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Kohler Offering Diesel Engine for Tier 4 Compliance

Oct. 26, 2011
New series for industrial, construction, agricultural engines series promises cost and performance advantages
The 1.9-liter KDI1903TCR (above) has 42 kW or 56 hp of power at 2,600 rpm and 225 Nm or 166 ft./lbs. of torque at 1,500 rpm. Kohler’s 2.5-liter KDI2504TCR (below) has a power density of 55 kW or 74.3 hp at 2,600 rpm and 300 Nm or 221.3 ft./lbs. of torque at 1,500 rpm.

Kohler Engines and its affiliate Lombardini srl are introducing a heavy-duty diesel engine for industrial, construction, and agricultural equipment that will comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Tier 4 Standards” for diesel engine emissions. The Kohler 1.9-liter KDI1903TCR and 2.5-liter KDI2504TCR engines will be manufactured in Reggio Emilia, Italy, and will provide “optimized fuel consumption, limited emissions, and remarkable performance without the use of a diesel particulate filter,” according to a release statement.

EPA’s Tier 4 standards were released in 2004 and are to be phased-in by 2015. They require manufacturers of off-road diesel engines to achieve NOx and particulate-matter (PM) emissions to be reduced by about 90% below the prior (Tier 3) standard (in place since 2000.) It indicated these emission reductions may be achieved by using control technologies —including advanced exhaust gas after-treatment — similar to those required in the 2010 standards for commercial truck (highway) diesel engines.

“Kohler is expanding its power range offering with some very innovative solutions,” stated Kohler Global Power Group president Dick Fotsch. “The power and torque of these engines in relation to their compact sizes and reduced fuel consumption have clear advantages to construction, industrial and agricultural equipment manufactures and end-users.”

Kohler Engines is an operating unit of the Wisconsin-based Kohler Companies, which produces kitchen and bath plumbing fixtures, cabinetry, tile and home interiors, as well as off-road and power-generation engines. It also owns golf and resort properties.

Since 2007, Kohler has owned Lombardini, also an engine manufacturer. It claims that the two businesses offer a range of gaseous, gasoline, and diesel engines, from 4 to 74.3 hp, for the lawn-and-garden, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and construction equipment markets.

Kohler explained that its engines achieve Tier 4 Final emission compliance without a diesel particulate filter (DPF) thanks to its direct injection system, cooled exhaust gas recirculation and diesel oxygenated catalyst. “Kohler has applied some tried-and-true technologies from the on-road diesel marketplace,” according to Fotsch.

It said the design involves a high-pressure common rail system that uses pressures at 2,000 bar (29,000 PSI), leading to better fuel atomization, better fuel consumption, and fewer emission particulates. Working with the fuel mapping program and other systems, the common rail system gets credit for improving exhaust emissions to Tier 4 Final compliance. “The lack of a DPF is a real breakthrough for engines at these displacements, and the technology systems built into the engines by Kohler and Lombardini are what makes them truly innovative at this power range,” Fotsch said.

The developer added that the emissions-reducing design also contributes to operating cost savings, and that the design achieves effective power density (55nkW, or 74.3 hp, at 2,600 rpm) and torque (300 Nm, or 221.3 ft. lbs., at 1,500 rpm.)

About the Author

Robert Brooks | Content Director

Robert Brooks has been a business-to-business reporter, writer, editor, and columnist for more than 20 years, specializing in the primary metal and basic manufacturing industries.

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