Ga. cold and diesel fuel

[Thomas]

RobS,
A young guy just this year fill up his small Dodge p/u with diesel,and didn't get 100 yards when a puff of white smoke came out from the tail pipe...cook the engine. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

What I couldn't understand he never notice the pump nozzle size. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[heehaw]

i stopped on the side of the road to help a guy a few years ago; he was about a mile from the self serv station where he had just filled his tank with diesel; he looked at the price on the pump an put in the cheapest thing there..didn't hurt the motor, just his pride when we had to syphine(spelling??) the tank and go back and get some gas..his truck smoked a bit until the diesel was all out, but no damage was done; i know of 2 other times that people have put diesel in a gas engine and no harm was done..just stopped running, after a lot of smoke.....don't know of anyone that has put all gas in a diesel engine..i have seen several old dozers that start on gas and then are switched to diesel, i think these are REALLY old, but one i know of is still in use..
heehaw

 

[TomG]

I saw a demo of a gas start diesel in a Cat dozer when I was a kid. I think some farm tractors used such an engine as well. My impression is that these engines used a mechanical device to lower the compression ratio, which allowed the engine to operate on gas. I don't know if there were separate ignition and carburetor/throttle valve systems as well.

Anyway, as far as I know these engines had some special mechanics. It wasn't a matter of running a standard diesel on gas or a mixture of gas and diesel to start it. I also seem to recall that these engines had a lot of problems. Apparently operation for sustained periods on gas, or shutting down a hot engine in gas mode could damage the engine.

Anyway, I imagine that such engines were more expensive than standard diesels, and they became undesirable as diesel technology developed. At least I think modern diesels start much more easily than 50's engines. I know I don't have trouble starting in temperatures below 0F after several hours on a block heater.

I think that something is not quite right with a modern diesel that has trouble starting in the cold. Some mechanical attention is a much better solution to the problem than adding gasoline to the fuel, spraying solvent into the air intake etc. HOWEVER, THE 'ETC'DOES NOT INCLUDE ETHER, WHICH IS ALWAYS A NO NO FOR DIESEL ENGINES.

 

[Wingnut]

not sure about old Deere's but the old IH 450D that I had started on gas and then switched to diesel. Of course, IH cheated ... they had a "pony" engine on the side of the big diesel block. You used a lever to select the starting engoine, which also selected the fuel source. You started the tractor, let it warm up enough - about a minute in the summer, 5 in winter (at -30) and then threw the lever to diesel, and opened the diesel throttle ... the compression from the gas engine running started the big guy going. But I would call that two different engibes ... even if they were joined at the hip.

too bad that common sense ain't

 

[Williy]

I'm not sure but didn't the old big diesel units have
a pony engine run on gas to start the diesel???

willy

 

[Robin Veerman]

….22 years water under the bridge

 

[tacticalturnip]

I'm not sure but didn't the old big diesel units have
a pony engine run on gas to start the diesel???

willy

Well before my time, but I think you're right.