[AT] Canola to diesel

[Ken Knierim]

Tom,
     The fact that the engine has a throttle plate and the ball pin
indicates it has different parts than a true Diesel engine. Take them
out to make it a Diesel and see what happens. From the description
given, this engine is a lot closer to a "hot-bulb" engine. Might I
suggest you do some research on those engines?
There are a number of different engines that will burn diesel fuel; I
have a TD-14 crawler that starts on gas and switches to diesel. It's a
combination of different types of engines; it has a direct injection
pump on one side and a carb and spark plugs on the other.
There are also the "kerosene" types that preheat the fuel in the
manifold; they can burn diesel as well but that does NOT make them a
Diesel engine. There is also a Hesselman that used direct injection
that fit your classification but had a very low compression ratio
(Allis Chalmers and Case tried them). It wasn't a Diesel either.
Honest, there IS a difference. The fact that you've been able to start
it without the factory-installed glow plugs doesn't mean they're not
necessary; the factory engineers had to justify them to the
beancounters before they put them in, so they're probably there for a
reason, just like the ball pins. You might not know the reason, but
I'd venture a guess the factory engineers knew why. A true compression
engine would not require the "hot bulb' of the heated ball pin.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_bulb_engine
is a good link and they have a comparison with a Diesel engine.

Hope this helps.

Ken in AZ

On 2/5/07, Tom Yasnowski <tomyasnowski at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Of course diesel engines have changed and improved over the years.  But the
> basic premise is still the same--ignition thru compression of fuel as
> opposed to a spark.  George says with the MB glow plugs are necessary for
> ignition.  Wonder how I started mine cold when my glowplugs were not working
> last fall? The heated ball pin aids in combustion but is not required.
>
>