Discover the expert in you.
Discover the expert in you.
A look at the latest tech. Renewable energy at home with Horizon hydrogen fuel cells.
It’s well known that the Wankel rotary engine produces more horsepower and torque for its weight and displacement than a conventional reciprocating engine. It’s an incredibly smooth running engine with the capability of running at some very high rpm. The rotary engine has been plagued with certain problems that have kept it from wide acceptance in the auto industry.
There are only a few contaminants that can lead to diesel engine failure on a boat. Of the handful, most are described as sludge or algae, a few come from human enterprise, some come from human stupidity and one, water, doesn't come from a leaky fuel cap, but from a source of consternation in other parts of the boat -- condensation. Once you understand the problem, you've gone a long way to preventing it in your diesel.
Some people are not happy with having just a stock pickup truck. Ron Reiswig became one of those people when he purchased his 2005 F-350 in 2004. He began to build the truck up with the idea of building a truck that could haul a large amount of weight and still be able to perform like a race truck. The 2005 F-350 that Ron built was featured in a February 2009 article in Diesel Power Magazine titled "Haulin Mass," written by Mike McGlothlin.
Air bubbles can become trapped in the fuel line of a gasoline or diesel engine if you run out of fuel when running the engine, or perform maintenance such as changing a fuel filter. These air bubbles can become trapped in the fuel line, impeding or completely blocking the flow of the fuel to the engine, making the engine run rough or keeping it from running at all. If this is an issue for your John Deere tractor, you can fix it by bleeding the fuel system.
Fuel additive companies make much ado about systems cleaners -- and for good reason. Fuel injectors aren't just little nozzles that spray gas into your motor, they're precise instruments with very tight tolerances and little room for error. Injector failure isn't uncommon, particularly on older vehicles that may have seen more than their fair share of bad gas and neglect.
Vegetable oil is a cleaner-burning fuel than petroleum fuel oil, and it produces less soot and airborne particulates that contribute to pollution and global warming. As a renewable bio-resource, it reduces the nation's reliance on foreign oil. Unfortunately, the vegetable oils commonly found in grocery stores are not compatible with most home furnaces. However, a usable vegetable oil fuel can be professionally refined from leftover restaurant cooking oil or from chemically modified versions of raw cooking oils. The most reliable source for vegetable oil fuel is traditional heating oil suppliers, who offer workable blends that combine vegetable oil with conventional…
The level sensor in a vehicle’s fuel tank is actually a combination of three components; a float, an actuating rod and a resistor. This combination of components sends a variable signal to the fuel gauge or an electronic device -- a “little black box” -- that actuates the fuel gauge. The sensor assembly is often referred to as a sender. It is a relatively simple system once the function of each component part understood.
Because built-in ovens are fitted into enclosures beneath work surfaces or into wall-mounted cabinets, they should be vented to the outside of the building for both safety and proper function. Used to channel air in buildings, the vent pipe is properly called a duct. Disconnecting the duct from the oven vent is a simple project.
Diesel engines may just be gas engines with high compression and no spark plugs, but they live on a whole different planet in terms of tuning and function. Diesel engines have hypothetically unlimited power potential, but in practical terms they're limited by how much thermal energy they can withstand before melting into a puddle of cast iron. Dropping exhaust gas temperatures isn't just vital in terms of engine longevity, it also opens the door to increasing power by eliminating the engine's primary restriction.
PZEV cars are Partially Zero Emission Vehicles. These vehicles have “zero evaporative emissions” in their fuel systems and feature a 15-year and/or 150,000-mile guarantee for all emission control components. The warranty also must cover the electrical components, such as parts in a hybrid vehicle. The state of California has a specific low emissions category for PZEVs.
The 1999 Chevy S-10 pickup truck with a 4.3-liter model 220 engine uses a throttle body injection system, or TBI. In this type of system the throttle body is positioned on the top center of the intake manifold and has two separate bores, each containing one fuel injector at the topside of the bore. The throttle plates are below the injectors. With the air cleaner removed, the injector spray pattern can be observed and irregularities easily diagnosed. The Vortec engine, which comes in some models, uses a different style system.
Acids in ash produced by burning waste oil can corrode a boiler and keep it from burning cleanly. Frequent cleaning prolongs the boiler's life and helps prevent soot fires. Most manufacturers suggest cleaning the ash out of the combustion chamber every 500 to 1,500 hours of use, but how often you actually need to clean the boiler depends on the specific brand. Your owner’s manual will give you advice about cleaning and other maintenance.
