Compact Tractor Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF) Version 2.0

[jeff9366]

Stricter Tier IV off-road diesel engine emission reduction standards phased in dealer tractor inventory during 2009 - 2012, impacting tractor prices.

Tier IV emission standards require tractor manufacturers to add or revise pollution reduction technology on new tractors generating over 19 kW power = 25.4794 horsepower.

Most manufactures can meet Tier IV requirements without a Diesel Particulate Fillter up to about 27 horsepower via engine design and injection timing.

DPF is used by the majority of tractor manufactures for emissions control on OVER 24.4794 horsepower tractors.

Tier IV technology complicates the engine and exhaust package and is a significant cost factor. The pollutants emitted by a TierIV technology tractor are about 1% of the pollutants emitted by a pre-Tier IV tractor.

Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) captures exhaust particulates (soot) in a ceramic matrix. When tractor engine runs sufficiently hot, accumulated particulates burn off periodically without operator intervention. If engine is not run continuously hot long enough to burn off particulates, diesel soot accumulates in the matrix. Once heavy soot accumulates in DPF the tractor forces soot clearance with the tractor parked and throttle open to about 2,200 rpm for about sixteen minutes, which makes the DPF REALLY HOT to burn off all accumulated soot. Burning off accumulated soot, either during operation or parked is called REGENERATION.


Regeneration is an infrequent DPF event with my Kubota three cylinder, 37-horsepower engine. Generally once every sixty engine hours. (Very consistent in Florida due to warm weather.)

60 hours X 60 minutes = 3,600 minutes.

16 regeneration minutes /3,600 = .00444 = 4/10s of 1% of engine time is consumed during parked regeneration.

Fuel cost for sixteen minute parked regeneration @ 2,200 rpm ~~$1.00.

Forty percent of my regenerations occur during operation, sixty percent parked.



The average residential tractor operates eighty engine hours per year, according to industry surveys.

3,000 hours DPF Life / 80 hours = 37.5 years of residential use prior to DPF replacement.

Diesel Particulate Filter supersedes tractor muffler.
At some point in time DPF needs to be replaced.
At some point in time tractors with mufflers need the muffler replaced.

 

[jeff9366]

YOOPER DAVE

Tier IV Emissions Confusion​

Are new tractors with <25hp Tier IV emission exempt ?

The demarcation is 19 kW engine power output = 25.4794 horsepower.

While Tier IV exempt, tractors with <25.4794 horsepower comply with relatively loose Tier II emission requirements.



Some mfrs note no pollution filter is needed, but tier 4 compliant.

Most manufactures can meet Tier IV requirements without a Diesel Particulate Fillter up to about 27 horsepower via engine design and injection timing.

(Diesel Off-road emission standards are uniform in developed world.)

Then there is a horsepower gap.

Beginning about thirty-three horsepower most tractors have Diesel Particulate Filters.
If there is no DPF there is an alternative incendiary technology to burn off very fine particulates (soot). Sometimes exhaust heat is elevated all the time, sometimes periodically.
Diesel particulates must be burned. THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH.

Tire wear and tire replacement will cause as many headaches and more expense than DPF for most long term compact tractor owners who comprehend their tractor's Operator's Manual and follow DPF procedures.

Many small property users regenerate only once per year. This creates regeneration procedure uncertainty in itself. (Regeneraton occurs every ~~60 engine hours. Non-commercial users average 80 engine hours per year.)

 

[jeff9366]

Beginning about thirty-three horsepower most tractors have Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF).
If not DPF, the less used alternative emission technology is Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC).
Both the DPF and the DOC are honeycomb ceramic filters.
The DOC forces engine exhaust over a honeycomb ceramic structure coated with platinum, palladium, and rhodium catalysts. These catalysts oxidize carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons into carbon dioxide and water at hot exhaust temperature.


There is no catalyst associated with a Diesel Particulate Filter. A DPF is a ceramic matrix which accumulates particulates/soot at temperatures below soot ignition temperature. During regeneration, when DPF achieves and maintains at least 500 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature of a hot kitchen oven, accumulated soot incinerates during a few minutes.


Operator Manuals for DPF equipped compact tractors do a poor job of explaining DPFs and a poor job of explaining regeneration cycles. Manuals do not inform that soot accumulates faster during low weather temperatures, none inform time required for DPF to attain 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, the ignition temperature for diesel soot and none address faster soot accumulation at higher altitudes. It seems to me a DPF temperature readout on electronic instrument panels would address many DPF complaints, as would more descriptive technical writing.


