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 Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene

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willis923
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PostSubject: Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene   lawn - Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene Icon_minitimeApril 24th 2014, 11:52 pm

I've been doing some looking around [that odd part of youtube if you will], I've come across what appears to be a way to run an engine off of pretty much anything that could burn. Things that wouldn't normally burn in a gasoline engine, but will under the right circumstances, say, in a wick-lantern or heater. This applies mostly to push mower engines but could be adapted to others. This is my theory, and the diagrams to follow will help:

Take a regular lawn mower engine, remove the gas tank and the float bowl. Keep the carburetor on the engine [for B&S with tank top carbs, drain the tank]. keep the governor connected. Take a metal canister, put two pipes in it, one that reaches to the bottom, another that just penetrates the top. these have to be metal due to heat. the pipe that goes down is the intake. the short one goes to a ball valve between the container and the throttle body/carburetor. Another ball valve is needed between the first valve and the outside air. It's a fresh air vent valve to control vacuum to the 'reactor'. This container is first heated with a torch or something, then the intake stroke begins, drawing the oil vapor from the reactor through the system, the long pipe making bubbles in the reactor -the intake. this gas is what the engine runs on. Your engine isn't running on pure oil, so any smoke will disappear quickly as the reactor heats further and the engine warms up.

lawn - Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene Oileng11

lawn - Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene Oileng10

kinda odd, but I saw a derivative of this that really worked. I'll make an off-topic build thread of a push mower I'm doing this to.
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Stretch44875
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PostSubject: Re: Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene   lawn - Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene Icon_minitimeApril 25th 2014, 7:11 am

No idea if that will work, or how well, but...

The two military trucks I own use multifuel engines. The are basically a diesel engine, with a different injector pump, injectors, and pistons.

Injector pump is lubed by engine oil, not fuel. Has a fuel density compensator that adjusts the amount of fuel injected depending on viscosity of the fuel The thicker the fuel, the less it uses.

Injectors shoot a stream, not a spray, onto piston.

Piston has a bowl cut into it on top for the stream, looks like a golf ball with the top 1/3 missing.

Has a high compression of 22/1

They can run on straight gasoline, kerosene, or diesel in any combination. On straight gas, you might get 6mpg, on diesel, 10.

I have also used hydraulic oil, atf, veggie oil, and used, filtered, motor oil. For the most part, I run 100 percent used motor oil. It doesn't like to start when cold, but once running, it's just like on diesel. So I can drive a 15000lb truck for around 30 cents a gallon....

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Creepycrawler
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PostSubject: Re: Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene   lawn - Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene Icon_minitimeApril 25th 2014, 8:41 am

Sounds similar to how wood gas conversions work
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willis923
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PostSubject: Re: Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene   lawn - Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene Icon_minitimeApril 25th 2014, 8:51 am

i've ran one of the little briggs 3.5's off pure kerosene, no mods whatsoever. didnt run great, knocked like hell (preignition knock) but it DID have some power. i was suprised it even ran
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1997 Murray
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PostSubject: Re: Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene   lawn - Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene Icon_minitimeJanuary 20th 2015, 12:55 pm

I was reading somewhere that you could  use a low compression head or more head gaskets and get it to run on diesel. I want to try it sometime. I saw that gas has a flash point of 40 degrees but diesel has 240 degrees. so I was thinking of a system that runs the exhaust into the intake manifold or blows right on it, and encase it in like a muffler sized thing that I could put diesel in and gas and light it so it heats it up before startup. I have a 7 hp  briggs that has hardly any spark and the flywheel is stuck on, and the mag is under it, so i had the idea to try it. if it warmed up I could run motor oil in it probably
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PostSubject: Re: Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene   lawn - Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene Icon_minitimeJanuary 20th 2015, 1:48 pm

Not sure you would be able to run it like that maybe if you split the diesel with kerosene or something seems like it's been discussed before
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1997 Murray
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PostSubject: Re: Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene   lawn - Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene Icon_minitimeJanuary 20th 2015, 2:44 pm

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1997 Murray
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PostSubject: Re: Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene   lawn - Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene Icon_minitimeJanuary 20th 2015, 4:30 pm

here is the article:This is a subject seen often in antique engine and tractor forums, and quite a few seem to be interested (especially in the small engine crowd). I am an antique small engine enthusiast who became interested in this subject a number of years ago. When I asked questions, I found few answers. I kept at it and did my homework, so now I’m writing the article I wish I’d found 5 years ago. Hopefully I can clear the air a little on this issue...