Rotary engines feature a radically different construction than piston engines. In lieu of reciprocating rods and pistons, rotary engines utilize triangular rotors that complete the four phases of the combustion process by rotating at an offset angle within the combustion chamber. To work efficiently, rotary engines require the use of both leading and trailing spark plugs in each chamber.
Fuel injectors act like electrically controlled firing nozzles that receive a pulse signal to inject and fire a precise amount of fuel into the intake manifold. Multiport fuel injectors deliver individual shots into each cylinder. Fuel injectors can cause a variety of problems, including surging, stalling, misfiring, hesitation, flooding and no-start conditions. The ECM, or engine control module, sends an electronic signal to the fuel injector, which must read and transfer an electrical pulse to ignite the fuel. A vehicle owner can perform a few tests to determine whether the electrical part of the injector is functioning properly.
Setting an engine’s idle speed too high consumes fuel needlessly and generates unwanted emissions; allowing it to idle too slowly risks stalling if the air conditioning or some other unexpected load cuts in. Relying on trial and error to get it right is time-consuming and likely to give inaccurate results. Spark-based measurements are not possible for diesel engines, but using a hand-held tachometer to measure engine speed in rpm is accurate and relatively straightforward.
John Deere is a well-known name in the world of large and small lawn equipment. With everything from small lawn trimmers to large tractors, John Deere products are used for many different jobs. For some John Deere products, the engines that power the machines run on diesel fuel rather than standard unleaded fuel. If you notice performance issues with your John Deere diesel engine, you can try a few different troubleshooting methods to get it running again before calling the dealer for service.
Low sulfur diesel is in many ways an improvement of old high-sulfur diesel, but it isn't free of problems. The sulfur in older fuels combines with nickel in the engine to create a molten alloy that enhances lubricity, a property that engineers anticipated when designing engines for the fuels. While engines and vehicles designed specifically for use with ULSD work well with it, the fuel hasn't proven very popular with owners of older powerplants.
Home construction and repair projects may go on well into the cold months. It’s at these times that the use of a construction heater can keep work going instead of coming to a halt until the cold spell breaks. Construction heaters are available in many different types and operate on a variety of fuels. However, it is not always advisable to try to change units to use an alternate fuel source, such as converting a propane-fueled heater to a natural gas unit.
Electric cars are, mechanically speaking, much simpler than cars that utilize an internal combustion engine. In a regular gas or diesel engine, there are hundreds of moving parts. Any of these can fail, and many need regular service to operate properly. Electric cars are much simpler, but there are still components in these types of cars that must be monitored or serviced to achieve lasting performance.
The Jake Brake is the name for the Jacobs Vehicle Systems' compression release braking system. The system utilizes the high compression nature of diesel engines by using that compression to create an engine retarder to assist an 18-wheeler's braking. The Jake Brake can act exclusively from the truck's traditional brakes or in conjunction with them, depending on the driver's preference.
The term organic light-emitting diode refers to technology that changes the way consumers view display screens. "OLED TVs drop jaws," notes Taylor Buley in a Forbes.com article about OLED screens. After hearing the hype, you may be considering purchasing one, but while the technology is impressive, OLED screens do have disadvantages.
Gravity furnaces, sometimes called “octopus furnaces,” are an old type of gas-burning heater. These furnaces were used during the 1800s and 1900s. They’re referred to as octopus furnaces due to the several ducts that connect to the main heating unit. When an appliance is retrofitted, an element is added to it that it didn’t originally have. This way, an old appliance, like a gravity furnace, can be modernized and used in a contemporary household or building. When retrofitting any heating system, it’s not a case of one-size-fits-all; there are several options that need to be considered.
Fuel injectors in the Mazda 626 vehicles connect to pressurized fuel lines to spray fuel into the combustion chamber. A solenoid is charged with electricity to briefly open a valve allowing the fuel to pass through the injector nozzles into the engine for combustion. The Mazda 626, first introduced in 1979, was equipped with electronic fuel injection in 1988. All Mazda 626 models have been equipped with fuel injectors since 1988. With the exception of OBD-II port reading -- available starting in 1996 -- the steps to test the fuel injectors remains the same for all models produced since 1988.
The leftover soot from combusted diesel fuel oil can, if left unchecked, form abrasive clumps that rub against a vehicle’s engine. Side effects such as thickening oil from the soot can lead to decreased performance if not outright engine failure. In the home, a furnace’s fuel oil soot can gather in the chimney and block the proper venting of gases, putting the household at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning. The most effective way to minimize hazards to health and home is to clean fuel oil soot early, before it accumulates enough to form a destructive mass.
