Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Both kero and diesel are currently 30-40 c higher than reg gas- why
bother? I have no experience in this, but common sense tells me the carb
won't function correctly with the heavier viscosity fluids; they may
effect materials in the fuel system, the ignition system prolly isn't
energetic enough to fire kero anyway, even if you could atomize it
properly, for which you would need a totally different system than a gas
carb to do. You can't inject it and boost the compression to make it
pre-ignite, that would knock a Briggs to pieces.
My .02
JR
Dweller in the cellar

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.




--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote in message
news
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Kerosene operated tractor engines had a very low compression ratio and some
method such, as an exhaust heated manifold vaporizer, of heating the fuel
vapor. I do not know if any difference in ignition timing would be required.
Kerosene has a high energy content but low octane and is not as easily
vaporized. I think some but not all of these tractors had preheaters for the
liquid kerosene. The Briggs engine may require a more powerful ignition
spark than the stock sysstem provides.

My wife mistakenly added kerosene to the tank of a hot mower engine. It
would run but knocked and discharged a lot of white smoke.

Hope this helps, Don Young

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote in message
news
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Depending on how old the engine is the Briggs service manual will tell
exactly how to convert to kerosene. It's mostly a matter of resetting the
spark plug gap and diddling with the mixture screws. Pretty common in the
third world. AFAIK, this can only be done on the lower compression 'F' head
engines and cannot be done with any EPA compliant engine.
There really is no good reason to do this- kerosene is more expensive (10
cents a gallon more locally) than gasoline and has less btu per pound. I did
it once on a Briggs 5S just to prove it works- the engine was a little
sluggish and a bit quieter.

HTH- Carl

On 2007-11-25, JR North wrote:
Both kero and diesel are currently 30-40 c higher than reg gas- why
bother? I have no experience in this, but common sense tells me the carb
won't function correctly with the heavier viscosity fluids; they may
effect materials in the fuel system, the ignition system prolly isn't
energetic enough to fire kero anyway, even if you could atomize it
properly, for which you would need a totally different system than a gas
carb to do. You can't inject it and boost the compression to make it
pre-ignite, that would knock a Briggs to pieces.

Just a minor $0.02 case in point. I had a cheap lawnmower. Once my
FIL, who likes to show initiative but usually to his detriment,
decided to mow grass while I was at work. He ran out of gas. He poured
in kerosene from a kerosene container (labeled KEROSENE, but it did
not help). The (hot) engine started right away and ran great on
kerosene. He finished mowing.

After a few days, though, it absolutely refused to start. I had to take
the carb apart and wash it to get it going again.

i

Carl Byrns wrote:
clare at snyder.on.ca wrote in message
news
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Depending on how old the engine is the Briggs service manual will tell
exactly how to convert to kerosene. It's mostly a matter of resetting the
spark plug gap and diddling with the mixture screws. Pretty common in the
third world. AFAIK, this can only be done on the lower compression 'F' head
engines and cannot be done with any EPA compliant engine.
There really is no good reason to do this- kerosene is more expensive (10
cents a gallon more locally) than gasoline and has less btu per pound. I did
it once on a Briggs 5S just to prove it works- the engine was a little
sluggish and a bit quieter.

HTH- Carl



I once ran an opposed Briggs twin (in a Simplicity lawn mower) on #2
fuel oil for a summer. Topped it up one day with the fuel oil, figured
I'd have to ether it the next time I wanted to use it, but choking it
hard got it to start. Once it warmed up it'd quit smoking, it ran very
well and offered an obvious improvement in power.

The oil thinned out a little, it got a little more fuel oil below the
rings every time I started the motor, but it wasn't too bad. The plugs
didn't foul, the only real issue was that it'd knock if I dogged it too
hard but I could still take more power from it than when it was fed
gasoline so it seemed to be a net gain.

I saw a guy on the internet, he was running a water/detergent/gasoline
mixture in a little generator, claimed he got very good efficiency with
that.. seems to make some sense to me.

John

A lot of the old tractors were dual fuel. As others mentioned, it does
work with a few issues:

The air fuel mix will be wrong since the kerosene is both more viscous
(gives a higher air fuel ratio in a standard carb) and has more BTU per
pound (gives a lower air fuel ratio if mixed at same rate as gasoline).
Depending on the carb, the two effects may cancel out. Heating the
incoming fuel line will thin out the kerosene, doubt if it will make
that much difference.

