Fuel passes through the injector jets at speeds of nearly 1500 miles per hour (2400 km/h) – as fast as the top speed of a jet plane.

The zepplins Graf Zeppelin II and Hindenburg were propelled by reversible diesel engines. The direction of operation was changed by shifting gears on the camshaft. From full power forward, the engines could be brought to a stop, changed over, and brought to full power in reverse in less than 60 seconds.

The smallest quantity of fuel injected is one cubic millimetre – about the same volume as the head of a pin. The largest injection quantity at the moment for automobile diesel engines is around 70 cubic millimetres.

Some smaller military diesels can be started with an explosive cartridge that provides the extra power required to get the machine turning.

For more information check this out!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_Engine

I got stuck here clicking on all the hyperlinks. Lots of info available!

 

My brother in law has a boat with a two cylinder Deutz diesel with this feature.
I would estimate it takes less than 15 seconds to shut the engine down, pull a lever and restart it running backwards.

 

Lemme guess, running a diesel in reverse actually makes fuel as apposed to burning it?

Of all serious though, what does running them backwards do? I know it would turn the crank backwards which, in the case of a PTO, that would also be turned backwards, correct? If so that could be beneficiary I suppose... but I'm not sure as to a case where it would.

Sorry for the ignorance but I've only heard of such a thing, never actually seen it.

Mike

 

In cases where the load is direct drive without a transmission like when a prop shaft is attached, and reverse is necessary.
IE boats and aircraft (blimps).

 

Explosive cartridges are nothing new. On the contrary, they were a primary source required to start many diesel engines prior to a good electric starter.
A good friend restored an early Mack. It had a small gas engine that was used to start the diesel engine. To start the gas engine required a shot gun shell like cap (Without the shot).
On a side not, the diesel also had a compression release that had to be engaged in order to allow the gas engine to turn.
The gasser had to be manipulated manually (choke, fuel mixture, no throttle --> rpm's were moderated by a butterfly valve operated by hand).
Once you got the gasser running, you'd then release the compression release which would kill the gasser engine and crank the diesel two, maybe three times.
I tell you, that was no fun truck to start on a cold morning!

Rich.

 

Explosive shells used to start engines, a la Flight of the Phoenix, have been around for 100-ish years... Think a 4-6 gauge shotgun blank creating enough pressure to spin a turbine, that in turn turns over the engine. They're called Coffman starters, I believe.


My dad has tried a few times to put one on his knucklehead...

 

Did they call these "pup" engines? My dad talks about having a 2 cyl diesel on a JD farm tractor with a gas engine to start it. The gasser was a rope pull and you let it warm up and did something to start the diesel

 

I've heard pup engine and pony motor

 

I honestly dont know the official name of those gasser engines. It was a one cylinder gas engine bolted to the side of the block.
You had to prime both the gasser and the diesel.

It was quite the show to get that old truck to start. Bump starting was out of the question as it was chain drive and a bump start would only snap the chain or break the sprocket.

Rich

 

We still have a 1930ish JD with the pony start gas engine. I think the pony is a 3 hp wisconsin. Pull start the pony, release the comp lever on the main and away you go. They were really fairly common on 20-30ish diesel tractors.
Joe

 

I think that is what he was talking about.

 

I have seen many a Cat tractor, D2 thru D8 with what we called 'donkey' engines. These were two cylinder gas engines. Seem to remember that they were opposed engines but not sure who made them. I always presumed that they were made by Cat, but now I am not so sure. I do remember that they were sometimes a super pain to start. They were a rope pull start.
Many lifetimes ago I also remember a few old farmers with one cylinder gas engines that were started using a blank shotgun shell.
Worked on a ship in another lifetime that had a 7 cylinder two stroke, supercharged diesel engine. Each piston weighed one ton and I could just barely carry the exhaust valve on my shoulder by myself. It was started using compressed air. This engine was direct coupled to the prop and was reversed by stopping the engine, throwing a lever to change the timing and then pumping in a huge blast of compressed air to start it turning in the opposite direction.

 

I've owned several Cats with pony engines, and people are right, they were a pain to start. Many times removing the spark plugs to shoot either into the cylinder. I remember how stoked I was when an electric start option for the pony finally came out.
Also owned a couple of International track layers that started on gasoline, when warmed up you flipped a lever and they switched to diesel. The stock gas "tank" was a glass one quart jar.

 

i hava a friend, who drove a 10ton truck, diesel, (not a cummins)
i'd say about 300 hp... forgot what it was.
all he told me, that he drove up a steep hill, and it got killed, and backed up, while in forward gear...
he said the engine smoked out of the airfilter... and prolly sucked air thorught the exhaust

 

I drive a 1990 T600 KW with a 3406 Cat , in the oilfield, and one time trying to start a load in a muddy situation, I killed the engine.. almost... caught and was running again. but in reverse.. let out the clutch in first gear and truck tried to go backward.. shut her off, restarted and ran the right way.. Les