Have you ever worn out an engine?
I read recommendations made about the value in changing oil. I have been operating roughly 20 diesel engines at a time over the last 30 years. Some are 40 years old and still running. I have a Cat C15...
Forum Discussion
Taco wrote:mowermech wrote:
When I was an industrial equipment mechanic, we had a lot of 53 Series Detroit Diesel engines (2-53 and 4-53) in the plant. It was an aluminum reduction plant, so it was an extremely dusty (aluminum oxide) environment. We tried every air filter imaginable on those trucks, even had an oil analysis program for a while, until it became obvious it was a waste of time and money. the oil was changed in these trucks weekly, and the first analysis after overhaul ALWAYS showed a high level of aluminum oxide. The 2-53 engines were filled with oil by pumping the fresh oil through a 5 micron oil filter.
As I recall, no engine lasted more than 6 months before overhaul.
But, that was a VERY extreme environment, and the engines ran, on average, 12 to 18 hours per day, every day.
Wouldn't an electric motor have been the obvious answer?
We had electric forklifts for some jobs. Some were 36 volt, some were 72 volt. The batteries were huge and expensive, and had to be changed every shift. Some older units had been retro-fitted with motor/generator units, 6 cylinder Continental engines turning 36 volt DC generators. For dispensing ore on the reduction cells, or transporting molten metal from the "potrooms" to the casting furnaces, the electric units did not travel fast enough.
The aluminum oxide also accelerated the wear on commutators and brushes.
