Starting a Big Diesel on Gas - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

leathermang · #1 03-02-2009, 08:57 PM

http://www.sentex.ca/~mwandel/sawmill/sawmill.html

t walgamuth · #2 03-02-2009, 10:43 PM

Very interesting story. Thanks for sharing that with us.

It makes me remember a Rumley oil pull. About 25 years ago my dad and I went to a tractor show. It was out in the country at someone's farm as I remember. We had to park quite a way away from the show area. Just as we got out of the car we could hear a tractor running from a quarter of amile away. Dad said..."That sounds like an old Rumley oil pull". When we got closer it sure enough was.

Dad said they started them on gasoline and when they got running good would switch them over. Then before shutting them off they would switch tanks back to gasoline because you couldn't start them on the kerosene.

They were spark engines though, not diesels.

Motorhead · #3 03-02-2009, 10:53 PM

I think that International Harvester had a Gas start/ Diesel run engine. You moved a lever on the engine and it somehow closed up the combustion chamber volume and switched over to a diesel inj pump. I heard that they were troublesome.
tom, I wondered why "Kerosene" instead of gasoline. I found out that they had to pre-heat the kerosene, and kerosene aparently produced more combustion power.

Stevo · #4 03-03-2009, 01:23 AM

Very interesting, thanks Greg, I had allot of clear "doug fir" cut by a friend with a "mobile demention' mill and then some years later more logs cut by a 'band saw rig', hardly any sawdust left behind, defiantly less wasted wood. Both rigs used a gas engine however.

t walgamuth · #5 03-03-2009, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motorhead

I think that International Harvester had a Gas start/ Diesel run engine. You moved a lever on the engine and it somehow closed up the combustion chamber volume and switched over to a diesel inj pump. I heard that they were troublesome.
tom, I wondered why "Kerosene" instead of gasoline. I found out that they had to pre-heat the kerosene, and kerosene aparently produced more combustion power.

Even in the thirties of my father's youth the kero was cheaper than gas too.

t walgamuth · #6 03-03-2009, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motorhead

I think that International Harvester had a Gas start/ Diesel run engine. You moved a lever on the engine and it somehow closed up the combustion chamber volume and switched over to a diesel inj pump. I heard that they were troublesome.
tom, I wondered why "Kerosene" instead of gasoline. I found out that they had to pre-heat the kerosene, and kerosene aparently produced more combustion power.

I wonder how they did that.

mplafleur · #7 03-03-2009, 06:55 AM

I think kerosene has less BTUs than diesel.

SwampYankee · #8 03-03-2009, 07:57 AM

When I was a kid my uncle had an old bulldozer that started on gas and switched over to kero. I always assumed it was a compression engine but I guess it must have been spark? I didn't ask much about it, I just wanted to drive it around an push dirt.

kerry · #9 03-03-2009, 09:04 AM

Cool story. As a teenager I used to go deer hunting southeast of Ithaca NY on a farm with a sawmill. Old man and his wife used to run it together. Can't recall what powered it but they had an old dozer around.
That's not a using a pony engine of some kind is it?

junqueyardjim · #10 03-03-2009, 11:27 AM

Well guys, here is an ad from International Harvestor Company as published in an old magazine I bought at an Antique Car Show a few years ago. The magazine is "American Diesel", and this was a "Special Edition" 40th Anniversary Copy. It is very heavy with advertising the Diesels of its day. There is a write up in it by GM announcing their new light weight high speed diesel as the 3 71 with 135 hp I think. But on the IHC engine there is a good drawing on the head, showing the gasoline and diesel sides. I hope I can get these pictures on. The magazine is dated May 1938 which is the same date I graduated from the kindergarten.

pelon · #11 03-03-2009, 11:43 AM

we heard about the old International Harv. TD 24 that started on gas on then switched to diesel. they when shutting down you switched it back to gas.
we used the TD 25 that was just diesel. very good machine.

my dad's old Farmall F20 had a small tank behind the main tank. he said he used to start on gas then switch to keosene from the main because it ran better and had more power.

oldsinner111 · #12 03-03-2009, 11:48 AM

Mecedes invented a otto engine thats starts on gas,then switches to diesel cycle,but using gasoline for fuel.Supposed to come out in Europe.

Motorhead · #13 03-03-2009, 11:56 AM

The military used to use these in their deuce and a half trucks. You could really hear the turbos on them...LOUD! Yea!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Military-Multifuel-Engine-diesel-bio-fuel-gasoline_W0QQitemZ350171839261QQihZ022QQcategoryZ41490QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

t walgamuth · #14 03-03-2009, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mplafleur

I think kerosene has less BTUs than diesel.

yes.

oldiesel · #15 03-03-2009, 07:39 PM

while in Korea i was operating two of those old International start on gas run on diesel engines on generator sets at a remote radio relay site.If i remember correctly they were model UD9.when it was really cold they had to run a long time like 1/2 hour on gas before they would build up enough heat to switch to diesel and then they smoked terribly for quite a while before they would get up enough temp to run even almost clean,i dont remember them ever running without some smoke. Don