The kerosene does not vaporize as easily as the gasoline so the intake
manifold needs to be heated. And it WILL NOT cold start on kerosene. You
must start on gas, get it running well, switch to kerosene, then switch
back to gasoline before shut down. Plan on making a new combination
intake manifold with exhaust heat. This is a pretty straight forward
fabrication job. Use some heavy wall pipe for both inner (intake) and
outer (exhaust)to minimize rustout issues.

The compression ratio needs to be fairly low, something like 7:1 or so
is cutoff. An F head will work, an OHV will not. If the compression
ratio is low enough, it will have more power on kerosene than gasoline.

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.

Carl Byrns wrote:

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote in message
news
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com


Depending on how old the engine is the Briggs service manual will tell
exactly how to convert to kerosene. It's mostly a matter of resetting the
spark plug gap and diddling with the mixture screws. Pretty common in the
third world. AFAIK, this can only be done on the lower compression 'F' head
engines and cannot be done with any EPA compliant engine.
There really is no good reason to do this- kerosene is more expensive (10
cents a gallon more locally) than gasoline and has less btu per pound. I did
it once on a Briggs 5S just to prove it works- the engine was a little
sluggish and a bit quieter.

HTH- Carl



Nothing of the kind.

These motors are not compatible with heavy fuels.

https://www.briggsandstratton.com/ma...r_support_faq/

Nothing here about running on kerosene.

But they do insist that it not be modified "in any way" or the
warrantee will be voided.

On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 21:52:31 -0500, clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:

Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.

I've seen a number of gasoline/kerosine engines - there is even an
outboard motor, much used in Indonesia, that burns kerosine. The main
difference is that the intake manifold is heated by the exhaust
manifold to assist in vaporizing the kerosine.

Bruce-in-Bangkok
(Note:remove underscores
from address for reply)

"clare at snyder.on.ca" wrote in message
news
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com



I have an 1937 John Deere that was designed to run on "distillate", (What
ever the hell that is! That is what the owners manual states, yup! I have
the original 1937 owners manual). It has two fuel tanks, one small one for
gasoline, and a larger one for "distillate". You start the engine on
gasoline, then switch over the fuel valve after the engine is warmed up.
When you shut off the engine you need to switch it back over to gasoline,
run it until the distillate is flushed through the carb, then shut it down.
Like others have said, the tractor has a heated manifold, shared intake and
exhaust manifold in one casting. Plus the fuel mixture screw on the carb is
easy to get at to adjust as needed.
Greg

I have an 1937 John Deere that was designed to run on "distillate", (What
ever the hell that is! That is what the owners manual states, yup! I have
the original 1937 owners manual). It has two fuel tanks, one small one for
gasoline, and a larger one for "distillate". You start the engine on
gasoline, then switch over the fuel valve after the engine is warmed up.
When you shut off the engine you need to switch it back over to gasoline,
run it until the distillate is flushed through the carb, then shut it
down. Like others have said, the tractor has a heated manifold, shared
intake and exhaust manifold in one casting. Plus the fuel mixture screw on
the carb is easy to get at to adjust as needed.
Greg

I think you'll find that it also has a couple of"petcocks" on the head,
which were designed to be filled with petrol on start up. This put a
measured amount into the cylinder to make it easier ti start if you hadn't
rull all the distillate( Diesel fuel) out before stopping it. They could
also be opened before starting to reduce the compression. That flywheel
could be pretty heavy if you were a 11 year old kid.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:48:31 -0600, "Greg O"
wrote:


"clare at snyder.on.ca" wrote in message
news
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com



I have an 1937 John Deere that was designed to run on "distillate", (What
ever the hell that is! That is what the owners manual states, yup! I have
the original 1937 owners manual). It has two fuel tanks, one small one for
gasoline, and a larger one for "distillate". You start the engine on
gasoline, then switch over the fuel valve after the engine is warmed up.
When you shut off the engine you need to switch it back over to gasoline,
run it until the distillate is flushed through the carb, then shut it down.
Like others have said, the tractor has a heated manifold, shared intake and
exhaust manifold in one casting. Plus the fuel mixture screw on the carb is
easy to get at to adjust as needed.
Greg


My father had an old iron wheeled Fordson tractor exactly like that. I
remember that it only had one foot pedal. Half way down was clutch and
all the way down was brake.


