ORIGINAL: jaceP
[size=1]Has anyone ever tried converting any zenoah's or other gas engines to diesel? I need to run some engines indoor and They can't burn any oil. I'm hoping that the diesel fuel would be oily enough to lubricate the bearings then all I would have to do is machine off the top of the cylinder and make a new head and hope it would be able to be jetted in with the stock carb. What you all think?[/size]
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This totally will not work.
Modern Diesel engines utilize direct fuel injection nozzles that spray the Diesel fuel directly into the combustion chamber. The Zenoah has no provision for this since it uses a carburetor that feeds the engine through a port in the side of the cylinder, below the piston. Diesel fuel metering requiresments, and the fact that the fuel injection determines the engines ignition timing, make this impossible for a reasonably efficient engine. That sounds like what you are looking for, if I'm correct.
No replacable heads. The Zenoah engine's cylinder head is integrated into the cylinder barrel. It is all one piece and not removable from the barrel.
Burning Diesel fuel in an unvented dwelling will kill all of the occupants with carbon monoxide fumes.
Now, a propane burning four-stroke engine with a built-in oil sump is a possibility. But I'd still want to vent those fumes to the atmosphere. This type of engine is available commercially without any need for modification. Good luck.
Ed Cregger