and sweet out the exhaust of a car. :thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]

My tractor likes running on Jet fuel!

Back a number of years when I was in aviation I occasionally could get 45 gal drums of jet fuel from when they'd work on a fuel tank.
Filtering was a must as those were the last gallons drained and by law they never re load the drained fuel..

Those last gals were very susceptible to contain some water as well as debris.
Jet fuel is after all basically kerosene. Some guys added a qt of oil for lubrication.

We used to heat a hangar with jet fuel. It had a boiler that supplied hot anit-freeze to pipes in the floor. As I recall, we purchased jet fuel at the same cost as home heating oil, so there was no loss there. Of course, we'd double the price and sell it to the jets. 100% mark-up. I have no idea what home heating oil costs today in relation to jet fuel prices.... hmmmm..... maybe I'll google it. :laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

Hmmm.... jet fuel anywhere from $2.82 to $4.50 within 50 miles of me.

 

[MossRoad]

YIKES!!! 100LL is $4.46 to $6.05!!!

 

[MossRoad]

Here's a link to a price finder website that you can plug your ZIP code into. Fun! :confused2:
https://www.airnav.com/fuel/local.html