Bruce-in-Bangkok
(Note:remove underscores
from address for reply)

On Nov 24, 11:48 pm, "Carl Byrns" wrote:
....
Depending on how old the engine is the Briggs service manual will tell
exactly how to convert to kerosene. ...
HTH- Carl

From Briggs & Stratton service manual 270962-3/84:
A low compression head is required for models {list}, for others use
two head gaskets.
Use spark plug #291835 for {list}, gap is 0.030".
Breaker gap is 0.015 on {list}, follow timing procedure in Ignition
section
Power loss will be 15-25% and fuel consumption ~15% less.
Start cold engines on gas, switch to kero and adjust needle valves,
see Flo-Jet section.
Empty kero from carb when shutting down.

It shows two fuel line versions, a simple one with a drain under the
bowl and a tee to manually fill the bowl with gas, and a dual tank
version with two shutoffs.

{list} is different combinations of Model 23/A/C/D and 2#####.

"cavelamb himself" wrote in message
...
Carl Byrns wrote:

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote in message
news
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com


Depending on how old the engine is the Briggs service manual will tell
exactly how to convert to kerosene. It's mostly a matter of resetting the
spark plug gap and diddling with the mixture screws. Pretty common in the
third world. AFAIK, this can only be done on the lower compression 'F'
head engines and cannot be done with any EPA compliant engine.
There really is no good reason to do this- kerosene is more expensive (10
cents a gallon more locally) than gasoline and has less btu per pound. I
did it once on a Briggs 5S just to prove it works- the engine was a
little sluggish and a bit quieter.

HTH- Carl

Nothing of the kind.

These motors are not compatible with heavy fuels.


Read a little slower- I did say "depending on how old the engine is" and
that EPA compliant engines (that would be current production) are not
designed for kerosene. As someone else posted, Briggs manuals called out the
exact mods needed for kerosene operation .
Both during and post WWII, kero was an alternate fuel for lots of small
engines.

-Carl
--
The future isn't what it used to be.

If you do a search on paraffin ( British word for kero) engines you should
find all kinds of examples.

Randy

"clare at snyder.on.ca" wrote in message
news
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"Grumpy" wrote in message
...

I have an 1937 John Deere that was designed to run on "distillate", (What
ever the hell that is! That is what the owners manual states, yup! I have
the original 1937 owners manual). It has two fuel tanks, one small one
for gasoline, and a larger one for "distillate". You start the engine on
gasoline, then switch over the fuel valve after the engine is warmed up.
When you shut off the engine you need to switch it back over to gasoline,
run it until the distillate is flushed through the carb, then shut it
down. Like others have said, the tractor has a heated manifold, shared
intake and exhaust manifold in one casting. Plus the fuel mixture screw
on the carb is easy to get at to adjust as needed.
Greg

I think you'll find that it also has a couple of"petcocks" on the head,
which were designed to be filled with petrol on start up. This put a
measured amount into the cylinder to make it easier ti start if you hadn't
rull all the distillate( Diesel fuel) out before stopping it. They could
also be opened before starting to reduce the compression. That flywheel
could be pretty heavy if you were a 11 year old kid.



No petcocks on mine, although I have seen them on out JD's. Seems to me they
were for compression release, more than anything. I remember my Pop starting
another JD we had and the hiss-hiss noise of the escaping gases from the
petcocks, before Dad would get them closed.
Greg
Greg

"Greg O" wrote in message
...
"Grumpy" wrote in message
...

I have an 1937 John Deere that was designed to run on "distillate",
(What
ever the hell that is! That is what the owners manual states, yup! I
have
the original 1937 owners manual). It has two fuel tanks, one small one
for gasoline, and a larger one for "distillate". You start the engine
on
gasoline, then switch over the fuel valve after the engine is warmed
up.
When you shut off the engine you need to switch it back over to
gasoline,
run it until the distillate is flushed through the carb, then shut it
down. Like others have said, the tractor has a heated manifold, shared
intake and exhaust manifold in one casting. Plus the fuel mixture screw
on the carb is easy to get at to adjust as needed.
Greg

I think you'll find that it also has a couple of"petcocks" on the head,
which were designed to be filled with petrol on start up. This put a
measured amount into the cylinder to make it easier ti start if you
hadn't
rull all the distillate( Diesel fuel) out before stopping it. They could
also be opened before starting to reduce the compression. That flywheel
could be pretty heavy if you were a 11 year old kid.



No petcocks on mine, although I have seen them on out JD's. Seems to me
they
were for compression release, more than anything. I remember my Pop
starting
another JD we had and the hiss-hiss noise of the escaping gases from the
petcocks, before Dad would get them closed.
Greg
Greg


Some engines of the 1920s or so had petcocks with cups on them to prime the
engine, but John Deere never did. The JD petcocks came out the sides and
were only for relieving the compression. Some of the smaller JDs didn't
have them, but there was no way you were going to spin over a big one
without relieving the compression. On some of the later two-cylinder JDs
(with electric starters), the petcocks were linked to a foot pedal...

John Deere built the distillate-burning tractors from 1923 to 1960...

Jerry

I can't think of any reason someone would want to do this these days
unless they wanted to get out of paying "road tax" on the gasoline. If
that is the case, ( I assume he'd be using the generator a lot if he
wants to do this), I am pretty sure that you can get your gasoline tax
money back if you can prove you are using it off road.
Ask your tax preparer.

Up here in Wisconsin, diesel is about 30 cents a gallon more than
gasoline and, although I haven't bought any this month, I'll bet
kerosene (#1 fuel oil, I think) would actually cost more if it was taxed
(which it will be when blended with #2 for the winter).
The "dink around" factor alone would stop me from doing it. From a
practical standpoint, any time the genset runs out of fuel, you'd be
stuck with a carb full of kero. Then, if you didn't get it started
right away, you'd have to mess around draining the carb, etc. Not the
thing you want to do when you are in an emergency or power-out
situation. My old John Deere had carb drains that were easy to get at.
I think I have even seen some Jonh Deeres that had a special dual fuel
carb to make it easier to change over.
For what its worth, I did run it on furfuralyhyde once. It's made
from oat hulls. Had to heat it up to 190 water temp to get it to go. A
chemist told me I should add some ethanol to make it run better, but I
just proved my point and moved on. This was a hand-start model and so
not a lot of fun to test starting ability on.

Pete Stanaitis
------------------------------------

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.

On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 20:03:46 -0800, JR North
wrote:

Both kero and diesel are currently 30-40 c higher than reg gas- why
bother? I have no experience in this, but common sense tells me the carb
won't function correctly with the heavier viscosity fluids; they may
effect materials in the fuel system, the ignition system prolly isn't
energetic enough to fire kero anyway, even if you could atomize it
properly, for which you would need a totally different system than a gas
carb to do. You can't inject it and boost the compression to make it
pre-ignite, that would knock a Briggs to pieces.
My .02
JR
Dweller in the cellar

Because there is 200 gallons of deisel on the truck and no gasoline.
Rather not carry both. As for the ignition, Kero lights fine when the
engine is warm, and the ignition is plenty hot enough. Diesel/Kero
should be no harder on carb parts than the soup sold as gasoline.
Would need to start on gasoline and switch to kero when warm, for
sure.

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.




--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 04:48:50 GMT, "Carl Byrns"
wrote:


clare at snyder.on.ca wrote in message
news
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Depending on how old the engine is the Briggs service manual will tell
exactly how to convert to kerosene. It's mostly a matter of resetting the
spark plug gap and diddling with the mixture screws. Pretty common in the
third world. AFAIK, this can only be done on the lower compression 'F' head
engines and cannot be done with any EPA compliant engine.
There really is no good reason to do this- kerosene is more expensive (10
cents a gallon more locally) than gasoline and has less btu per pound. I did
it once on a Briggs 5S just to prove it works- the engine was a little
sluggish and a bit quieter.

HTH- Carl

As previously stated fuel price is not an issue - carrying quantities
of 2 fuels is. The Briiggs engine is an "L" head. Briggs never made an
"F" head. Compression ratio is in the 6+:1 range - which should be OK
for the low octane fuel - possibly need a head gasket shim, which is
why I asked for any experience. I KNOW it can be done. It HAS been
done. They run fine, quieter than gasoline even. I just need to know
the conversion details.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:40:17 -0600, cavelamb himself
wrote:

Carl Byrns wrote:

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote in message
news
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com


Depending on how old the engine is the Briggs service manual will tell
exactly how to convert to kerosene. It's mostly a matter of resetting the
spark plug gap and diddling with the mixture screws. Pretty common in the
third world. AFAIK, this can only be done on the lower compression 'F' head
engines and cannot be done with any EPA compliant engine.
There really is no good reason to do this- kerosene is more expensive (10
cents a gallon more locally) than gasoline and has less btu per pound. I did
it once on a Briggs 5S just to prove it works- the engine was a little
sluggish and a bit quieter.