As off-road diesel engines increase in displacement and horsepower emission treatment becomes increasingly complex. DPFs as a final particulate treatment are primarily associated with diesel engines <75-horespower.


Diesel emission standards for over-the-road diesel engined vehicles are much more rigorous than emission standards for off-road engines AT THIS TIME.

 

[jeff9366]

Tier IV emission controls and DPFs began to phase in dealer tractor inventories ten years ago.
Old news in 2019.

Consensus considers DPF problems 90% caused by operators who do not carefully read regeneration procedures in Operator's Manual or refuse to follow the procedures. Many small property users regenerate just once per year. This creates regeneration procedure uncertainty in itself. (Regeneraton occurs every ~~60 engine hours. Non-commercial users average 80 engine hours per year.)

Operator Manuals for DPF equipped compact tractors do a poor job of explaining DPFs and a poor job of explaining regeneration cycles. Most manuals do not inform that filter soot accumulates faster during low weather temperatures, none inform time required for DPF to attain 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, the ignition temperature for diesel soot and none address faster soot accumulation at higher altitudes. It seems to me a DPF temperature readout on electronic instrument panels would address many DPF complaints, as would more descriptive technical writing.



Diesel Particulate Filter supersedes tractor muffler.
At some point in time DPF needs to be replaced.
At some point in time tractors with mufflers need the muffler replaced.

Tire wear and tire replacement will cause as many headaches and more expense than DPF for most long term compact tractor owners who read and comprehend their Operator's Manual.

 

[jeff9366]

Following summarizes cost to VW for exceeding diesel emission standards on their diesel engine cars. Not entirely germane, but somewhat so.

How much has Dieselgate cost Volkswagen?

Dec. 23, 2018 5:33 AM ET
|
About: Volkswagen AG ADR (VWAGY)|By: Yoel Minkoff, Seeking Alpha News Editor​

The cleanup of Volkswagen's (OTCPK:VWAGY) diesel cheating scandal will cost the automaker €5.5B in 2018, around €2B in 2019 and €1B in 2020, CFO Frank Witter told Boersen-Zeitung.

Since 2015, the German group has paid more than €27B to settle investor and consumer lawsuits, as well as regulatory fines and remedies tied to resolving excessive emissions levels in its diesel cars.

27,000,000,000 Euros = $30,760,000,000 $/US​

B....b....BILLIONS!​

 

[ericm979]

Here's a good read on the tier 4 limits:

Emission Standards: USA: Nonroad Diesel Engines

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Just...

Why?

 

[finn1]

Good summary

 

[MHarryE]

Several misstatements in this thread.
25 and under sold now meet Tier 4. Tier 4 for that class is very loose.
One of my tractors has a SCR followed by the DPF.
Tier 4 emissions for all under 75 can be met without a DPF. That’s one reason the EU is implementing Stage 5. JD claims the method used to meet Tier 4 without treatment sacrifices performance. Not sure if one sacrifice is fuel economy but the latest generation JDs approach 20 HP-hr per gallon. Prior to setting emissions 14 was good. That was partly due to turning up the pump and overfueling to gain power.

 

[rScotty]

I haven't kept up with Diesel Emission technology, but I was reading through the posts on DPF technology in Posts 1 thru 5 above....and it struck me that the whole DPF technology sounds odd.
I'f I have it right, DPF involves running full blast & burning extra fuel for the purpose of reducing large soot particles trapped in a cannister into smaller soot particles that are blasted out into the air... What???? How is this an advantage?

Sure it's technological and legal as can be. That's obvious. I guess what I'm asking if the pollutionproblem being solved a scientific one or is this just another political solution?

Like I said, I haven't kept up on the technology so I don't know. But it sure sounds fishy. Near as I can tell, it DPF spends energy (and thereby makes more pollution) with the goal of reducing the size of the particles it puts into the air. We already know that smaller particles are more biologically active. So on the face of it, DPF sure sounds like it could be just more politics.

I can't help but remember the previous EGR type of "emission solution".
That was only 10 years ago and for diesels was a largely political solution where a regulated pollutant (NOx) was reduced by allowing an unregulated pollutant (soot) to be increased.
rScotty