In addition to all the good comments by others, let me expand a little on the catalyst / refining comment. The technology in oil refineries has advanced a lot. You can probably remember when diesel was a lot cheaper than gas. I can remember in the 60's when diesel fuel was about half the cost of gasoline. Part of the reason is that the refineries were not able to convert as much of a barrel of oil to gasoline back then as they can today. So the diesel and the lesser products, such as distillate, were almost a waste product in the quest to get as much gasoline as possible. So in order to get X amount of gasoline out of a barrel of oil, you ended up with Y amount of diesel and other lesser valued products, such as distillate, bunker fuel, asphalt, coke, paraffin wax, etc. Today, a barrel of oil yields a lot bigger X percent of gasoline and the Y amount of lesser valued products is smaller. This is due to advances in refinery processes and catalysts. Kind of the same thing with propane tractors. Propane is obtained by processing natural gas. Initially there was a limited market for propane, and it was cheap compared to gasoline. The US natural gas industry really took off after WW II, with pipelines laid to all parts of the country. The natural gas had to be processed to remove the heavier hydrocarbons (ethane, propane, butane) so that they would not condense and form liquid slugs in the pipelines, particulary in cold weather. So there was a lot of cheap propane available on the market. Distillate and propane tractors were attempts to utilize a cheap alternative to gasoline. Both fuels could be used in a lightly modified gasoline engine rather than a more expensive diesel engine.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Tractor Profile: Farmall M - by Staff. H so that mountable implements were interchaneable. The Farmall M was most popular with large-acreage row-crop farmers. It was powered by either a high-compression gas engine or a distillate version with lower compression. Options included the Lift-All hydraulic system, a belt pulley, PTO, rubber tires, starter, lights and a swinging drawbar. It could be ordered in the high-crop, wide-front or tricycle configurations. The high-crop version was called a Model MV.
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
1964 I-H 140 tractor with cultivators and sidedresser. Starts and runs good. Asking 2650. CALL RON AT 502-319-1952
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
