Seeker said:
I was wondering if it was feasible/possible to convert a gasoline lawnmower
into a biodiesel powered mower. Has anyone attempted this? A Google search
didn't turn up much.
Possible, perhaps; feasible, I doubt.
Simple method - toss engine, put on a Robin or other small Diesel. The
new engine will exceed the value of the lawnmower by a huge extent, so I
don't class this as especially "feasible", but if you have money to
throw away...
Simple method 2 - buy a Diesel compact tractor. Even more $$, but useful
for other things than mowing lawns.
Fiendishly complex and futile method: do a rebuild to up the compression
and somehow graft on an injector pump that's worth more than the
lawnmower. If you succeed, run it a few hours, and find (most likely)
that the increased compression destroys the bearings in the engine.
If you want to play with an alternative fuel for your gasoline
lawnmower, woodgas is probably the most likely to have a chance at
working, unless you want to go through all the headaches of making
alcohol fuel. Home Power has a 1991 article which was downloadable from
their web site a few months ago - I assume it still is. Mother Earth
News also covered the process. It seems a bit fiddly (making the fire
smoulder just right to produce gas, trying to clean the ash out before
the gas hits the engine, etc), but requires no change to the basic
operation of the motor, and has been widely used in the past.
Then there's a fence and some sheep, or geese.
>)
