Things you always wanted to know the answer to [Vol. 5]

[GroundEffect]

Sway said:

Actually, that leads onto a linked question - why are garden/landscaping tools petrol and not diesel?

I'd have thought a simpler engine, with more low down torque, would be preferential?

Diesels don't inherently produce more torque. They do so because of turbocharging. When did you see a turbocharged chainsaw, apart from that cool dream when you were 13?

[Hugo a Gogo]

GroundEffect said:

Diesels don't inherently produce more torque. They do so because of turbocharging. When did you see a turbocharged chainsaw, apart from that cool dream when you were 13?

They do actually produce inherently more torque. Trucks etc have always been diesel since before turbos became common

[Evoluzione]

GroundEffect said:

Sway said:

Actually, that leads onto a linked question - why are garden/landscaping tools petrol and not diesel?

I'd have thought a simpler engine, with more low down torque, would be preferential?

Diesels don't inherently produce more torque. They do so because of turbocharging. When did you see a turbocharged chainsaw, apart from that cool dream when you were 13?

You've misquoted him, he is correct.

[77th Brigade]

Diesel hasn't made much headway in the Outboard market either!

[Doofus]

Exige77 said:

Sway said:

Actually, that leads onto a linked question - why are garden/landscaping tools petrol and not diesel?

I'd have thought a simpler engine, with more low down torque, would be preferential?

Diesel engines tend to de heavier and the fuel is a bit stinky and messy ?

Also, in the olden days (and perhaps still today) mowers and chainsaws and stuff were two-stroke. A diesel unit would need to be more complex (lubrication, for example), so would be bigger and heavier.

Can a diesel engine be air-cooled?

[V8mate]

Power/garden tools and outboard motors are focused on high rpm. They don't need to be torquey.

[Evoluzione]

Doofus said:

Also, in the olden days (and perhaps still today) mowers and chainsaws and stuff were two-stroke. A diesel unit would need to be more complex (lubrication, for example), so would be bigger and heavier.

Can a diesel engine be air-cooled?

They can yes, being quite cool running (compared to petrol) they lend themselves to it fairly easily.
They are quite rare though as you can't control the temperature of them. Coolant is of course used to control the temperature of an engine, not only to cool it, but also warm it.

[Clockwork Cupcake]

77th Brigade said:

Diesel hasn't made much headway in the Outboard market either!

Very few inboard marine engines are petrol though - most are diesel.

[Lily the Pink]

Doofus said:

Also, in the olden days (and perhaps still today) mowers and chainsaws and stuff were two-stroke.

Most mowers and wheeled implements seem to be 4-stroke, whereas those that are waved around (chainsaws, strimmers, hedgecutters) tend to be 2-stroke.

[Hugo a Gogo]

Evoluzione said:

Doofus said:

Also, in the olden days (and perhaps still today) mowers and chainsaws and stuff were two-stroke. A diesel unit would need to be more complex (lubrication, for example), so would be bigger and heavier.

Can a diesel engine be air-cooled?

They can yes, being quite cool running (compared to petrol) they lend themselves to it fairly easily.
They are quite rare though as you can't control the temperature of them. Coolant is of course used to control the temperature of an engine, not only to cool it, but also warm it.

Big Magirus Deutz off road trucks had air-cooled, naturally aspirated diesel motors, from straight sixes through to V12s, kinda modular with separate barrels

[Doofus]

Lily the Pink said:

Doofus said:

Also, in the olden days (and perhaps still today) mowers and chainsaws and stuff were two-stroke.

Most mowers and wheeled implements seem to be 4-stroke, whereas those that are waved around (chainsaws, strimmers, hedgecutters) tend to be 2-stroke.

Presumably because if it's on wheels, it can get away with being heavier. My Flymo was two-stroke.

[Nimby]

You can get tiny (eg 0.5cc) diesel engines for model aircraft where power-to-weight ratio is crucial. Air-cooled too.

[Saleen836]

Why do a lot of smokers think it acceptable to take a last drag on their ciggy then just throw it on the floor or flick out of the car window?

[21st Century Man]

Saleen836 said:

Why do a lot of smokers think it acceptable to take a last drag on their ciggy then just throw it on the floor or flick out of the car window?

Because fag ends (and chewing gum) are not considered to be litter by smokers (or chewers). No idea why? It beats me, but it just isn't.

[Halmyre]

Evoluzione said:

Yes, power to weight ratio is important in hand held tools and motorbikes so it rules out diesels.

There have been diesel motorcycles IIRC, a product of the 'try anything one' school of thought.

[Evoluzione]

Halmyre said:

Evoluzione said:

Yes, power to weight ratio is important in hand held tools and motorbikes so it rules out diesels.

There have been diesel motorcycles IIRC, a product of the 'try anything one' school of thought.

Largely a wartime thing as with other vehicles, they were multifuel engines so you could chuck anything in that came to hand out in the field.

[Plymo]

Nimby said:

You can get tiny (eg 0.5cc) diesel engines for model aircraft where power-to-weight ratio is crucial. Air-cooled too.

And they use carburettors!
Model engines are amazing things, the amount of power you get for such a light engine is impressive

[Thankyou4calling]

Legoland.

I’ve not been but they have huge Lego models of houses, people, trains etc.

Are they totally constructed of Lego bricks or are they just big lumps of something then clad in bricks to look like a person, house, car or whatever??

Just intrigued.

[P-Jay]

Thankyou4calling said:

Legoland.

I’ve not been but they have huge Lego models of houses, people, trains etc.

Are they totally constructed of Lego bricks or are they just big lumps of something then clad in bricks to look like a person, house, car or whatever??

Just intrigued.

Most of the rides / buildings etc are big fibreglass (I assume) facades like Disney World, they do however have a large impressive model village that's made of real Lego.

"I’ve not been"

Lucky you, it's terrible, but then I think the same about most theme parks. Eurodisney being the absolute worse.

Why anyone would willingly pay hundreds of pounds, if not thousands if you really mad and go to Florida to spend hours stood in queues is completely beyond my comprehension. I challenge anyone to go to Eurodisney and look into the faces of their fellow man and see anything but misery, it's the ultimate marketing blag.

Okay, the rides are good, but seriously, 90s mins of being crammed into a line of people for 3 mins of excitement, why?

[98elise]

P-Jay said:

Thankyou4calling said:

Legoland.

I’ve not been but they have huge Lego models of houses, people, trains etc.

Are they totally constructed of Lego bricks or are they just big lumps of something then clad in bricks to look like a person, house, car or whatever??

Just intrigued.

Most of the rides / buildings etc are big fibreglass (I assume) facades like Disney World, they do however have a large impressive model village that's made of real Lego.

"I’ve not been"

Lucky you, it's terrible, but then I think the same about most theme parks. Eurodisney being the absolute worse.

Why anyone would willingly pay hundreds of pounds, if not thousands if you really mad and go to Florida to spend hours stood in queues is completely beyond my comprehension. I challenge anyone to go to Eurodisney and look into the faces of their fellow man and see anything but misery, it's the ultimate marketing blag.

Okay, the rides are good, but seriously, 90s mins of being crammed into a line of people for 3 mins of excitement, why?

You're doing it wrong. We visit Florida when it's off season, and queues are about 20 minutes, sometimes less. There have been times when there are no queues at all. It's cheaper and the weather is better too. Avoids the hurricane/storm season and it's not oppressive heat.

Best deal I got was Virgin flights, villa and car for £1800 for the 4 of us.