Read today that almost all vans and half the cars in Europe run on diesel.
The only thing I know about diesel is it stinks and gives me headaches.
I get why a huge truck with a heavy load would run on diesel fuel. But why would HALF the cars in Europe run on it?
Diesels are generally built heavier and last longer than gasoline fueled. Fuel taxes, maybe?
mike snipped-for-privacy@address.is.invalid> wrote
That's a lie.
They don't.
Some did go for diesel cars for their better fuel economy but that has since been significantly negated by the fact that diesel is now more expensive than gasoline and the fact that diesel cars pollute more than the best gasoline cars.
Higher energy density than gasoline.
With modern software controlled engines, the old drawbacks (soot, reduced power curve) have been largely mitigated.
mileage, mileage, mileage.
I think you're right about taxes, but if a large number of cars used diesel, they'd impose highway taxes on it. Only fair, right? In fact I think even now you're only supposed to use it for trucks and farm equipment?? But no one enforces the rule?
Off road diesel fuel in the U.S. has a bit of red dye in it. I wonder how expensive it is for a trucker with reddish fuel in his tanks. I'd guess that it's checked now and then at weigh stations.
And you have to wear gloves to keep the vapors off your hand. Diesel also gives my wife violent asthma
That would be politics and not science. The public got burned really bad on that.
There's low-sulfur diesel that's suitable for cars. It's taxed, and here (at least) is about $1 per gallon more than gasoline. The gas station where I fill up most frequently has pumps that dispense four types of fuel: regular, mid-grade, premium, and diesel. There's a separate nozzle for the diesel.
Europe does impose fuel taxes on diesel.
No, you are confusing the fact that the diesel used in farm equipment doesnt have the fuel tax applied.
Diesel used in trucks and cars in europe does have the fuel tax applied.
There is no such rule with diesel itself.
There are taxes, same as gas. Only thing knocking it out now is meeting emissions standards. Price it high too.
Nope, no trucker or driver of a diesel car does that.
Nope, it was originally due to the mileage cost being lower because of the higher energy content of diesel which isnt necessarily true anymore when the cost of diesel is higher than gasoline in many jurisdictions.
Nope, plenty are still happy with their diesel cars.
But some jurisdictions restrict where they can be driven due to the higher pollution that diesel cars produce.
mike wrote on 2/6/2023 2:50 PM:
I used to own a VW Jetta diesel.
Diesel is a grade of petroleum that has motor oil in it. I used to drive an airport fuel truck long time ago. Most aircraft fuel is called "Jet A1" which is a fancy grade of kerosene. Since the fuel truck itself ran on diesel, I just pumped the Jet A1 fuel into the truck's fuel tank and added one quart of motor oil. That converted the kerosene (Jet A1) into diesel.
That means a diesel engine runs on a fuel that has a high content of motor oil in it. That is the main reason diesel engines outlast a gasoline engine many times over. Many taxis are also diesel because taxis practically run 24 hour shifts. A gasoline taxi will die in one year in New York City.
A diesel engine has higher torque than a gasoline engine. A diesel car is slower to pick up speed from rest compared to a gasoline car. That's ideal for trucks and taxis.
A diesel engine doesn't use spark plugs. It detonates the air-fuel mixture by high compression in the cylinders. That means the metal used in a diesel engine has to be strong enough to withstand the high compression. That's why diesel engines are more expensive than gasoline engines. Considering the fact that a diesel engine can easily run over a million miles, it is cheaper in the long run.
Price differential in Europe is not that great.
Nope, its a different range of fractional distillation of petroleum.
Wrong again. It is close to kerosene but not a fancy grade of it.
Nope. Diesel engines can operate fine on a very wide range of oils, including used vegetable oils.
Nope, just a different distillate fraction of petroleum.
Nope, The real reason is that they are much simpler designs given that there is no ignition system at all.
Nope, because they are much more fuel efficient and that mattered when diesel was significantly cheaper than gasoline.
BULLSHIT.
It wouldn't be if it had higher torque.
More bullshit with taxis.
Its not the metal that matters, its the amount of it that is used that matters.
Not true of truck engines.
And thats the other reason they were so popular in taxis.
You're just a font of wisdom, aren't you?
I don't know if you are being sarcastic. I oversimplified the terminologies but everybody in aviation industry says Jet A1 is just very clean kerosene. And I am not kidding about pumping the Jet A1 fuel into the diesel fuel tank and add one quart of motor oil. It was recommended by my employer at the airport. I am sure it is done everywhere else too.
By the way, have you ever seen a fuel truck going to the gas station to get diesel fuel in your whole life? I believe they pump gasoline fuel (if they are delivery gasoline) into their own diesel fuel tank and then add whatever number of quarts of motor oil to get the octane down to the diesel level (25-40).
Sounds like a load of bollocks!
Yep, you actually are that stupid.
In fact you utterly mangled the facts.
Bullshit.
Irrelevant to what diesel fuel actually is.
You'd be wrong about that too.
Even sillier and more pig ignorant than you usually manage and that's saying something.
And is a load of bollocks.
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