HTH- Carl



Nothing of the kind.

These motors are not compatible with heavy fuels.

https://www.briggsandstratton.com/ma...r_support_faq/

Nothing here about running on kerosene.

But they do insist that it not be modified "in any way" or the
warrantee will be voided.
Warrantee? What's that? Only 30 or 60 days to start with and the
genset is about 4 years old. Likely only ran about 4 hours.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 12:46:32 -0600, spaco
wrote:

I can't think of any reason someone would want to do this these days
unless they wanted to get out of paying "road tax" on the gasoline. If
that is the case, ( I assume he'd be using the generator a lot if he
wants to do this), I am pretty sure that you can get your gasoline tax
money back if you can prove you are using it off road.
Ask your tax preparer.

Up here in Wisconsin, diesel is about 30 cents a gallon more than
gasoline and, although I haven't bought any this month, I'll bet
kerosene (#1 fuel oil, I think) would actually cost more if it was taxed
(which it will be when blended with #2 for the winter).
The "dink around" factor alone would stop me from doing it. From a
practical standpoint, any time the genset runs out of fuel, you'd be
stuck with a carb full of kero. Then, if you didn't get it started
right away, you'd have to mess around draining the carb, etc. Not the
thing you want to do when you are in an emergency or power-out
situation. My old John Deere had carb drains that were easy to get at.
I think I have even seen some Jonh Deeres that had a special dual fuel
carb to make it easier to change over.
For what its worth, I did run it on furfuralyhyde once. It's made
from oat hulls. Had to heat it up to 190 water temp to get it to go. A
chemist told me I should add some ethanol to make it run better, but I
just proved my point and moved on. This was a hand-start model and so
not a lot of fun to test starting ability on.

Pete Stanaitis
------------------------------------

The general idea is the genset will be installed on his Volvo highway
tractor, which has a full load of about 200 gallons of DoozleJuice on
board, so the genset would be hard pressed to run out of fuel, and he
just doesn't want to have to carry 15 gallons of gasoline along in
addition to the fuel oil.
clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.




--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

The general idea is the genset will be installed on his Volvo highway
tractor, which has a full load of about 200 gallons of DoozleJuice on
board, so the genset would be hard pressed to run out of fuel, and he
just doesn't want to have to carry 15 gallons of gasoline along in
addition to the fuel oil.
clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.





Sell off the Coleman and just buy a small diesel genset. Or replace the
engine with a diesel. Easier and better than running a converted unit.
Also keep in mind that you will have to derate the output a bunch with a
converted engine.

--
Steve W.
Near Cooperstown, New York
NRA Member
Pacifism - The theory that if they'd fed
Jeffrey Dahmer enough human flesh,
he'd have become a vegan.
---- Posted via Pronews.com - Premium Corporate Usenet News Provider ----
http://www.pronews.com offers corporate packages that have access to 100,000+ newsgroups

On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:40:17 -0600, cavelamb himself
wrote:



Nothing of the kind.

These motors are not compatible with heavy fuels.

https://www.briggsandstratton.com/ma...r_support_faq/

Nothing here about running on kerosene.

But they do insist that it not be modified "in any way" or the
warrantee will be voided.
I don't worry too much about warranty on the five B&S engines in my
possession at the moment - the newest is a '96 on the mower the guy
across the street used to drop on the concrete driveway to dislodge
the mass of wet grass that caused the engine to stall while cutting
his lawn in the rain, to the point where it developed the classic,
overloaded VW "toe in".
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:48:31 -0600, "Greg O"
wrote:


"clare at snyder.on.ca" wrote in message
news
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com



I have an 1937 John Deere that was designed to run on "distillate", (What
ever the hell that is! That is what the owners manual states, yup! I have
the original 1937 owners manual). It has two fuel tanks, one small one for
gasoline, and a larger one for "distillate". You start the engine on
gasoline, then switch over the fuel valve after the engine is warmed up.
When you shut off the engine you need to switch it back over to gasoline,
run it until the distillate is flushed through the carb, then shut it down.
Like others have said, the tractor has a heated manifold, shared intake and
exhaust manifold in one casting. Plus the fuel mixture screw on the carb is
easy to get at to adjust as needed.
Greg
IIRC, the Massey Harris tractor I played with 50 years ago had three
tanks - Gasoline, Kerosene, and water. We only ever ran it on gas.
Lots of fun to drive up through town to the swimming hole, after we
took the lugs off the steel wheels - OK to drive on pavement, but
damned poor traction in the swamp, the owner eventually bolted on
tread from earthmover tires.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 21:52:31 -0500, clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:

Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.

