Servicing a Marine Diesel Engine

In a traditional its power is produced by hot compressed air igniting fuel which has been sprayed into the cylinder head under very high pressure. A does not have a carburetor to mix fuel or air spark plugs to ignite the mixture. Instead, the pistons are used to compress the air to 3000 kPa, which causes it to become extremely hot and the fuel is ignited as soon as it is injected into the cylinder.

Some marine are fitted with a glow plug in the pre-combustion chamber of each cylinder or a heater plug in the inlet manifold. These can provide additional heat to the combustion air during the starting process.

Diesel marine engines are slower revving and heavier than gasoline engines but they are also more reliable because they do not have to count on external carburetion or that electrical spark for ignition.

Newer engines use an electronic fuel injection system whereby air and fuel are mixed thoroughly in the pre-combustion chamber before entering the cylinder. This system maximizes fuel and power economy and is also less polluting.

Every boater should have at least a basic understanding of maintenance so let's start by explaining the mechanical cycles.

Most reciprocating piston internal combustion engines work on one of two mechanical cyclesóeither the four-stroke cycle or the two-stroke cycle. These cycles list, in the correct order, the mechanical actions by which the fuel and air gain access to the engine cylinder, the gas pressure – due to combustion – is converted into power and, lastly, the burnt gas is expelled from the engine cylinder.

How A Basic Four-Stroke Marine Diesel Engine Works

As the name suggests it is obvious there are four strokes in one complete engine cycle. A stroke is the movement of the piston through the full length of the cylinder and, since one such movement causes the crankshaft to rotate half a turn, it follows that there are two crankshaft revolutions in one complete engine cycle.

In the order they occur the four strokes are:

1. Inlet stroke. With the inlet valve open and the exhaust valve closed, the piston moves from top dead center (TDC) to bottom dead center (BDC), which creates a low-pressure area in the cylinder. Clean, filtered air rushes through the open inlet valve to relieve this low-pressure area, and the cylinder fills with air.

2. Compression stroke. With both valves closed, the piston moves from BDC to TDC, compressing the air. During the course of this stroke the air becomes heated to a temperature high enough to ignite the fuel.

3. Power stroke. At approximately TDC, the fuel is sprayed or injected, into the hot compressed air, where it ignites, burns and expands. Both valves remain closed, and the pressure acts on the piston crown, forcing it down the cylinder from TDC to BDC.

4. Exhaust stroke. At approximately BDC the exhaust valve opens and the piston starts to move from BDC to TDC, driving the burnt gas out of the cylinder through the open exhaust valve.

Two-Stroke Diesel Engines

The two-stroke engine uses two piston strokes to complete one power stroke and, therefore, fire twice as often as a four-stroke engine. A two-stroke engine is smaller and simpler with fewer moving parts. A two-stroke engine has the potential to produce twice as much power as a four-stroke engine of the same size, however, because of the extra fitting required in a two-stroke engine, for example blowers and governors, they become more expensive to produce. There has been a move towards four stroke of late as they have become smaller and more efficient.

Protect Your Marine Diesel Engine

The engine is often idled to charge the batteries or cool  the refrigeration but if done repeatedly it will glaze the bores of the engine and cause premature engine failure. Avoid idling your marine engine for longer than ten minutes in a no-load state. If the vessel is in a berth the engine can be put in gear to create load at idle.

Every boat owner should have some knowledge of basic marine engine maintenance so grab a copy of Marine Diesel Engine Maintenance For Beginners and keep yourself and your family safe while boating.

Best Diesel Engines

Hornby Train Set

The latest competition to be announced by Sussex based model retailer Modelzone is their most recent celebration of James May's Toy Stories TV program. In one episode of this popular series Mr May and around 400 valiant volunteers pieced together enough model train track to re-establish the rail link between Barnstaple and Bideford in Devon. The volunteers and model rail enthusiasts laid a staggering 19,000 pieces of Hornby 00 gauge track over the 10 mile route which has not had a working rail link for over 40 years.

Now Modelzone are giving you the chance to win one of two fantastic Hornby model train sets. The fantastic Eurostar train set features a Eurostar locomotive along with passenger coaches and a large amount of track.

