Posted on 03/20/2013 8:20:51 PM PDT by 11th_VA
US President Barack Obama lost his first choice of wheels today after one of his hulking armoured limousines broke down in Israel. Images of the limousine being carted away by a tow truck are now circulating on news and social media sites around the world.
The US Secret Service was forced to fly another vehicle in from Jordan where it was waiting for the US leader, who will travel to the neighbouring country on Friday after wrapping up his visit to the Jewish state.
"One of our protective vehicles experienced mechanical problems in Israel earlier today," said Edwin Donovan, a secret service spokesman. "This is why we bring multiple vehicles and a mechanic on all trips," Donovan said, while saying the president's itinerary was not affected by the breakdown, which happened before he arrived in Israel. Some Israeli media reports suggested that the car conked out after it was filled with diesel fuel rather than gasoline, but Donovan said the Secret Service did not yet know what the problem was.
(Excerpt) Read more at au.news.yahoo.com ...
Way back when I remember a crawler tractor my brothers and I used for hauling "chemical wood" out to a road siding. It had a bitty gasoline tank that held about a 1/2 gallon and a much bigger tank that held about 20 gallons of fuel. There was a small petcock that let you select which tank supplied fuel to the updraft carburetor. I asked the old guy running the local garage what that was all about and he told me that back in the early days refineries made something called "tractor distillate" which was pretty close to being kerosene and definitely cheaper then gasoline. The small tank was filled with gasoline, the big tank with distillate. You started on gasoline and let the engine run up to temperature and then switched over to the cheaper distillate. You could run all day on that and when you were ready to shut down you switched back to gasoline to clean out the distillate out of the fuel line and carb. if you didn't get fresh gasoline back in the carb it was the devil's own time getting it cranked up again. And I do mean "cranked" as the machine had magneto ignition and no electric anything.
Some old time farmers rigged up the same sort of setup for their cars. It worked OK with the low compression ratio engines then in use. Smoked a bit under heavy load though... Oh Yeah, we used gasoline in both tanks as you couldn't find distillate any more in the late 50s and kero was more expensive than gasoline.
Regards,
GtG
PS Chemical wood is the stuff they make BBQ charcoal out of. It's a gnarly scrub oak that isn't good for much else besides charcoal. Kingsford Charcoal is named for Kingsford Michigan where they originally extracted chemicals like turpentine from the wood by distilling it in big retorts. The charcoal was a left over by-product.
Affirmative Action rears its empty head.
Maybe it’s because he was driving the wrong p-resident?
Barry’s Beastmobile on the back of a tow truck. LOL! The symbol of the new, third world America! Gee! Thanks Barry!
First job I worked off the farm was on a construction crew where we used a diesel powered air compressor that started on gasoline. I couldn’t begin to guess how many bar bets the boss won about the diesel engine with spark plugs, but they were many.
My dad had old crawler tracked International Harvester bulldozers and front end loaders with engines that were designed to start on gasoline then switch to diesel when the engine warmed up.
There were a couple of levers you pulled and pushed to shut down the ignition and gasoline fuel system and turn on the diesel fuel system.
They were cold hearted and hard to start.
diesel powered air compressor that started on gasoline
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Didn’t they call that a ‘pony motor’?
Seem to remember an Old Caterpillar Grader that had a ‘strange setup’.....
No, it was an old Worthington, you started on gasoline and let it warm up, then pulled a lever which shut off the plugs and switched the fuel over to diesel. We’d let it blow the moisture out of the tank, shut the valve, and go to work...
Had not thought about that in years, down here we called it *tractor fuel* when I was a kid.
Some of the old Allis-Chalmers tractors would run on that stuff.
Start and stop on gas was a must.
I guess he needs to bring a taster for the beast too...
A banana, for the banana republic supremo.
I didn’t know Mooshelle went with him on this trip.
Not to worry though, this White House has the fuel program for the entire United States figured out perfectly ... really.
Asked to comment, Barry was presented this poser by the press:
“Mr. President—Is it true you were towed?”
He replied, “Yes, I was. At birth. I have ten of them, like all good Americans.”
Press secretary Jay Carney was quick to add, “The president meant all Americans, particularly those with disabilities, that is, missing toes or with extra toes.”
This is the clown that has all the secrets to solving all of our energy problems.
He should have been in a solar or wind powered SUV.
That’s funny!
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