Interesting new diesel engine

[Sludgy]

I've seen HUGE Fairbanks-Morse opposed piston engines driving water pumps at the Charles River Dam in Boston. These engines have a simply outstanding 40% thermodynamic efficiency (base on the LHV of fuel) when turbocharged.

Here's a company making a smaller version:

http://www.dieseltech.cc/product.htm

The engine was designed for airplanes, so it's very light compared to most diesels.

[MetroMPG]

My favourite weird diesel is a gigantic 2-stroke pile driver I saw on the Discovery Channel, where the pile "hammer" is the piston.

This company sells them:
http://www.berminghammer.com/hammer.html

And they even have a video of a "little" one in action:
http://www.berminghammer.com/Flash/B6505compress.mpg

[Sludgy]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

My favourite weird diesel is a gigantic 2-stroke pile driver I saw on the Discovery Channel, where the pile "hammer" is the piston.

I've seen these pile drivers in person. We drove a few thousand piles for a plant where I was project manager. They're awesome.

[GasSavers_DaX]

I saw that pile driver too...how smart! Just adjust the rate of diesel injection...set it and forget it!

[thisisntjared]

what a great idea that is!!! no head and super charge it to ensure that it gets a fresh breath each time. killer.

[Lug_Nut]

The most interesting two stroke diesel I saw (well, as an article with photos in a magazine) was a compression ignition assisted Pogo stick! It was in the early to mid 70's and I believe it was Popular Science.
<edit> Well, it wasn't diesel after all. http://www.bpmlegal.com/wpogo.html <end edit>

[GasSavers_Ryland]

a friend of mine has a hop rod, he's retired, and mildly afrade to use it, and want's to be the first person to try it out... it's an awsome piece of hardware.

[GasSavers_BluEyes]

nucking futs!

If you want to see a massive diesel though, google worlds most powerful diesel or something like that. They're BIG guys used in commercial tanker ships. Turn at 100rpm making ungodly horsepower and torque and have something like 50% thermal effeciency in cruise mode.

[repete86]

I just did come calculations and found that a container ship going 30 mph will get .00687 mpg! Sounds like container ship companies need to start coming here for pointers.

[GasSavers_Ryland]

simaler to how city busses only get about 4mpg...
compare work done, to fuel used, a contaner ship is hauling alot of stuff, each contaner is limited to what? 45,000 pounds? I think that's about right, and the ship has hundereds of contaners.