Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Vaughn MacKenzie
TDR MEMBER
So far this summer I haven't cut a blade of grass using gasoline.
It all started in late February when it was time for the first mow and I found I didn't have enough gas to do the job. I did, however, have a can of diesel which I use for mixing up my fuel additive for easier addition to my fuel tank at fillups.
Hmmmmmm. . . .
I got an evil look in my eye, and proceeded to fill the 22" lawnmower with the oily stuff. I primed the 4. 5hp Briggs and it lit off, puffed a cloud of white smoke and died. After messing around I found that pumping the prime button would keep going and by the time I fumigated the neighborhood it ran under its own power. Amazingly 2-3 minutes after startup the smoke cleared completely and it ran smoothly. Wow. I mowed the lawn and burned up the tank which was about 80% diesel.
That was too easy, I thought, being there was enough gas to ignite with a spark, to make the diesel burn. Time to really put the Briggs to the test!
I thoroughly drained the tank and in went 100% diesel. I took an oil bottle with gas in it and a small hole in the cap to prime the carb with to get it started (this is after it was totally cold). After a few rounds of shooting in the fuel and having it start and die (with a huge cloud of white smoke) I got it going by furiously pushing the button. 2-3 minutes of this and once again the smoke cleared completely and it ran on its own.
Cool! I mowed the lawn again and it ran great. Good power and the tank of fuel lasts longer. When you load it in heavy grass it rattles pretty good and blows some nice-smelling blue smoke, but it doesn't complain too bad. It runs great at any speed between slow idle and full speed.
Shutdowns can be tricky. Hitting the kill switch usually stops it, but sometimes there's enough heat that it diesels away and it really detonates and bangs severely. This is due to the governor making the carb going WOT (something I've gotta tweak before I send a rod through the block). It smokes like a sonofagun for a couple seconds at shutdown.
Spark plugs foul pretty often as you can imagine (every 3-4 tanks) because of the wet fuel at startup. When this happens it still runs but not very smoothly and it backfires violently. Not just a little pop, but a loud BANG!!
I pulled the plug after burning several tanks of diesel and the cylinder is very clean, virtually no carbon buildup. After it has run awhile there are no deposits left on the spark plug.
I've gotten my routine down pretty well now and sometimes I can start it with only 1 quick shot of gas. Hotter weather helps with this too.
Checking the oil and sniffing it is cool, smells just like a diesel. The exhaust smell is very peculair. It smells nothing like a Cummins, PSD, DMax or any other diesel. The odor is a strange concoction of typical lawnmower exhaust and diesel odor. Hard to describe.
I don't recommend trying this at home unless you have a disposable lawnmower with a mechanically sound well-sealed engine. I tried this before on a not-so-fresh Briggs and it couldn't sustain a fire to save its neck!
I guess for those who really have a diesel disease, experiments like this really show how bad I have it!!!
Vaughn
It all started in late February when it was time for the first mow and I found I didn't have enough gas to do the job. I did, however, have a can of diesel which I use for mixing up my fuel additive for easier addition to my fuel tank at fillups.
Hmmmmmm. . . .
I got an evil look in my eye, and proceeded to fill the 22" lawnmower with the oily stuff. I primed the 4. 5hp Briggs and it lit off, puffed a cloud of white smoke and died. After messing around I found that pumping the prime button would keep going and by the time I fumigated the neighborhood it ran under its own power. Amazingly 2-3 minutes after startup the smoke cleared completely and it ran smoothly. Wow. I mowed the lawn and burned up the tank which was about 80% diesel.
That was too easy, I thought, being there was enough gas to ignite with a spark, to make the diesel burn. Time to really put the Briggs to the test!
I thoroughly drained the tank and in went 100% diesel. I took an oil bottle with gas in it and a small hole in the cap to prime the carb with to get it started (this is after it was totally cold). After a few rounds of shooting in the fuel and having it start and die (with a huge cloud of white smoke) I got it going by furiously pushing the button. 2-3 minutes of this and once again the smoke cleared completely and it ran on its own.
Cool! I mowed the lawn again and it ran great. Good power and the tank of fuel lasts longer. When you load it in heavy grass it rattles pretty good and blows some nice-smelling blue smoke, but it doesn't complain too bad. It runs great at any speed between slow idle and full speed.
Shutdowns can be tricky. Hitting the kill switch usually stops it, but sometimes there's enough heat that it diesels away and it really detonates and bangs severely. This is due to the governor making the carb going WOT (something I've gotta tweak before I send a rod through the block). It smokes like a sonofagun for a couple seconds at shutdown.
Spark plugs foul pretty often as you can imagine (every 3-4 tanks) because of the wet fuel at startup. When this happens it still runs but not very smoothly and it backfires violently. Not just a little pop, but a loud BANG!!
I pulled the plug after burning several tanks of diesel and the cylinder is very clean, virtually no carbon buildup. After it has run awhile there are no deposits left on the spark plug.
I've gotten my routine down pretty well now and sometimes I can start it with only 1 quick shot of gas. Hotter weather helps with this too.
Checking the oil and sniffing it is cool, smells just like a diesel. The exhaust smell is very peculair. It smells nothing like a Cummins, PSD, DMax or any other diesel. The odor is a strange concoction of typical lawnmower exhaust and diesel odor. Hard to describe.
I don't recommend trying this at home unless you have a disposable lawnmower with a mechanically sound well-sealed engine. I tried this before on a not-so-fresh Briggs and it couldn't sustain a fire to save its neck!
I guess for those who really have a diesel disease, experiments like this really show how bad I have it!!!
Vaughn
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The heat has taken it's toal on your noggin. I recommend you fasten some headlights on that mower and wait till the sun goes down to take care of your yard work
I was going to cut grass. Picked up a can that I thought was gas and filled the tank up. Took forever to get the mower started and boy did it smoke. I picked up the wrong can. My dad had kerosene in that can.
