Powertrain | Diesel International 2022-11

DIESEL OF THE YEAR
#DIESELOFTHEYEAR #KSD #DIESEL #MAINTENANCE
KSD 1403TCA
EASY
TO
MAINTAIN
The Kohler Board of Directors has elected President and Chief
Executive Officer David Kohler to the additional role of Chair
of the Board, following the passing of Executive Chairman
Herbert V. Kohler, Jr. on September 3 at age 83.
Easy to maintain: a promise or
an adv claim? For Kohler it is
simply the best practice, and
therefore also applied to its latest
“son”, the KSD, Diesel of the Year
2022. We asked more details to Chris
Rector, Director, Aftermarket Parts
and Service, Kohler Engines.
Can we talk about the benefits of electronic
fuel injection? “Yes, specifically
with the KSD engine. The engine
has been designed to increase service
intervals. As an example, in particular,
attention has been given to the oil
deterioration allowing for a-500 hour
and even a 1000-hour service interval
with the relatively low volume oil
sumps. So, this is a bunch extended
oil change interval and the smaller
oil sumps also allow for the engine
compactness. Further, in addition to
the oil change interval, we have a
heavy duty Poly-V belt with a service
interval of 2000 hours. This is approximately
4 times longer than other
competitors in the market and it also
does not require periodic adjustment.
Once again, the standard oil filter is a
500-hour service interval where others
in the market are 250 hours, and
again we offer for the 1000 hour service
interval for the oil filter matching
the the oil itself service interval.”
I think it could be also a good idea in
the wish lists of your potential cus-
Chris Rector explains
Kohler’s “Easy to
maintain” programme,
also for KSD engines
tomers. “Of course, to reduce service
intervals means more uptime, which
means you’re you’re making more
money with the equipment versus
having the equipment in the shop.”
Does the low-pressure rail lead to
problems in terms of serviceability,
being able to digest even the most
impure fuels? “Our electronic fuel
injections with the electronic controls
on the fuel injection allows for
very precise metering of the fuel and
therefore controlling the air to fuel
ratio, helping to drive a a very low
fuel consumption without sacrificing
transient load response or machine
drivability issues. Ensuring altitude
compensation there is more power
available even in extreme altitudes
versus the industry standard of approximately
1% power loss per 100
meters above sea level for a naturally
aspirated engine. Basically, no derating.
However, by being low pressure,
our low pressure common rail system
does not have the same sensitivities
that a high pressure system does with
sulfur content as you talk about fuels
globally.”
Still about assistance, on such compact
applications, how much does the
absence of ATS impact? “The package
size has been an advantage of
Kohler engines for quite some time.
Since the launch of the KDI, minimising
the aftertreatment system has
benefited both service and engine
size. Indeed, the compactness has
increased because global standards
do not require an ATS below 19 kW.
According to our design, the KSD is
also compact in its muffler and over-
all package dimensions to ensure
continuity in dimensional interfaces.”
Can you “account” for the benefits
of accommodating multiple engines
within a container because of its
compactness, considering the maddening
shipping prices? “Yes, in fact,
the shipping costs have roughly increased
by about five times. We think
about the dimensions when it comes
to integrating the engine into the application.
Obviously, a smaller unit
means less space required for the engine.
This is a great advantage that is
not often talked about: thanks to the
small size, we can fit more engines in
a container. For logistics, this is an
advantage of between 15 and 20 percent.
A greater number of engines inside
each container, which obviously
reduces the shipping cost per engine,
which is also very important as shipping
costs have increased dramatically.”
Also in this vein, thoughts on the
advantages of minimized derating
at high altitudes, wiring, and rapid
load response. “KSD has a superior
performance by nature of the EFI
system and the fuel up to about 4000
meters (13,000 feet). It also comes
with a Pebble sensor assembly that
allows for accommodating existing
mechanical type control. We’re able
to respond to all sorts of load conditions
from various different types of
applications. But the way the engine
has been designed to allow for the oil
filter fuel filter dipstick to be changed
on the engine, it is really a critical
point because so many applications
are very tight.”
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