Find one of these used -
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w..._744380_744380
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...atname=engines

Or bite the bullet and get one of these, drop it in and be done -
http://www.cumminsonan.com/apu/products/
http://www.trucktrailer.carrier.com/...comfortpro.pdf

Seriously, you could probably handle the machinations of switching
back and forth between gasoline and diesel, but FWIH this is for a
relative's semi-truck - and he's a truck driver not an engine
wrangler. ;-0

And Diesel =/= Kerosene, they are different enough to make running a
spark ignition engine on it harder, especially in sub-zero conditions
where the airflow around the engine will have to be carefully
controlled - if the engine cools off too much the fuel won't vaporize
and it will stall, too restricted and it overheats.

Oh, and one other thing to consider - I hate to be morbid, but if
he's stuck in a white-out blizzard in the middle of nowhere, and this
generator engine dies and can't be started from inside, and he can't
get the truck engine started, he could die. Having no heat is
certainly Life Safety Critical.

I would find him an itty-bitty diesel engine out of (example) a dead
reefer unit (Carrier is a two-cylinder 13.9-HP Kubota), rebuild it,
and couple that to the generator head. And then you know he can
always get it serviced at any truck stop that does reefers.

Is the generator head you have the "Small Briggs" style one-bearing
alternator where the generator slides over the keyed ~1" dia x ~3"
long output shaft, or the style that has a flat drive plate that bolts
to a standard SAE #4 or #5 flywheel? That will have a large bearing
(sic) on which way you build the power unit.

A two-bearing generator makes it easier to cobble up a Franken-
Generator, as you can put a double sheave on the generator head and a
triple or quad sheave on the engine, package them Over-Under to save
space, and have one or two sheave grooves left over for driving a 12V
alternator, AC Compressor or other uses.

-- Bruce --

Bruce L. Bergman wrote:
On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 21:52:31 -0500, clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:


Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.


Find one of these used -
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w..._744380_744380
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...atname=engines

Or bite the bullet and get one of these, drop it in and be done -
http://www.cumminsonan.com/apu/products/
http://www.trucktrailer.carrier.com/...comfortpro.pdf

Seriously, you could probably handle the machinations of switching
back and forth between gasoline and diesel, but FWIH this is for a
relative's semi-truck - and he's a truck driver not an engine
wrangler. ;-0

And Diesel =/= Kerosene, they are different enough to make running a
spark ignition engine on it harder, especially in sub-zero conditions
where the airflow around the engine will have to be carefully
controlled - if the engine cools off too much the fuel won't vaporize
and it will stall, too restricted and it overheats.

Oh, and one other thing to consider - I hate to be morbid, but if
he's stuck in a white-out blizzard in the middle of nowhere, and this
generator engine dies and can't be started from inside, and he can't
get the truck engine started, he could die. Having no heat is
certainly Life Safety Critical.

I would find him an itty-bitty diesel engine out of (example) a dead
reefer unit (Carrier is a two-cylinder 13.9-HP Kubota), rebuild it,
and couple that to the generator head. And then you know he can
always get it serviced at any truck stop that does reefers.

Is the generator head you have the "Small Briggs" style one-bearing
alternator where the generator slides over the keyed ~1" dia x ~3"
long output shaft, or the style that has a flat drive plate that bolts
to a standard SAE #4 or #5 flywheel? That will have a large bearing
(sic) on which way you build the power unit.

A two-bearing generator makes it easier to cobble up a Franken-
Generator, as you can put a double sheave on the generator head and a
triple or quad sheave on the engine, package them Over-Under to save
space, and have one or two sheave grooves left over for driving a 12V
alternator, AC Compressor or other uses.

-- Bruce --


I am starting to see some Chinese diesels utility engines at the
purveyors of fine sea-can goods.

Like a 6 HP single cylinder engine for $400 or so.

