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Big Diesel - What is it?


RandyA

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Recently spotted this. Appears to be a big V12 diesel, maybe 20 to 24L - but from what? Big boat or ship? Military? Maybe a big generator or earth mover engine? Just curious if any of the historic diesel crowd can ID the monster. Wonder if I could make it fit into a Volvo? :)

 

engine_1.jpg

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First blush, genset. Need more views to give more input.

Back had a bell housing. Appeared to have a clutch disc that could accept a big splined shaft. Could be a genset but the generator is missing. Gray color, not too far from Norfolk, VA, Radiator tank looks like a toilet tank. Cooling pipes are common iron threaded. I'm thinking more like military surplus - maybe Navy? Bet my pocket change it is heading to scrap metal. Still, it is an interesting beast. Thought the gang would enjoy seeing and guessing - maybe someone will even know.

 

Steve - Do you think they may have misspelled MACK?

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It could have been driving a marine drive system, a pump, a generator, etc. It appears to have a close coupled speed increaser/reducer and an external cooling system. The water pump is driven from the front of the engine (lower right corner). If it was marine use, it would have had a water cooled exhaust as well.

 

Ken

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It is not a diesel. There are ignition coils and plug wires run for each cylinder. Probably natural gas or LP gas fueled.

 

And that is the engine cooling water pump on the lower right front of the engine. The big tank, front center is the coolant expansion tank.

 

Ken

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I would say it is oil field equipment, driving a gas compressor or crude pump, because it looks like it has ignition coils. I thought marine use at first, right size for medium size boat propulsion, and the wiring was for pyrometers, but i have never seen that cylinder at the end of the wire on any marine engine in 21 years in marine business. And the wires go into the heads. No other need for a wire in the head but for ignition, at least on an older engine. Marine engines almost never use gas fuel, and only with lots of extra equipment.

 

Still not sure if those are ignition coils, theres nothing feeding them. For gas, they use some kind of glow plug ignitor i believe.

 

The exhaust manifold is insulated like on a marine engine, but the engine looks like it is mounted to the skid, which would not be the case for a marine engine.

 

I say oil field use until proven otherwise.

 

Looks like 1800-2000 hp. Big for a truck, dinky next to a 14 cyl 120,000 hp slow speed on a container ship.

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