CE EQUIPMENT CONNECTION - Compact Equipment

Few applications have a wider range of available horsepower
options than generator sets. These units can run
anywhere from 1 to 10,000 hp and beyond, but the typical
contractor or hobby farmer, for example, is more likely to
use a generator in the 20- to 150-hp range.
Gen sets have always been a fairly simple application
for engines. Some important application requirements
for other equipment — torque, power bulge and fuel
economy — aren’t as critical when working with gen
sets. What’s most important is that the engine is durable,
reliable, cost-effective, quiet and emissions-compliant.
For most gen set users, high-performance characteristics
are a bonus.
“Today’s Tier 3 engines are much more technologically
advanced than their Tier 1 and Tier 2 counterparts,”
says Matt Arnold, product planner at John Deere Power
Systems, which manufactures generator-drive engines
from 36 to 617 hp. “Some Tier 3 engine models have
technology such as cooled exhaust gas recirculation
[EGR] and variable geometry turbochargers [VGT], but
in the cost-driven gen set market, many customers are
looking for emissions-compliant engines that aren’t as
full-featured.”
Because the EPA took a phased approach to emissions
compliance, the Tier 3 deadline for some horsepower
ranges of engines just came into effect in January 2008.
Here is a quick breakdown of when off-highway engines
common to compact equipment users have to meet EPA
regulations. Engines of:
1. 24 hp and below entered Tier 2 in 2005 and skipped Tier
3, going right to Final Tier 4 in 2008.
2. 25 to 99 hp entered Tier 2 in 2004 — in 2008, the lower
end of this range jumped to Interim Tier 4 and the
higher end of this range had to meet Tier 3.
3. 100 to 174 hp entered Tier 2 in 2003 and Tier 3 in
2007.
For low-horsepower Tier 3 engines, mechanical models
are still available. Some manufacturers offer an Interim
Tier 4 engine in 43 hp for prime power applications and 48
hp for standby power applications. These engines feature
mechanical controls, a two-valve cylinder head, a fi xed
geometry turbocharger and a mechanical rotary pump fuel
system.
Tier 3 engines with electronic controls are available
in mid-range horsepower options. These engines feature
either two-valve or four-valve cylinder heads depending on
model, electronic unit pump or high-pressure common-rail
fuel systems, full-authority electronic controls, a multiple
injection strategy and a fi xed geometry turbocharger.
High-technology options are more common in the
higher horsepower engines than in the type of gen sets
contractors and other users of compact equipment are
likely to own. These engines feature a four-valve cylinder
head, full-authority electronic controls, variable geometry
turbochargers and cooled exhaust gas recirculation.
Common gen set applications for contractors include
temporary jobsite power supply for lighting and tool usage.
Standby gen sets are usually stationary units meant to
serve as backup when the power goes out. Having a backup
power supply is much more crucial for some people than
for others. Animal farmers are one example of gen set users
who rely heavily on reliable standby power.
Todd Honkomp is a production supervisor with Pro Pork
Associates, an Iowa hog management farm. They have a
gen set powered by a John Deere 4.5L diesel engine. “We
need the standby generator in case of a power outage,”
Honkomp says. “An hour without ventilation or heat for
our baby pigs and we could have animal losses.”
Pro Pork Associates is not content to let the generator
sit idle waiting for an emergency outage; the local rural
electric cooperative taps into the generator to fi ll peak
demand.
“They have a switch they can throw that starts up the
generator and sends power out onto their lines,” Honkomp
explains. “In return, we get about a 30 percent discount on
our utility bill every month.”
Having a reliable generator is always important, but it
became especially important to Pro Pork Producers when
its utility company began to count on them. If the utility
hits that switch and the generator’s engine doesn’t start,
Pork Pro Associates loses their discount for that month.
“We quickly saw the importance for having that engine
properly maintained,” Honkomp says. “We sure don’t want
to lose that discount. That’s why I worked with Greenway
[the local John Deere dealership] to keep the engine and
generator ready to run.”
Honkomp’s gen set runs about 350 hours a year and has
never broken down. The engine’s reliability is what’s most
important to Honkomp, as is the case with most gen set
customers.
Jennifer Oredson is a technical writer with Two Rivers Marketing,
Des Moines, Iowa.
High-technology options are more common in the higher
horsepower engines than in the type of gen sets contractors and
other users of compact equipment are likely to own. These engines
feature a four-valve cylinder head, full-authority electronic controls,
variable geometry turbochargers and cooled exhaust gas recirculation.
compactequip.com January 2008 Compact Equipment 47