Oil stoves and furnaces rely on oil combustion to provide heat. A heating element ignites the oil fumes in a chamber and the heat is then pushed out of the chamber by a blower. Oil stoves are safe when they are properly maintained but you should always be careful when using one because leaks or malfunction could result in noxious fumes or fire. Regular monitoring of the oil stove helps ensure you enjoy the warmth it provides without the potentially dangerous side effects.
Diesel engines are increasing in popularity, particularly in domestic-made light trucks. Modern diesel engines have more power and quieter operation than some of the older models and are more appealing to drivers. Diesel engines also produce higher levels of torque and tow heavier loads with ease. A major inconvenience with diesel fuel is its tendency to gel in colder weather, but this can be reduced with some preparation.
A cooktop stove doesn't typically run on diesel fuel. If your stove is producing a smell similar to diesel or other oil-based fuel, you're probably smelling the cooktop stove's actual fuel source -- gas. This smell can pose a significant health risk to you and your family depending on the smell's source. Examining your cooktop thoroughly is the best way to eliminate causes of the odor that could be dangerous.
The diesel engine traces its history to 1892, when German engineer Rudolph Diesel filed a patent for an engine run on a stable byproduct of the petroleum refinement process dubbed diesel fuel. After mass manufacturing by brewer Adolphus Busch, military use in World War I and civilian applications beginning in the 1930s, diesel engines gained a reputation as loud, smoky workhorses. The modern diesel engine still serves as a solid workhorse, but it has made significant strides in terms of efficiency and eco-friendliness.
Diesel fuel is rated by different criteria used to measure its overall quality, which can affect how well the fuel burns in a diesel engine. The cetane number is an important measurement because fuel with a low cetane number can cause combustion knock, as well as white smoke from the exhaust and poor performance. Low fuel economy can also result. The API gravity number is an important factor in determining the cetane number, as well as the overall fuel quality.
Knowing the input and output of your boiler will help you to determine the boiler's efficiency. Armed with this knowledge, you can assess if the boiler is still functioning at optimum levels, or if it is time to replace it. It will also tell you if a size adjustment is required for the amount of space it is heating. To determine input and output of a boiler system, it is necessary to know the type of fuel that is being consumed.
Diesel fuel consists of middle distillates, which are petroleum compounds. Sometimes it is combined with bio-diesel, a fuel derived from vegetable and animal fats, to produce a fuel that is cleaner burning and less harmful to the environment. Number 2 grade diesel fuel – also known as road diesel – congeals at temperatures below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, sometimes making its use difficult in bitterly cold regions.
The fuel injectors on the 2000 Ford F-150 with the 4.6-liter are all connected to a fuel rail that is routed around the intake manifold. To remove any or all of the fuel injectors, it is necessary to relieve the fuel pressure and remove the fuel rail. Special tools required to perform the process include a fuel line quick disconnect tool and a fuel pressure tester.
Waste oil refers to recycled or used oil that is collected and processed so it can be used in boilers to produce heat. Many different types of waste oil can be burned for fuel, but they need to be burned in boilers that have been specially designed, or specially converted, to burn waste oil. Burning waste oil can save money and help the environment through recycling.
Surveys conducted by the Tennessee Propane and Gas Association indicate that consumers prefer cooking with gas rather than electric. The American Gas Association reports 97 percent of professional chefs prefer cooking with gas. Gas provides precise heat delivery and temperature control. Modern propane gas cooktops feature various energy-saving functions, including improved insulation and pilotless ignition. These energy-saving features can reduce propane gas consumption by 30 to 50 percent. Propane’s cost advantage over electricity is substantial.
For many outdoor and camping stoves, the power source comes from bottled propane. Converting the stoves over to dual-fuel use requires the installation of a generator into the stove engine. Most stove makers design the unit with conversion in mind, making it easy to convert the stove for use in areas where one particular fuel type is available. The conversion takes a few minutes and typically doesn't require any tools.
When it's cold outside, having an efficient way to heat your home can keep you and your family comfortable. Fuel oil furnaces heat homes efficiently, and with the right oil, they will heat the entire home. You can use several different oils for the furnaces, including kerosene and diesel. The oil you choose will depend on your preference and your budget.
