Do diesels need more heat to operate? How do they differ from gas engines?
In: 3
You have some answers for your first question, so I’ll concentrate on your second.
>How do they differ from gas engines?
Both diesel and petrol engines follow the same basic cycle.
1) Fuel and air go into the cylinder
2) The fuel and air are squeezed together
3) The fuel and air ignite, expanding rapidly and pushing on the piston to generate power
4) The burnt fuel and air leave the cylinder to clear it out for the next cycle
The major difference is in step 3. Petrol engines use an electric spark to ignite the mixture. Diesel engines instead use the heat and compression at the end of step 2 to create ignition. This means diesel engines are more susceptible to cold weather than petrol engines, especially older engines.
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