And the City Industrial train set takes us back to a time when trains like the City Industrial hauled freight and passenger coaches along branch lines throughout the British Isles. This train set includes a 7 plank wagon, a 4 wheel coach and a 12T vent van as well as track and accessories.

Constructing model railways is a whole load of fun and very educational. Children learn a lot from toys that require construction and design. Also, building and operating a model rail system provides a great way to spend some time with your children. You will find that your model railway system provides many happy hours of enjoyment for both you and your children. Children enjoy the stimulation that model railways provide to their imagination and they love the sense of achievement when the system is built and working.

So why not give yourself a chance of winning one of these fantastic train sets by visiting the Hornby competition on the Modelzone blog and submit your entry. All you need to do is answer one simple question which asks: What is the distance between Barnstaple and Bideford Stations - 8 miles, 10 miles or 15 miles? (The answer is 10 miles). Here's wishing you lots of luck.

The Importance of Trucks in our Society

DREAM TRUCKS

In this day and age, truck makers realise that safety comes first – this has become their first priority.  Truck makers have gone the extra mile to make sure truck owners and their employees are safe when driving behind the wheel.Trucks are being made these days to cope safely and reliably under a range of harsh circumstances and tough environmental constraints. This effective and well-oiled machine that is the truck manufacturing sector of the is well worth a closer look.

The World Is Changing Fast

 Whether you are a produce or hi-tech goods supplier, global raw material distributor, a manufacturer of any sort or a factory owner in Naples, you will almost without doubt be reliant on the trucking industry. Your company may find itself in need of tipper , curtain side, flat bed , graders, diggers, tippers or perhaps even just the tractor unit on its own. Basically, without , practically all global enterprise could grind to a halt. The demand for commercial trucking will not die as long as there are countries, companies and people who are striving to improve the surroundings and circumstances in which they live. Over the past decade, the need for has been growing consistently. During the recession, demand fell for new truck orders due to obvious financial constraints, but the economy as a whole still relied on the use of . That remained a constant requirement. Eastern, African and South American truck markets are growing steadily and this is a wonderful opportunity for truck construction companies to expand their share of this newer market.

Different Size Types of Trucks Available

 There are many different types of and not everyone may be aware of just how many variations of truck the manufacturers have to offer, especially small or medium size business owners who rely on the global logistics market every bit as much as the international construction and mining companies do.Manufacturers of categorise them by the amount of weight they are capable of carrying. Trucks in the US are categorised into eight weight classes, ranging from the lightest at class one up the scale to class eight. An example just to put some perspective on this: a Dodge Ram 3500 would fall in a class 2 while the Ford F-350 falls under class 3. Likewise, a class four truck would be something like a GMC4500, for example, and a Ford F550 would come into the class five category. Any truck which is bigger than a Ford F-750 or GM C8500 would probably be placed in the class 8 category.

The tractor unit is the business end of the truck. This is the bit which not only houses the engine and gearbox, but is also the cab of the truck and it has to pull the trailer as well! The trailers are usually built for purpose and ordered separately from the tractor. As with trailers, there are many different types of tractor; each built for a specific purpose. Trailer manufacture is just as big an industry sector as that of the truck tractor itself. To give you an idea of the differences between types of truck the categories are as follows:

 Light Duty Trucks – These provide a lower capacity of storage. These types of truck perform basic utility functions and mostly transport everyday household goods a relatively small distance.  They also deliver the products we need to build the homes we live in. If these did not exist, we would not have many of the everyday items available to us which we so take for granted!

 Main Models– These are service , dump , flatbed and the pickup .  These medium size model are usually used for the lighter capacities of carrying and quickest way of transporting.   The medium duty are the with better carrying capacities and used by most large companies for transport of goods from one branch to another, for example. Some types of commercial are: medium duty box , bucket , reefer and rollback . These are the most frequently used commercial , which all types of companies and businesses use.

 Large commercial are also sometimes called articulated , or Artics for short. So called because they are articulated and the trailer is free to swivel on a tow bar, tractor hook or hinge. These are the big guys - the that really just get on with the job. Mac are what we knew them as while I was growing up. That is actually no different from calling a vacuum cleaner a Hoover though. Both the construction and transportation industries rely heavily on the use of articulated, heavy-duty dump and graders. Their reputation for immense power and performance is justified; they regularly transport thousands of tons of raw materials to construction sites, or shift industrial machines from place to place around countries and continents.