Soot buildup is a common issue in boilers that use fuel sources like gas or oil. This buildup occurs beneath the boiler tank itself, around the burners that are used to heat the water. Over time, layers of soot can create a fire hazard. They will also interfere with how easily gas or oil can heat the water, impairing efficiency. Soot problems are caused by several different issues.
Filmmakers often use the "green screen" technique for special effects shots added in postproduction. By filming actors or vehicles in front of a bright green backdrop, they can use editing software to digitally replace the distinctive color with another image, such as an exotic background that would be impossible to create on a set. Creating backdrops seen through the windows of moving cars is one of the more fundamental uses for a green screen and "keying" software, since the actual cars may not be able to drive exactly where the director would like.
Caterpillar has been in the heavy equipment industry since 1883, though the caterpillar name originated with its first "caterpillar-style tractor" in 1908. Caterpillar continues as an industry leader, producing heavy machines as well as diesel engines. The Caterpillar 3406 is a heavy-duty diesel engine used in trucks, marine applications and heavy machines. Ring gears are used to crank the starter motor and are mounted to the engine's flywheel.
New homeowners or those looking to purchase a new furnace for the first time in years might find themselves a little mystified by the different types available. Learning about the different types -- including condensing and upflow furnaces -- can help consumers decide what type of furnace is best based on installation needs and energy efficiency.
Yanmar Marine International, headquartered in the Netherlands, provides a variety of diesel engines for service on the water. Yanmar marine diesels range from one-cylinder, 11-horsepower engines for auxiliary sailboats, to mid-powered diesels for inboard and inboard-outboard recreational boats, to 912-horsepower engines for larger commercial vessels.
There are two types of gas fuels used for cooktops: natural gas and propane. Many cooks and professional chefs opt for gas-fueled cooktops because they provide greater temperature control in comparison to electric-powered stoves. There are four primary gas-fueled cooktop formats, ranges, also called stoves, slide-in units that fit into counter spaces, drop-in units that fit through countertops, and portable cooktops for recreational use.
Furnaces burn oil and gas or use electricity to heat your home all winter long. When you ignore the symptoms of serious furnace problems, the unit may malfunction and stop providing heat in the middle of a winter holiday celebration. Some odors and smells coming from your furnace indicate the need for repair or maintenance while others are safe to ignore.
Every fireplace is dangerous. It is simply a matter of understanding the dangers each type of fireplace presents and taking the necessary precautions to reduce the risks to life and property. Burning logs is the oldest method of heating home and is still commonly used. Technology has stepped in to provide new means to play off that ancient technique. Many fireplaces operate without real fire or real wood but many can still deliver real satisfaction when you use them properly.
One of the most common engine capacities -- particularly trucks made by Ford and General Motors -- is the 6.5 liter diesel, which is a lighter, less powerful alternative to the sheer torque and fuel consumption of a V8. Aside from power, the fact these 6.5L engines are diesel engines also plays a part in maintenance and troubleshooting, as you consider parts like glow plugs, the alternator and the battery.
Because diesel engines power trucks and buses, many of these engine mechanics are also expert vehicle technicians. These workers earn their salaries by repairing and maintaining these engines. They may also service and repair other diesel-powered vehicles such as cranes, combines, farm tractors, boats and passenger cars.
Diesel fuel injectors convert fuel that is under pressure from the fuel pump into a spray and delivers it into the engine block's cylinders, where the pistons compress the fuel and the plugs spark it. The design principle of a fuel injector is as simple as that of a a garden hose nozzle. Installing fuel injectors is simple. The injectors are threaded into the engine block, the fuel lines are connected to the injectors and the lines are bled. The entire process requires a couple of tools and about 20 minutes of time.
The fuel you add to your vehicle contains a certain amount of lubricating oil to keep your fuel injectors running smoothly. In the mid-1990s, low sulfur became the fuel of choice at gas stations around the country. Some believe that the low sulfur fuel contains less lubricant, and therefore does not protect your injection system as well as it should. When the injection system is not properly lubricated, it can result in poor performance and bad gas mileage. There are several choices for fuel lubricant additives available for diesel and gasoline engines through gas stations and auto parts stores. Remembering…
Electrical problems may seems intractable and confusing, but they're actually fairly easy to diagnose once you know the basics. An electrical system can only fail in so many different ways; once you figure out what kind of failure you're dealing with, finding the source is just a matter of time and persistence. Just remember that electrical systems aren't week-old hot dogs. They don't "go bad," they just malfunction in one place or another.
