Smoother Roads Ahead - John Deere Industrial Engines

DURABILITY IN HARSH CONDITIONSA John Deere-powered riprap machine screen out chunksof rock that range in size from about four to roughly10 to 90 centimeters (4 to 36 in.).Smooth Powerfor a Rocky JobRugged, well-balanced John Deereengines provide trouble-free powerfor machines designed to sortbig rocks“Our machines are built for shaking, butwe don’t want an engine that creates anyextra vibration. John Deere engines arevery well balanced, and they’ve alwayshandled the vibration our machines createvery well.” So says Tab Butler, generalmanager of Peerless Conveyor Companyabout the portable riprap plants Peerlessmanufactures.The company custom-builds the hydraulicallyoperated units one at a time, primarilyfor use in rock quarries to sort the rubblefrom blasting. The machines screen outchunks of rock, called riprap, that range insize from about four to roughly 36 inchesin size. The riprap is used mostly to preventsoil erosion on sloping surfaces such asditch banks and dams.“In addition to the constant vibration,our machines work in a lot of dust anddirt,” Butler says. “John Deere engineshave always held up well in these harshconditions. We’ve never had a failure withone.”That wasn’t true of a competing brandof engine that Peerless put in its riprapplants before switching to John Deereabout a decade ago. Butler says the readyavailability and reliability of parts andservice is another major reason for goingwith John Deere, and a big plus in SouthAmerica, where Peerless has recentlybegun to expand its marketing territory.Peerless also uses John Deere engines topower portable pug mill plants the companybuilds. These specialized machines areused to blend one or more dry materialswith a liquid. Butler says pug mills weredeveloped in the 1960s to make cold-mixasphalt for paving roads, but applicationshave expanded in recent decades. Neweruses include mixing cement and aggregateor sand with oil or water to make a baseproduct for roadbeds, and blending chemicalswith soil to correct fuel contaminationand other pollution problems.The pug mill is run entirely by electricityfrom a 200-kW generator powered by asix-cylinder John Deere PowerTech 6081Adiesel engine. The ready-to-go gen-setsPeerless buys are put together by C. K.Power Products of St. Louis, Mo. The distributorhas been another major reason whyPeerless prefers John Deere engines. “C. K.Power has always been there for us,” Butlersays. “Anytime we need help or have aproblem, they jump right on it and do whateverneeds to be done. I don’t think wecould do any better than John Deere orC. K. Power.”Engines: (riprap plant) John DeerePowerTech 4045T – a 74 kW (99 hp),4-cylinder, 4.5 L, turbocharged diesel engine;(pug mill plant) John Deere PowerTech6081A – a 224 kW (300 hp), 6-cylinder,8.1 L, air-to-water aftercooled diesel engine.Distributor: C K Power Products,St. Louis, Mo., (314) 868-8620;Web site: www.ckpower.com.A pugmill mixes cement and aggregate or sand withoil or water to make a base product for roadbeds.A 200-kW generator poweredby a six-cylinder John DeerePowerTech 6081A diesel engineprovides electricity to the pugmill.PowerSource 5