Is it time for a gasoline engine tractor?

[buickanddeere]

Another equipment manufacture having to use gas engines after the EPA regulated the diesel into something not practical to use.

The Impact of Tier 4 Diesel Engines| Concrete Construction Magazine | Tools and Equipment, Durability, Sustainability, Consolidation of Concrete, Pumps, Construction Contracts, Warranties, HVAC, Upselling and Cross-Selling, Lead-Safe Practices, Heating, Jobsite Equipment, Brake, Construction Management, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA, Bob Weatherton, Dan Roche, Hank de Carbonel, Greg Rostberg, Vijayakumar Palanisamy, Concrete Pump Store, CARB, California Air Resources Board, Briggs & Stratton, Multiquip, Whiteman, Bobcat, Atlas Copco, California

 

[truckdiagnostics]

I doubt that. Gasoline engines have a lot of technology under the hood these days. EFI has a lot of stuff going on.

Todays gas compared to todays tier iv diesel and I don't care how they chose to get the diesel to meet tier iv, gas has less going on, hands down.

 

[buickanddeere]

Todays gas compared to todays tier iv diesel and I don't care how they chose to get the diesel to meet tier iv, gas has less going on, hands down.

Not real sure what the message is ???

 

[MossRoad]

....
In the grand scheme of things having to refuel every 5-1/2 hrs instead of every 7hrs is not that big of a deal. ...

In the grand scheme of things, that's about a 21.5% increase in your fuel budget, which is HUGE for a farmer.

 

[MossRoad]

Kerosene (No. 1 Fuel oil) 134,000BTU/gallon
Burner fuel oil (No. 2 oil) 140,000BTU/gallon

http://www.human.cornell.edu/dea/outreach/upload/CompareHeatFuels.pdf

Or

Grade Heating Value
(Btu/US gal) Comments
Fuel Oil No. 1 132900 - 137000 Small Space Heaters
Fuel Oil No. 2 137000 - 141800 Residential Heating
Fuel Oil No. 4 143100 - 148100 Industrial Burners
Fuel Oil No. 5 (Light) 146800 - 150000 Preheating in General Required
Fuel Oil No.5 (Heavy) 149400 - 152000 Heating Required
Fuel Oil No. 6 151300 - 155900 Bunker C

Google

 

[buickanddeere]

Kerosene (No. 1 Fuel oil) 134,000BTU/gallon
Burner fuel oil (No. 2 oil) 140,000BTU/gallon

http://www.human.cornell.edu/dea/outreach/upload/CompareHeatFuels.pdf

Or

Grade Heating Value
(Btu/US gal) Comments
Fuel Oil No. 1 132900 - 137000 Small Space Heaters
Fuel Oil No. 2 137000 - 141800 Residential Heating
Fuel Oil No. 4 143100 - 148100 Industrial Burners
Fuel Oil No. 5 (Light) 146800 - 150000 Preheating in General Required
Fuel Oil No.5 (Heavy) 149400 - 152000 Heating Required
Fuel Oil No. 6 151300 - 155900 Bunker C

Google

113% #2 diesel is 129500 btu and gasoline 114000btu.

With the price of diesel being 20-30% more expensive than gasoline the past 9-10 years. The 113% more btu in diesel still makes diesel cost more per btu of energy.