In order to burn "distillate fuels" like kerosene or diesel, first, it must be atomized/vaporized. Either mechanically (like a diesel injection pump) or with heat. Any gasoline engine can be set up to run on kerosene as long as two issues are addressed, how to prevent preignition, and how to vaporize the fuel.

First, lets deal with fuel vaporization. I’ll begin with a brief discussion on the characteristics of gasoline vs. kerosene vs. diesel. All of these are petroleum distillates, which means they are refined from crude oil. As with any distillation process, the “lighter” elements are the first to evaporate. Gasoline is one of these elements. Diesel is considered a “heavier” element, which means it does not evaporate easily. Kerosene is roughly between the two. So here is a very simplified comparison.

Gasoline: 125,000BTU/gal. Flashpoint is -40F

Kerosene: 135,000BTU/gal. Flashpoint is 100-162F

Diesel: 138,000BTU/gal. Flashpoint is 126-204F

The key factor here is the flashpoint, which is the minimum temperature at which the fuel will vaporize with air to produce a combustible mixture. Note the jump from gasoline to kerosene is at least 140 degrees! Diesel’s flashpoint is as much as 240 degrees higher! The reason for this is the hydrocarbon “chain” of molecules is much longer in kerosene and diesel than in gasoline. This chain must be broken apart before the fuel will vaporize. The easiest way to accomplish this is HEAT.

Another important thing to remember is the difference between “atomization” and “vaporization”. To keep this a simple explanation, atomization is the conversion of a liquid to a fine mist, and vaporization is the conversion of liquid to a gaseous form. Why am I boring you with this? Because in order to effectively burn “middle distillates” like kero or diesel, they must be VAPORIZED. Fuel that is too cool will be atomized by a carburetor. The result is the poor, very smoky performance that some of us experimenters have seen. When the microscopic droplets of fuel are burned, only that fuel which is actually vaporized will burn. The rest either sticks to the cylinder head as carbon, or goes out the exhaust as smoke. This is great for ‘skeeter control, but it is a waste of fuel and not the best for your engine. Heat must be used to vaporize these heavier fuels.

Since the goal of running kerosene was to reduce operating expenses (years ago anyway), mechanical atomization (as in a diesel engine) is out of the question. Also, whatever method used needs to be simple and low maintenance. So for simplicity and minimizing cost, heat is the method of choice. On the tractor engines of old, this was easy since most integral intake/exhaust manifolds had a "hotspot" where the exhaust manifold heated the intake manifold immediately downstream of the carburetor. The fuel in the intake stream that was not completely vaporized would not be able to make the sharp turn into the intake manifold log and would be thrown into this very hot surface and immediately vaporize. Even automotive engines used this in the form of an exhaust crossover in V8 intake manifolds, and the same "hotspot" style was used on inline sixes. The principle is used on gasoline engines to improve efficiency and cold weather operation. In some cases, the fuel line from the kerosene tank was run in close proximity to the exhaust manifold to preheat the fuel so it would vaporize more readily in the carburetor.

The second problem with kerosene and diesel in a gasoline engine is preignition. Kerosene and diesel have a very low octane rating (somewhere around 25) and thus makes it very prone to compression ignition. This is why, of course, they run great in diesel engines. In a diesel, the fuel is not introduced until it is time to burn it, so the low octane is a non issue. When the intake air is carrying the fuel, low octane is a problem. There are two ways to resolve this. The simplest, and most common, is to use a low compression ratio so that the intake air will not be compressed enough to ignite the fuel. Any engine with a ratio of around 6.5:1 or less should be able to run kerosene without problems. This would include almost every flathead engine made, as well as a good number of antique tractor I-head engines. Another slightly more complicated option is to use an anti detonant. The best example of this would be the Rumely Oil Pull engine. It utilized a three bowl carburetor. One for starting gasoline, one for kerosene, and one for water. The water jet was located ahead of the venturi (where the main jet is located) so that water was only drawn when the engine was under load (half throttle or above). The water prevented compression ignition thus allowing higher compression ratios to give performance equal to (some will argue better than) a gasoline engine of equal size. Another advantage to the water/kero mix is it produces a much smoother (less violent) burn in the cylinder, making it much easier on the engine. Therefore, it lasts longer. For more information on the Secor-Higgins carburetor, follow this link to a fantastic article on the “Rusty Iron” webpage.

