Maybe I'm missing something, but the site indicates a 50% increase in power, from a 5HP engine, (gain of 2.5HP) for a total of 7.5 HP. Now the kit costs $800. and I KNOW a 8 or 10 or even 12 HP engine can be had for much less. I doubt if weight difference (5HP+Supercharger vs 8HPw/o supercharger) would amount to much.
Well, I thought this thread was somewhat tongue in cheek. I could be wrong.
However, supercharging a diesel engine could be a questionable practice. What's the compression ratio on a "typical" diesel? Something like 17:1? Adding a supercharger would bump up the effective load on the heads/pistons/connecting rods/crank to potentially something like 24:1 (or whatever). Doesn't sound like a long term plan to me. I'd rather buy a tractor with a bigger engine in the first place....
They do have Turbo Chargers on 'Normal' diesels, and I know for a fact the Detroit Diesels have superchargers, at least the straight 6 cylinder marine versions did.
The Detroit Diesels were probably two strokers, not four strokes like all of ours. I don't think they make them anymore (bad polluters), but the concept was pretty cool /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Yes, Detroit Diesels were two strokers. As far as I know all Detroits were supercharged. The 4-71, 6-71, 3-53, 4-53 etc superchargers you commonly see on hot rods today were designed for the old Detroits. By the way, those numbers were part of an identification system Detroit Diesel used for their engines. The first number represents the number of cylinders the engine has. The second number is the displacement, in cubic inches, for each cylinder. If the motor were a V configuration the model number would have a V in it (8V-71 for example). These engines were very popular in heavy equipment for many years. They had an excellent power to displacement ratio and were as dependable as anything. They sure were loud though. If you have ever been around a Detroit diesel you would know it by the high pitched whine and the substantial cloud of black smoke. I don't think they make them anymore due to the high pollution levels.
I love the smell of diesel in the morning. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Yes, but those engines were designed to run with the superchargers. They probably lowered the compression ratio, or altered the engine some way to accomodate the increased load that is caused by adding more air/fuel to the equation.
Yeah, Rob, they were 2 stroke diesels, that's why they needed the blower. Had a sound all their own. We used em' on the Coast Guard 40 foot patrol boats made in the late 50's and 60's. Had dual 6's. Very strong runner. The boats got beat to all heck but the engines just kept going and going and . . . . .