Identify this big ole engine

GyroRon

Former Gyro know it all
Joined
Oct 29, 2003
Messages
16,888
Location
Fort Mill South Carolina
Aircraft
Vans RV4 / Dominator 582 Ultrawhite
Total Flight Time
ALOT
found out in the woods in West Virgina, assuming it is some kind of pump as there is alot of natural gas up there. not sure if it is running on natural gas or diesel.... the exhaust had somewhat of a diesel smell to it, but the cylinder head had a coil and sparkplug? Apparently the thing runs non stop for years at a time

Big engine on Vimeo
 
Looks like it's running on natural gas......I saw the regulator. amirite?
It also looks like it pumps the gas as well.
Don't know what the engine is exactly.
 
When I went to Rolls Royce/ Allison school they said they had their C18-250 series engines (turbines) (Jet Ranger, MD 500, etc.) pumping and running on natural gas.
Allison said that the engines ran for years with NO maintenance. The engine oil is a dry sump system and get virtually NO contamination. The only moving parts are ball and roller bearings and gears.

I bought a year old taxi cab once-upon-a-time, it had 232 thousand miles. The cab company maintenance manager told me the cabs often run for weeks at a time and usually only get shut off for oil changes and other maintenance.

AMAZING !
 
Ok, given the location of this engine, I had a feeling I knew who to ask, and I was right! I have a few friends in the natural gas industry, and one of them just let me know.
This is a compressor for smaller oil/gas wells. Imagine that the main pipeline in an area has a pressure of around 1500PSI, but the smaller wells only have around 1000PSI, so they can't feed into the main line becauses their pressure's not high enough. This compresser bumps up that smaller well's pressure so it can feed into the main pipeline. The engine is like a deisel but it runs off the natural gas it is pumping from the well.
Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
(GI Joe!):usa2:
 
AJAX! :whoo:Single cylinder pumper,:der: At the Camarillo Air show we have an Engine club bring Antique pump and farm engines,:suspicious: Never saw one run so fast.....Cool!:Cry:
 
Ajax !
Ain't that where the Wile Coyote got all his stuff mail order ?
 
Yep, it is an AJAX Integral Compressor unit. Kinda interesting. The engine and compressor share a common shaft. It is a spark ignited two stroke and runs on natural gas. Probably 180 hp.

The hand wheel on the end of the compressor is used to adjust the compressor stroke thus its output. Usually runs somewhere around 400 rpm so, considered low speed.
 
Top