What do we know about Bat-mo-boat?

[JohnnieMo]

At work we do unmanned boats for the navy. It is always a hassle trying to find diesel fuel inland. You always have to truck in your own fuel or haul the boat out part way during testing to fuel up. In shuswap lake I've never seen diesel on the lake either.

The navy use diesel partly for safety. It won't just explode on you. Fires at sea are a massive safety risk. Conversely gasoline will evaporate if spilled, so is safer for the environment.

If you wanted to swap pleasure craft over to diesel you would need to first make diesel available on the water and then justify the environmental safety case. Then again, there are still plenty of two strokes running oil in their gas.....


I think the thread is still on topic of 'what crazy assumptions can you come up with'

[Wickedcummins]

Good point on the on lake fuel stations.. But still don't mean it couldn't be an option.. I for one would never fill up on the water its stupid over priced

[Tault145]

or... biodiesel conversion? I don't know much(if anything) about it but I worked for a guy that did it to his cummins, and refined his own fuel, end cost around .75/gal(not including time) and his truck always smelled like deliciously torque filled french fries!

[Wickedcummins]

Id never put bio diesel in anything I owned

[dom w. forte]

why would I want 1000+ ftlbs of torque vs 400 ish ? And I do believe there would be huge savings in a turbocharged diesel

Im not talking about torque , at anywhere from 15000.00 on the low side to 22000.00 on the high side and about 4.00 a gal. give me the math that saves you money, Ive seen multiple tests and it would take years to recoupe the investment.

[barry1me]

Im not talking about torque , at anywhere from 15000.00 on the low side to 22000.00 on the high side and about 4.00 a gal. give me the math that saves you money, Ive seen multiple tests and it would take years to recoupe the investment.

exactly my point also. The cost factor is large. If a LSA 550PCM engine is a 20k option I would bet that a 400hp turbo diesel option would be in the neighborhood of $25k-$30k as an option.

[Wickedcummins]

lol I know many high end cummins people the V8 cummins they are priced for about $7,200. and its not $4.00 a gallon its $3.50 and its cheaper than Gasoline here and I would put money on it would comsume much less fuel. As my 1,000hp truck gets 25 highway and 16 city driving like a normal person.

Not sure where you got your prices.. We sell brand new isx600s for $12,000 to a retail consumer!

[Wickedcummins]

Cummins 5.6L, V-8 Diesel
Displacement: 5.6L (342 ci)Configuration: 90-degree V-8Horsepower: 300 at 4,000 rpmTorque: 460 lb-ft at 2,000 rpmHighway economy: 25 mpgCity economy: 20 mpgHead material: Cast aluminumBlock material: Cast iron or CGIBore and stroke (in.): 3.70 x 3.94Valvetrain: SOHC 32-valveFuel system: High-pressure common-railTurbo: Variable geometryIntercooler: Air-to-airEngine weight: 788 lbs

[Wickedcummins]

That all changes for Tier 5 in 2015. Who is going to spend the time engineering/developing a marine application when it will all have to change in two years? That would be a bad business decision.

and tier 5 is not even fully written yet and wont take effect till after 2015 there guy who does developing lol

Tier 4 Standards. On May 11, 2004, EPA signed the final rule introducing Tier 4 emission standards, which are phased-in over the period of 2008-2015 [2786]. The Tier 4 standards require that emissions of PM and NOx be further reduced by about 90%. Such emission reductions can be achieved through the use of control technologies—including advanced exhaust gas aftertreatment—similar to those required by the 2007-2010 standards for highway engines.

[Ewok]

What about engine vibration and precise engine mounts to keep the drivetrain alligned? I'm not an engine expert by any stretch but isn't an inline 6 a smother engine than a V8? And isn't a horizontally opposed 4, 6, or 8 cylinder smoother than a V-8 as well? i just remember friends with V-8 diesel engines with a bit of noticable engine vibration which was dampeded with engine mount bushings.

Also, the intercooler would have to be a water/air intercooler with raw water providing the cooling for the air intake. On that note, do diesel engines run hotter than gas engines? I'm talking exhaust gas temperature as well as just the block being hotter since it relies on compresion for ingition? I have no idea on the differences between temperature of gas or diesel engines.

I'm not trying to say these are reasons diesels won't work, just some considerations I though of as to reasons why they have not been widely implemented in smaller pleasure boats such as wakeboats. I think the biggest hurdle is availability of fuel at marinas.

Anyway, I would love to see a diesel application in a big heavy wakeboat, and as we see more people choosing diesel engines in comuter cars it may become a reality someday.

[Wickedcummins]

alignment no big deal. Cummins says you can barley hear this thing run its so quiet.. The air to water would be better than regular air to air. Exhaust temps would not be much hotter as you would just run it cooler like the inmar dual wall headers. And not the engine runs at the same temps. High pressure Diesel injection runs even better cooler. Id love to see this in a tige... **** id trade mine in tomorrow cause I would just have to have one kinda deal

[Timmy!]

You wouldn't get the diesel for economical reasons, you would get it for performance ones. It's like the 555hp supercharged engine upgrade, it's not necessary in a Tige but someone might want it.

[Ewok]

Wouldn't a smaller displacement turbo diesel that could generate the same torque as a bigger gas engine be more economical to run? I'm talking big picture here, and also assuming that diesel is readily available at most marinas and the cost of the engines would be the same.

And a second question, why do diesel engines cost more than gassers? Economy of scale?

[dom w. forte]

In the testing that I watched with a major diesel company with MC and Nautique the biggest obsticle was getting the boat dialed in to its torque, there is no linear accelleration with the turbo diesel and you cant compare it to your truck, as far as fuel economy you can bet all you want but the numbers werent there, and with the up and comeing direct injected gas engines there fuel and torque is rivaling the diesel.

[Timmy!]

Diesel's cost more due to the turbo, intercooler, bigger radiators (in autos), the fueling system (23,000 psi of fuel pressure in a Duramax), etc.