• Diesel fuel is generally used in heavier equipment.diesel image by Martina Berg from Fotolia.com
  
  Diesel fuel is a kind of fuel that is generally more expensive than standard fuel but is also more dense in terms of energy. There are a number of other benefits to driving a diesel vehicle, but there are also unique drawbacks such as difficulty starting in the cold and exhaust odor. However, as diesel engines have improved over time, both of these characteristics have been minimized.
  
  

Ignition Method

• Diesel fuel ignites without spark plugs. Standard fuel, by contrast, requires spark plugs to ignite.
  
  Instead, diesel fuel uses pressure to ignite. The more you pressurize air, the hotter it gets.This is the principle a diesel engine works on---it pressurizes air in a chamber then releases diesel into that chamber. The resulting high temperature ignites the diesel and fires the turbines, which turns the crankshaft and powers the vehicle.
  
  

Advantages

• Diesel fuel is efficient. It creates more energy without burning as much or as hot as gas. The result is a vehicle that burns diesel efficiently at a low temperature---a lot of power, but not a lot of acceleration. This is why diesel is primarily used in trucks, trains and other heavy pieces of machinery.
  
  Diesel's relatively low temperature combined with its necessarily simple engine design (no spark plugs) result in an engine that lasts substantially longer than a standard gasoline engine.
  
  

Disadvantages

• Diesel-powered vehicles are difficult to start in the winter months. This is because diesel is more susceptible to cold than regular gas---it turns into a jelly as its natural waxes start to clump together.
  
  There are other disadvantages that vary based on the actual diesel provider. For example, the Cetane ratiing is important. The higher it is, the easier the diesel ignites. If it is too low (<35) the engine will have a hard time starting.
  
  Finally, different diesel fuels have different levels of viscosity, or how well it flows. The less viscous, the more time it takes to flow through an engine.