Gasoline/diesel fuel mixtures?

[Dualfuel]

 And saw the reference to Harry Ricardos books. I scanned those in and would forward them to anybody interested. His books especially the low speed engine book, are very valuable for helping me work with all my ancient equipment here.

[buickanddeere]

Some Diesel engine manufacture suggest a blend of up to 30% gasoline with diesel for use a -40F. Reduces waxing and gelling. The gasoline also flashes to flammable vapour at temperature where diesel won't vapourize.
    Instead of tooling around with gasoline injected into a Diesel engine . The old classic of operating the diesel on methane/natural gas with a minimal squirt of diesel as pilot injection.
    Of course as previously discussed on this site iirc . this works only with LP/propane if the amount of propane is kept below the lower explosive limit to prevent detonation/ping/knock on the compression stroke .

[LowGear]

Not too far off thread:

Aren't you suppose to blend in 10 to 20% gasoline with vegetable oil?

Casey

[playdiesel]

I would be careful about applying fuel blending mixtures that are  dated. Any of us who are a bit dated can remember when #2 diesel was like light oil. Farmers here used to spray equipment with it that they didn't want to rust over the winter. Todays diesel fuels flash off like the kerosene of my youth and my armchair science inclination is that fuel delivery systems are not going to tolerate the same amount of thinning. The US Military decided a few years ago that every diesel engine needed to run on JP-8 and promptly made surplus anything that had a rotary pump because they would seize as fast as they could change them.

[vdubnut62]

It sure does seem to me that the diesel of today is much "dryer" I guess is the term I'm looking for, than that of a few years ago.
Just for grins, I poured some diesel in my old Fairbanks Morse Z 3hp,(designed to run on kerosene) and it ran like a champ! I figured that it would smoke like a tar kiln and miss and cut all kinds of monkeyshines,  but it seemed to like the fuel just fine.
I have a couple of older diesels, 50's vintage, and I mix 2 stroke oil in today's diesel fuel just to maybe help protect the pump.
I would sure hesitate to mix RUG in today's fuel, especially in the older style pumps.
Ron.

[LowGear]

Great thread.  Thanks for updating my understanding of diesel.

I wonder if this is why my diesel fired boiler seems to burn a lot cleaner than it did 10 years ago?

Casey