Gasoline gallon equivalent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gasoline gallon equivalent tables[edit]
GGE calculated for gasoline in US gallons at 114000 BTU per gallon,
or 7594 kilocalories per litre[2]
Fuel: liquid, US gallons GGE GGE % BTU/gal kWh/gal HP-hr/gal kcal/litre
Gasoline (base)[3] 1.0000 100.00% 114,000 33.41 44.79 7594.0
Gasoline (conventional, summer)[3] 0.9960 100.40% 114,500 33.56 44.99 7624.5
Gasoline (conventional, winter)[3] 1.0130 98.72% 112,500 32.97 44.20 7496.5
Gasoline (reformulated gasoline, E10 - ethanol)[3] 1.0190 98.14% 111,836 32.78 43.94 7452.4
Gasoline (reformulated gasoline, ETBE)[3] 1.0190 98.14% 111,811 32.77 43.93 7452.4
Gasoline (reformulated gasoline, MTBE)[3] 1.0200 98.04% 111,745 32.75 43.90 7445.1
Gasoline (10% MTBE)[4] 1.0200 98.04% 112,000 32.83 44.00 7445.1
Gasoline (regular unleaded)[5] 1.0000 100.00% 114,100 33.44 44.83 7594.0
Diesel #2[5] 0.8800 113.64% 129,500 37.95 50.87 8629.8
Biodiesel (B100)[5] 0.9600 104.17% 118,300 34.80 46.65 8629.5
Bio Diesel (B20)[5] 0.9000 111.11% 127,250 37.12 49.76 8437.7
Liquid natural gas (LNG)[5] 1.5362 65.10% 75,000 21.75 29.16 4943.3
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Propane / Autogas) (LPG)[5] 1.2470 80.19% 91,500 26.82 35.95 6089.84
Methanol fuel (M100)[5] 2.0100 49.75% 56,800 16.62 22.28 3778.1
Ethanol fuel (E100)[5] 1.5000 66.67% 76,100 22.27 29.85 5062.7
Ethanol (E85)[5] 1.3900 71.94% 81,800 24.04 32.23 5463.3
Jet fuel (naphtha)[6] 0.9700 103.09% 118,700 34.44 46.17 7828.9
Jet fuel (kerosene)[6] 0.9000 111.11% 128,100 37.12 49.76 8437.7
Nitromethane fuel ~2.3 41.23% 47,000
GGE calculated on non-liquid fuels
Fuel: non-liquid GGE GGE % BTU/unit kWh/unit
Gasoline (base)[3][7] 1.0000 100.00% 114,000 BTU/gal 33.41
Compressed natural gas (CNG)[8] 126.67 cu ft (3.587 m3) 20,268 BTU/lb
Hydrogen at 101.325 kPa 357.37 cu ft 319 BTU/cu ft[9]
Hydrogen by weight 0.997 kg (2.198 lb)[10] 119.9 MJ/kg (51,500 BTU/lb)[11]
Electricity 33.40 kilowatt-hours 3,413 BTU/(kW·h) [12][13] 33.40

 

[buickanddeere]

In the grand scheme of things, that's about a 21.5% increase in your fuel budget, which is HUGE for a farmer.

With the price of diesel being 20-30% more expensive than gasoline the past 9-10 years. The 113% more btu in diesel still makes diesel cost more per btu of energy.
btw the conversation was about a hobby farmer's or estate owners under 50HP CUT and such, not Mr Big Time Operator with a couple of 400HP tractors and thousands of acres.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

"Farm" #2 diesel here, is and has been around 50 cents a gallon cheaper here than the cheapest gas...sometimes it's even more than 50 cents a gallon cheaper...

SR

 

[MossRoad]

"Farm" #2 diesel here, is and has been around 50 cents a gallon cheaper here than the cheapest gas...sometimes it's even more than 50 cents a gallon cheaper...

SR

Have you priced AG gasoline?

 

[buickanddeere]

"Farm" #2 diesel here, is and has been around 50 cents a gallon cheaper here than the cheapest gas...sometimes it's even more than 50 cents a gallon cheaper...

SR

How many hobby farmers and rural estate owners can obtain the bulk high volume discount for farm fuel? Most pickup a couple of five gallon jugs from the gas station when in town.
Once again we are not talking about Big Time Operators, marine propulsion , irrigation pumps or electrical utility power generation. It's about under 50HP CUT.

 

[MossRoad]

There's a lot of folks on here with a farm number. I've got one.