http://rumely.rustyiron.com/secor.html

There were a surprising number of OEM small engines built for gasoline/kerosene operation by Kohler, Briggs & Stratton, Clinton, and Tecumseh. All were off the shelf gasoline engines modified for kerosene operation. These modifications included:

1. Either a low compression cylinder head, or a stock head installed with two head gaskets.

2. A divided fuel tank with the large side for kerosene, and a small (usually a pint or less) for starting/warm-up gasoline. In some cases, the bowl capacity or the fuel bowl in the carburetor had sufficient capacity for an adequate amount of gasoline to start the engine, so a small flip top “fill cup” was T’d into the fuel line so that the carburetor bowl could be filled with gasoline prior to starting.

3. A carburetor bowl drain of some fashion for draining kerosene from an improperly shut down carburetor. On Briggs “Flo-Jet” (updraft) carburetors, a special main jet screw was installed with a drain cap that allowed the bowl to be drained. Most other engines with stamped metal bowls used a small button installed in a drilled hole in the bottom of the bowl. These are still used on some Tecumseh “Sno-King” and other engines for seasonal use.

4. A hotter spark plug was utilized to prevent fouling, and in some cases (on the Kohlers) timing was retarded to aid in the prevention of detonation.

The fuel heating on small engines is inherent in the design. The close proximity of the intake to the exhaust on most L-head single cylinders heats the intake elbow sufficiently to somewhat vaporize kerosene. Diesel fuel would be slightly more difficult since the hydrocarbon chain is longer than that of kerosene. Pretty much any single cylinder L-head engine with a float bowl carburetor should not be difficult to convert for kerosene use.

Opposed twins like Onan’s CCK and Kohler’s K-582 (or the monstrous K_-662) will pose some problems due to the long intake runners sitting atop the engine right in the cooling air. The expense of designing and building a reliable kerosene system would probably negate the fuel savings advantage of kerosene.

The old Briggs manuals state that engine's horsepower must be derated by 15% when running on kerosene, and engines with “Vacu-Jet” and “Pulsa-Jet” carburetors (those mated directly to the fuel tank) cannot be converted for kerosene use.

If you are willing to do the research and design/build a kerosene carburetion system, a lot of the parts are still out there sitting on distributors shelves as “New Old Stock”. For example, Briggs & Stratton, and Kohler dual fuel tanks, brackets, and carburetor parts are waiting for someone to claim them. I know, because I have a few brand new Briggs gas/kero tanks sitting in my shop. Other items the OEMs used were simple brass and copper parts (three-way valves, fill cups, and other hardware) that are still available at most hardware stores.

The bottom line is that in order to burn “middle distillates”, the fuel needs to be heated to the point where it will vaporize. To keep the fuel from knocking and destroying your engine, you need to lower the compression ratio and/or use an anti-detonant.

Hope my little treatise helps in some way. I did a lot of research on the subject a few years back and spent many hours researching on the web, reading books on petroleum chemistry, and poring over pages and pages of old parts/service manuals on a microfiche viewer. I hope it sparks interest and saves folks who are interested in this some time and headache.
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PostSubject: Re: Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene   lawn - Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene Icon_minitimeJanuary 20th 2015, 5:53 pm

Funny you should mention that. I've been knee-deep in that article lately, amongst others...
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PostSubject: Briggs 3.5 ho on diesel   lawn - Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene Icon_minitimeNovember 22nd 2017, 3:25 am

I ran an old 3.5 hp Briggs on pure diesel. To start it I had to pupt some gas down the carb and start it. Then I would have to let it get up to speed and then put my hand over the intake to almost flood it. Then with allot of diesel in the engine I would let air in and it would take of again. Repeat this process for a minute or two, then it would run nicely with only little smoke.
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PostSubject: Re: Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene   lawn - Run a lawn mower off old engine oil/diesel/bad gas/kerosene Icon_minitime

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