There's a lot of discussion of the fact that diesels are generally more efficient than gas engines, but not much about why this is the case. Diesels derive their high efficiency from their high compression ratios. If you could run a spark ignition engine at 14:1 compression, it would be pretty efficient. Which is one reason why automakers are starting to make direct-injection gas engines: they can achieve much higher compression ratios than earlier fuel-injection designs. Most gasoline tractors have modest compression ratios; typically less than 9:1, making equivalent diesel tractors much more efficient.
Diesels also derive a small efficiency gain because they don't have to throttle their intake air, eliminating throttling losses.
jdemaris mentioned the fact that when you compare fuel consumption by weight rather than volume, gas engines don't look so bad. But for much of the history of diesel farm tractors, gasoline was more expensive than diesel fuel. Farmers couldn't care less about the Btu content of their fuel, but they definitely care what it costs.
So efficiency was the main thing that killed gas tractors. But maintenance played a role, too. Most diesel engines go to major overhaul with little or no maintenance other than oil and filter changes.
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Today's Featured Article - The Day Mom Drove the 8N - by Brian Browning. My Dad was wanting to put in a garden but couldn't operate the 8N and handle the old horse drawn plow he had found and rigged up to use with the tractor. Well, he decided to go get Mom out of the house and have her drive the tractor while he walked behind the plow. You got to understand that while my Mom is a hard worker who will always help whenever she can... she had never operated farm machinery before that day. Dad got her out there, explained how the clutch was the same as in our o
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