AFAIK, the Chinese have a few years experience making these little
units, and to tell the truth, I am tempted to buy one, just to see what
I can do with it.

Dunno if the likes of them is coming into the US yet, with the low
penetration of diesels in general into the consumer market there, but it
might be worth looking for.

Definately gonna be less expensive than a Kubota, I think. :-)

If he is a trucker and running where he might need the heat, why not a
fuel powered engine heater?

Cheers
Trevor Jones

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:
Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.



While this doesn't answer your question, It reminded me that during WWII
("The Big one") when gasoline was rationed, one of the magazines of the
Mechanix Illustrated/Popular Mechanics genre ran an article on a similar
subject.

IIRC it showed how to add No.2 home heating oil burning capability to a
car's engine, and I think the oil was preheated by running it through a
length of metal tubing wrapped around (or maybe just near) the exhaust
manifold.

Manual petcocks handled the switchover from gasoline to fuel oil and
back when starting and stopping the engine.

I think the standard carb was retained as is.

Anyone else remember reading that article?

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:34:55 -0800, Bruce L. Bergman
wrote:

On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 21:52:31 -0500, clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:

Kid brother has a briggs engined Coleman genset he wants to convert to
run on Kero (or Diesel fuel).
I know it can be done - need to start on gasoline and switch over when
warmed up. Any one have experience?
Does the kero need to be pre-heated? Any change in mixtures or timing?

Any pertinent experience appreciated.

Find one of these used -
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w..._744380_744380
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...atname=engines


No bloody way!!. Those things are EXTREMELY noizy. He'd get shot if
he ran one of those overnight at a truck stop. We tried the single cyl
air cooled direct injection diesel engine. It is NOT an option!!


Or bite the bullet and get one of these, drop it in and be done -
http://www.cumminsonan.com/apu/products/
http://www.trucktrailer.carrier.com/...comfortpro.pdf

Nice unit, but at 6 grand it's not going to happen.

Seriously, you could probably handle the machinations of switching
back and forth between gasoline and diesel, but FWIH this is for a
relative's semi-truck - and he's a truck driver not an engine
wrangler. ;-0

And Diesel =/= Kerosene, they are different enough to make running a
spark ignition engine on it harder, especially in sub-zero conditions
where the airflow around the engine will have to be carefully
controlled - if the engine cools off too much the fuel won't vaporize
and it will stall, too restricted and it overheats.

Oh, and one other thing to consider - I hate to be morbid, but if
he's stuck in a white-out blizzard in the middle of nowhere, and this
generator engine dies and can't be started from inside, and he can't
get the truck engine started, he could die. Having no heat is
certainly Life Safety Critical.

I would find him an itty-bitty diesel engine out of (example) a dead
reefer unit (Carrier is a two-cylinder 13.9-HP Kubota), rebuild it,
and couple that to the generator head. And then you know he can
always get it serviced at any truck stop that does reefers.

Is the generator head you have the "Small Briggs" style one-bearing
alternator where the generator slides over the keyed ~1" dia x ~3"
long output shaft, or the style that has a flat drive plate that bolts
to a standard SAE #4 or #5 flywheel? That will have a large bearing
(sic) on which way you build the power unit.

We're even considering a straight shaft briggs with a beld driven
genny.

A two-bearing generator makes it easier to cobble up a Franken-
Generator, as you can put a double sheave on the generator head and a
triple or quad sheave on the engine, package them Over-Under to save
space, and have one or two sheave grooves left over for driving a 12V
alternator, AC Compressor or other uses.

-- Bruce --


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:00:27 GMT, Trevor Jones
wrote:



I am starting to see some Chinese diesels utility engines at the
purveyors of fine sea-can goods.

Like a 6 HP single cylinder engine for $400 or so.

We put one on the truck last weekend. NO WAY is it staying on. That
sucker pops like a trainload of firecrackers. WAY too loud. ANd it is
not exhaust noise.

AFAIK, the Chinese have a few years experience making these little
units, and to tell the truth, I am tempted to buy one, just to see what
I can do with it.

Dunno if the likes of them is coming into the US yet, with the low
penetration of diesels in general into the consumer market there, but it
might be worth looking for.

Definately gonna be less expensive than a Kubota, I think. :-)

If he is a trucker and running where he might need the heat, why not a
fuel powered engine heater?

Cheers
Trevor Jones


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com