 

[daugen]

I just got 250 gallons of diesel delivered for my new tank at $1.399 a gallon. Well, it was two months ago when the price was at the bottom. Red died. No paperwork...
About two years worth for me, and I figured diesel was good for two years. Actually I'll probably get it topped off next summer.
Would I do this with gasoline? Not even with ethanol free.

Clearly older lower compression tractor engines seem to run on almost anything you put in. My experience with engines under 20hp is very different though. Only exception seems to be my "real" Hondas, not Chondas, which always start. Granted I dose them with SeaFoam, etc.

I'm at 250 hours with my diesel X750 JD GT and I flat out love the thing. I do find fuel usage goes up substantially when run at higher rpm, so i try to slow it down a bit, and keep my blades sharp so I can.

What about torque and HP concerns? Haven't diesels always put out more torque? Isnt that what we really want with our tractors? Though I was surprised to find the spec on my 23hp Vanguard that I repowered my Gravely with was almost the same torque as my diesel JD. But I'm guessing that torque comes in at higher rpm. But then one mows at higher rpm...

 

[JerryK]

Whilst gas motors for tractors again are a possibility, if they were practical they would be in semi's and Ford/Dodge/GM would be plastering the TV with ads about their big block, high torque, gas 3/4 ton trucks. There is no law saying you can't rip out the diesel in your Kubota and bolt in a 454 Chevy to get rid of the emmisions krap, have at it.... But I bet the diesel was and is the best choice.... Probably the ' next big thing ' will be battery powered tractors for lower hp machines.. have to plug it in for an hour or so a couple times a day..

 

[Redneck in training]

Why can a semi pulling an 80,000 lb trailer get 5 to 6 mpg while my F350 pulling 10,000 only gets 15 and my VW TDI only carrying 500 lbs only gets about 50 mpg?

Is it all gearing?

That has more to do with aerodynamic drag than mass.

 

[Redneck in training]

Whilst gas motors for tractors again are a possibility, if they were practical they would be in semi's and Ford/Dodge/GM would be plastering the TV with ads about their big block, high torque, gas 3/4 ton trucks. There is no law saying you can't rip out the diesel in your Kubota and bolt in a 454 Chevy to get rid of the emmisions krap, have at it.... But I bet the diesel was and is the best choice.... Probably the ' next big thing ' will be battery powered tractors for lower hp machines.. have to plug it in for an hour or so a couple times a day..

Hybrid machines are coming. Komatsu makes a backhoe with electric energy recovery.
http://www.komatsu.co.nz/AboutKomat...id Brochure_LR/Komatsu Hybrid Brochure_LR.pdf

 

[Egon]

How many hobby farmers and rural estate owners can obtain the bulk high volume discount for farm fuel? Most pickup a couple of five gallon jugs from the gas station when in town.
Once again we are not talking about Big Time Operators, marine propulsion , irrigation pumps or electrical utility power generation. It's about under 50HP CUT.

Summer Diesel or Winter Diesel?

 

[Egon]

Who makes a diesel with variable valve timing, shuting down cylinder's and other shut stuff?

 

[JerryK]

Who makes a diesel with variable valve timing, shuting down cylinder's and other shut stuff?

You mean like the old hit and miss gas motors... that would be neat...!!!!

 

[houstonscott]

This argument has played out over the last 100 years, gas lost a long time ago; more expensive, hard to store, dangerous to use, has less energy, costs more to refine, and gas engines don't produce the toque need to do jobs a tractor performs, gas engines require more maintenance, and are shorter lived. It's a no brainier it's diesel. Oh, by the way a clean diesel produces way less CO2 then gas, just added that for a modern twist. HS

 

[Sawyer Rob]

How many hobby farmers and rural estate owners can obtain the bulk high volume discount for farm fuel?

IF only you was as smart as you would like the folks here, to think you are...

In MANY places, including here, ag diesel is available right at the pump, just take a can and fill it with what ever amount you want... I buy mine from the same station I buy all of my fuel...

I'll help you out with a "hint", it's RED!

SR