From: noel shelley (noel@shelley1722.freeserve.co.uk)
Date: Mon Aug 29 2005 - 04:00:33 PDT
Henry stated !
I would respectfully disagree......
Diesel engines can run on propane or natural gas, or a myriad of other
combustible products. They were even run on coal dust at a time when first
invented!
Question .
If the engine is using the compression ignition principle, and the fuel is
drawn in with the air , then surely the point of ignition is dependent on
the temperature of the incoming air ?
Without getting into a long discussion , any reciprocating internal
combustion engine will run on a variety of fuel types , depending on the
modifications !
Whilst carrying out work at the Perkins factory , I spotted what looked like
4-236 diesels WITH SPARKING PLUGS , enquires revealed these engines were for
the oil industry , to burn waste gas ! In an idle moment one day I ran a
Ford 4000 tractor on acetylene in the workshop ! I`ve got home on several
occasions burning gasoline/engine oil in a diesel or kerosene in an old MG
instead of gas ! Though not ideal or the most efferent way to burn fuel they
all worked WITHOUT modification !
Never mind about coal dust , the first internal combustion engine used
GUNPOWDER , the problem was {amongst many } getting the second charge in
quick !
For those of you who want to know more on this subject I recommend
INTERNAL FIRE , by Lyle Cummins , followed by DIESELS ENGINE , same author
!
For you gas engine fans , one commonly held misconception is that the fuel
explodes on ignition ! If indeed it does explode then you have a serious
problem that will quickly destroy your engine ! Action should be taken to
prevent this happening ! This phenomenon is known as
detonation , a sharp rattle in the engine often on acceleration ! Usually
caused by poor ignition timing , low octane fuel , a
high compression ratio or the need for decarbonising !
In designing a gas engine much time is spent in avoiding detonation by
the shape of the combustion chamber /piston crown , position of the spark
plug , compression ratio and ignition timing to suit the octane rating of
the fuel to be used ! when all of this is right the fuel will BURN RAPIDLY
but NOT explode !
On the other hand the noise/rattle of a diesel is the detonation of the fuel
in an engine designed for this type of combustion !
May be of interest to some Noel
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