OT my weeks work

David G · Feb 27, 2016

I went to the OK panhandle this week to work on the turbocharger control for the 7500 HP engines and got a chance to clean up some things. These particular engines are hard to get the turbo's coming on line correctly when lightly loaded . Making the turbo work is a a balancing act of timing retardation, air assist on keeping the turbo spinning and putting out enough work to get it working on its own.

You spin the turbo's initially with compressed air to get them to speed.

You retard the timing to make the engines so inefficient that they produce heat, which means no HP to speak of.

Then you have to get it to work

JD Seller · Feb 27, 2016

David Most of these motors are older motors??? What brands are they?? I believe I have some older books showing that size of motors being built by Allis-Chalmers in the 1950s??

RCP · Feb 27, 2016

Not to steal Dave's thunder, but these are large two cycle pure turbocharged natural gas engines, typically used to compress natural gas and transport it through pipelines. The manufacturers are Clark Brothers and Cooper Bessemer, the last of these engines were built in the late 1990s, although there have been a few built recently by Cooper on special order. These companies also built two stroke engines with positive displacement air pumps to provide combustion air, but turbocharging is more efficient.

There were four stroke engines made by Ingersol Rand, Worthington, Fairbanks Morse and others, but they did not require the finesse to build air manifold pressure as the two stroke to develop horsepower.

PS I worked for Cooper Bessemer for 23 years before leaving to join General Electric in the locomotive engine plant.

rrc300 u · Feb 27, 2016

RCP,where do you work at GE I have worked in the engine lab at GE Erie and a bunch all over the rest of the Erie plant. I have spent some time at the Grove city PA engine plant too. I don't work for GE myself I work for a mechanical contractor. it's alot of fun to see the ins and outs of these places I vet sent to work.

rrc300 u · Feb 27, 2016

After watching the mh44 efi project I would say if anyone can make those engines run you would be the guy

David G · Feb 27, 2016

RCP, I agree the four strokes are much easier on boost control

David G · Feb 27, 2016

RCP nailed it, the engines are typically Cooper-Bessemer, Ingersoll-Rand, Worthington or Clark

The turbo's on the Clarks are several feet in diameter, so take a lot to get them spinning. I have run into this issue on all the Clarks I have worked on. The best way to get one online is almost like pulling a band aid off, you have to get them working hard as soon as possible without stalling them so the turbo functions on its own. Retarding the timing to several degrees ATDC produces a lot of heat which makes the turbo work, but also reduces the torque the engine can produce. The compressed air will keep the turbo spinning, but uses a lot of air and most sites do not have enough compressor to maintain that.

.

RCP · Feb 27, 2016

I work in the Reman plant on the east side of Grove City Pa

UncleTom · Feb 27, 2016

Thanks for schooling us on these large engines. Pictures would be nice.

casenut1 · Feb 27, 2016

Cooper Bessemer sold out several years ago.

OT my weeks work

David G

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JD Seller

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RCP

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rrc300 u

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rrc300 u

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David G

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David G

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RCP

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UncleTom

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casenut1

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