 Whatever their need or application, and no matter where in the world they are needed, a few companies come to mind instantly – Mack , Caterpillar and JCB. Mack have a reputation for building reliable construction , reliable motorway and interstate transporters, and the most hardy of refuse in the US. Mack always deliver! Both JCB and Caterpillar have built their reputations upon their huge range of whose reliability enables their employment in some of the most hostile and challenging environments around the globe. These amazing giants of the automotive world often operate night and day, thanklessly performing their important function time after time as quickly and safely as possible. Did you know that the tyres on these big monster are often made to order and can cost upwards of £20,000 per tyre. Replacements for machines out of operation often need to be flown into distant and sometimes hostile environments at a minute's notice, as down time on these machines can cost corporations and even governments many hundreds of thousands per day. In their game time really is money!

 The main types of these are the sleeper , dump and the heavy-duty cab chassis . These types of truck are commonly used in the construction and land development industries, for example.

 Commercial have various uses:

1.    Transport of small and medium sized goods.

2.    Transportation of fuels, liquids and gases in tankers.

3.    Contributing in the development of residential construction.

4.    Maintaining a safe community by playing their part in road construction.

5.    Waste elimination.

6.    Providing services for other companies or residential.

 There is more to add to the list.The list could go on forever, as of all sizes have such a big part to play in the development of any enterprise.

Names like Mack, Peterbilt, DAF, Renault, Kenworth, Freightliner, Ferteri and Mercedes, Navistar and Caterpillar commercial are the biggest and best in the world of truck manufacturing.  These truck companies supply some of the best looking and functioning on the market. Unique among transport vehicles and truly in a class of their own, they exhibit flair, strength and speed all in one hit. New commercial on the market by these manufacturers never fail to create a buzz in the global business world.

It is these big-name commercial truck makers selling the majority of the of all shapes and sizes you see advertised. They are responsible for a huge chunk of the supply of commercial to both US and UK markets.  Over the years, they have made huge efforts to make their well known worldwide, with a very successful migration to the Asian, African and South American markets.It can be said that commercial have changed, and are still changing, the world as we know it. 

 CEO and company managers worldwide strive to help improve our societies’ infrastructure by quickly moving everyday goods and perishable resources between company depots, from cities to rural areas as well as between countries, as is the case in Europe. Trucks are the only way our economies are still able to move forward in this fast-paced society. It is often neither cost effective nor logistically possible due to rail infrastructure to haul large amounts of freight across Europe and Britain.

 Commercial are easy to buy through expert distribution services worldwide made available by the big names in the trucking world.Franchised dealerships will often have heavy regulation from the manufacturer so as to ensure their desired level of service and supply of equipment and parts. Commercial truck makers and manufacturers are actually helping to improve communities and people who live in them.With results come success and further growth; commercial bring results and can thus create more jobs.

 We all know that in today’s fast-paced world, economic and financial growth is something we need in order to provide a good life for our families and especially for future generations. The global recession has crippled truck sales across the UK, Europe and the US. Some smaller truck dealerships who were appointed as approved representatives on behalf of the big manufacturers have been dealt a crippling blow to their order books, with many experiencing unprecedented returns. The reason for this is simple economics: even after the reserve banks lowered their lending fees, small businesses were still being offered higher interest rates on truck loans than they could afford, forcing them to return the , or risk financial ruin.

 While some small businesses may no longer be able to consider purchasing a new truck, the flip side of the coin is that the market for used commercial vehicles in some sectors could actually see positive growth. The list of types of operation or business in which commercial vehicles play a part is endless. Whether you are a small enterprise starting out with a couple of Ford Transit Vans, perhaps a larger company needing to downsize to smaller vans, or maybe you are considering whether to buy a minibus to move workers between sites – the used commercial vehicle industry is yet another important facet of the as a whole.

The future of the trucking industry around the world is still bright. Trucks perform a critical job;  keeping our economy moving by delivering building materials, consumer goods such as TVs and hi-fi equipment to super stores and perishable goods from our farms to the supermarket shelves. Next time you see a big truck on the road, spare a thought for the driver too, as he or she is probably many miles away from home.

Best Diesel Engines