Diesel Power Generator IV

Friendly guide to diesel power generators, diesel engine, backup power generator & electricity, its basic principles & more by Bowerspower.

Diesel Power Generators are also used in remote villages for power in lieu of connecting to the utility grid.  Major construction costs can be averted. 

Diesel Fuel
If you have ever compared diesel fuel and gasoline, you know that they are different. They certainly smell different. Diesel fuel is heavier and oilier. Diesel fuel evaporates much more slowly than gasoline -- its boiling point is actually higher than the boiling point of water. You will often hear diesel fuel referred to as "diesel oil" because it is so oily.

Diesel fuel evaporates more slowly because it is heavier. It contains more carbon atoms in longer chains than gasoline does (gasoline is typically C₉H₂₀, while diesel fuel is typically C₁₄H₃₀). It takes less refining to create diesel fuel, which is why it is generally cheaper than gasoline.

Diesel fuel has a higher energy density than gasoline. On average, 1 gallon (3.8 L) of diesel fuel contains approximately 155x10⁶ joules (147,000 BTU), while 1 gallon of gasoline contains 132x10⁶ joules (125,000 BTU). This, combined with the improved efficiency of diesel engines, explains why diesel engines get better mileage than equivalent gasoline engines.

Rudolf Diesel developed the idea for the diesel engine and obtained the German patent for it in 1892. His goal was to create an engine with high efficiency. Gasoline engines had been invented in 1876 and, especially at that time, were not very efficient.

The main differences between the gasoline engine and the diesel engine are:

A gasoline engine intakes a mixture of gas and air, compresses it and ignites the mixture with a spark. A diesel engine takes in just air, compresses it and then injects fuel into the compressed air. The heat of the compressed air lights the fuel spontaneously.

A gasoline engine compresses at a ratio of 8:1 to 12:1, while a diesel engine compresses at a ratio of 14:1 to as high as 25:1. The higher compression ratio of the diesel engine leads to better efficiency.

Gasoline engines generally use either carburetion, in which the air and fuel is mixed long before the air enters the cylinder, or port fuel injection, in which the fuel is injected just prior to the intake stroke (outside the cylinder). Diesel engines use direct fuel injection -- the diesel fuel is injected directly into the cylinder.

The following animation shows the diesel cycle in action. You can compare it to the animation of the gasoline engine to see the differences: