Welcome! Please use the navigational links to explore our website.
PartsASAP LogoCompany Logo Auction Link (800) 853-2651

Shop Now

   Allis Chalmers Case Farmall IH Ford 8N,9N,2N Ford
   Ferguson John Deere Massey Ferguson Minn. Moline Oliver

Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

Biggest engine you've ever heard of

Welcome Guest, Log in or Register
Author 
Jim A.

05-17-2004 18:29:28




Report to Moderator

What's the biggest engine, in terms of displacement, horsepower, or number of cylinders, you've ever seen or heard of? Not just in a tractor but anywhere.




[Log in to Reply]   [No Email]
Jerry/MT

05-18-2004 17:38:32




Report to Moderator
 Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Jim A., 05-17-2004 18:29:28  

Most of the big engines (gas turbines included) will be found in ships or in statioary use. I used to work in the aircraft industry and the biggest production aircraft piston engine was the 28 cylinder turbo compounded Pratt-Whitney R-4360 @ 4360 cu in.



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Dave

05-18-2004 08:18:42




Report to Moderator
 Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Jim A., 05-17-2004 18:29:28  
http://www.bath.ac.uk/~ccsshb/12cyl/



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Scotty

05-18-2004 02:19:46




Report to Moderator
 Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Jim A., 05-17-2004 18:29:28  
Look at the Steam ships of the early 1900's such as the Titanic. It had pistons that stood 4 stories high! I am not sure of anything bigger, or not!



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
G-MAN

05-18-2004 07:56:42




Report to Moderator
 Re: Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Scotty, 05-18-2004 02:19:46  
The biggest one I've ever heard of is the monster marine diesel that TimV posted the link to below. I don't see internal combustion engines getting much bigger than that, steam is a different animal and a different story. The biggest engine I've ever personally seen and put hands on is at the Crete, NE municipal power plant - a Cooper-Bessemer V-20 if I remember correctly - 83,000 cubic inches and 7770 hp at something like 400 rpm. They had the inspection panels off once when we were there, and you could see inside the crankcase - the connecting rods were the size of full-grown men or bigger. Something like 1200 gallons of oil capacity, etc. As big and powerful as it was, the guy told us that unless it was precisely phased when being brought into provide additional power to the grid they were on, the higher power on the grid could stop it dead in it's tracks and basically blow it to pieces. Not a pretty picture. They also had several ancient Fairbanks-Morse Opposed-Piston engines and several other models, all still in perfect working condition and ready to run at a moments notice. Probably 10 or 12 big engines all told, but the C-B is definitely the monster of the bunch.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
RAB

05-17-2004 23:23:36




Report to Moderator
 Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Jim A., 05-17-2004 18:29:28  
Just look up marine diesel engines - like the one pictured in an earlier post. Some of them only operated at about 90 rpm.
Largest spark ignition engine I have seen is about 4500+ HP - running a 3MW generator on methane gas from a waste dump. It was put in 20/25 years ago, I suppose. They replace the plugs, as a routine, every 2 weeks. They certainly fit my tractors, but have four electrodes and are probably the wrong heat range (as they had problems early on with melted plugs).
Regards, RAB

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Loren

05-17-2004 21:43:04




Report to Moderator
 Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Jim A., 05-17-2004 18:29:28  
Someone posted about a Asian built job with over a million HP and hundreds of thousands of cubic inches a couple months ago on the GGVG bb. 16 cylinder if I remember right.



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
John A

05-17-2004 19:52:48




Report to Moderator
 Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Jim A., 05-17-2004 18:29:28  
Jim A., Biggest engines is ever saw were the Generator units @ Gray Army Airfield @ Ft Hood, Tx. They were in the "Holes" caves out of a mountian. Built to withstand a nucular blast and the two unit were to supply power to those left inside. Both uiits were mirror immiages of each other.
Anyway If I can remember they were Inger-sol Rands. Pistons the size of 30 gal oil drums.
Rockerarms the size of 4in X 6in X 4ft.
The Armature was 12ft diameter X 4ft thick, round!
The engine was about 35 to 40 ft long.
These units were scrapped, so I heard in the mid 80s.
Saw my Dad run them a few times before they were scrapped.
OBTW.... Thes units were @ the Port of Houston about to be loaded on to freightors when the Cold War broke out..... .. About to be loaded..... ..Like hooked to the crain....In the air, being swung to the Russian freightor. They were recalled, and sent to Ft. Hood. They arrived with instructions In Russian.
A little history Ya'll might find instersting.
Later,
John A.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
gene b

05-17-2004 21:18:08




Report to Moderator
 Re: Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to John A, 05-17-2004 19:52:48  
I was stationed there from 59-60. B company. It was KILLEEN BASE. Was your father JOE HARWELL? The engines were WORTHINGTON and each company had four of them. That was the largest stockpile site and the only one that the ARMY maintained. It was one of 10 in the US. I went there in FEB drove rite up to the front door as the base was closed in 64 as it was then. Now ARMY has taken over the old GRAY AIR FORCE site and KILLEEN BASE verry interesting. JOE told me stories about those engines. Same ones were used in subs and seen one in MOBILE ALA in MARCH. They werent quite the size you say but they were large. please advise.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
John A

05-18-2004 20:13:25




Report to Moderator
 Re: Re: Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to gene b, 05-17-2004 21:18:08  
Gene, Dad was John A. Smith, SR. He was part of Exterier Electric Shop .....Civil Service.
Dad was one of two men, in the Shop, that had FBI clearences to fix whatever broke, or got torn-up by the GIs, and such.
Dad retired in 79. I saw them run in Dec of 77,78,79. Time of the now defunkt Christmas party, The Elec. Shop's, Steak and all the trimmings were legondary.
To my knowledge there weren't any more, than two generator units like that at Ft Hood, I could be wrong though.
I will freely admit that I have slept since then! There was a cat walk about 3/4 of the way up on the engines. Where a person could stand and open up an inspection cover and watch the rocker arms move while the engine was running. They were ever bit as long as a baseball bat, the thicknes is what I can't remember much about. I recall the stems of the valves were 1&1/2 to 2 in diameter.
OBTW.....Gray base is in transition now, They are about to Co-hab with Killeen Airport. The new treminal is almost finished. Thats right Killeen will be a regional airpirt, with real jets! not the puddle jumper turboprops.
I will never have to go back to Austin-Bergstrom International again. Killeen is only 25 minutes from me, Oh Thank Heaven!
Hope ya'll enjoyed the little history tid-bit
Later,
John A.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Chris-se-ILL

05-17-2004 19:51:48




Report to Moderator
 Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Jim A., 05-17-2004 18:29:28  
third party image

I copied this photo out of a 1937 correspondence course book that my Grandpa gave to me. He took the Hemphill Diesel School course in 1938. If you look real close, you can see two men in the bottom of the photo. One is starting to climb the stairs {bottom right-center} and the other is standing at the bottom of the stairs {bottom middle of the engine}

There are some really awesome engines featured in those books. I have thought about printing those books on the internet for a while but cannot find out about any copyright laws pertaining to them.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Chris-se-ILL

05-18-2004 15:11:12




Report to Moderator
 Re: Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Chris-se-ILL, 05-17-2004 19:51:48  
I found another engine {schematic} in my Hemphill Diesel school books, of a 22,500hp Burmeister & Wain Diesel.

Notice the handrails at the level of the bedplate and along the top of the engine. Also the control platform on the right side.

I am providing a link to this picture because I made it rather large to show the details of the engine. I didn't want to take up too much room on this forum by posting it here.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
IHC Red

05-19-2004 19:45:54




Report to Moderator
 Re: Re: Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Chris-se-ILL, 05-18-2004 15:11:12  
Wow.

Thanks for sharing. I like those old textbooks.



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Errin OH

05-17-2004 19:07:54




Report to Moderator
 Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Jim A., 05-17-2004 18:29:28  
Don't recall any size info but back in the late 80's spent alot of time working as a contractor in Kansas. Enron pumped natural gas back east. In the pump stations they had V8's that were something like 20' long and 10' tall. Got to see one being OH'd and the piston musta been close to 3' across and 4' tall. Pretty inpressive sight watching one of those run.



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Matt K

05-17-2004 19:01:28




Report to Moderator
 Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Jim A., 05-17-2004 18:29:28  
A while back I saw a website that had pictures of a huge Japanese ship engine, that was the biggest non-turbine engine I've seen pictures of. I can't find it back again though.

I work around 16 cylinder 2500 hp Caterpillar (3516), Cummins (QSK 60--60 liters/3672 cu in.), and Detroit (16V4000) diesels every day. I've seen a Caterpillar 3524 (two 12 cylinder 3500 series engines coupled together--3500 hp). Cummins is coming out with a 3500 hp QSK78 (78 liters). Caterpillar also makes a 3600 series engine, those are mainly run on natural gas and run gas compressors and power plants.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
paul

05-17-2004 20:31:57




Report to Moderator
 Re: Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Matt K, 05-17-2004 19:01:28  
I was wondering where I saw that big sub engine as well - I bookmarked it at the time, but that was 2 hard drives ago.... Was a neat web site, lots of info & pics/ diagrams of it.

I think it turned at 180 rpm or something, just amazingly huge!

--->Paul



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Tom B.

05-17-2004 18:55:11




Report to Moderator
 Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Jim A., 05-17-2004 18:29:28  
Worked as a trainman and yard engineman for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. In a shop doing the service and heavy repair on 800 + units. Biggest one there I saw was a 6000 H.P. General Electric unit. Had a 600 gallon oil sump
and if I remember right 410 gallons of coolant. One of the most common heavy haul locomotives in U.S. 710 cubic inches per cylinder 16 cylinders turbocharged. 436 gal oil sump 276 gallons coolent. That engine weighs about 50000lbs. Also have a picture from a shipyard in Northern Germany with diesel in there I'm guessing about35 + feet high with catwalks for servicing and close to 80 feet long. I'll scan the pic and post it if I can find it.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
TimV

05-17-2004 18:47:23




Report to Moderator
 Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Jim A., 05-17-2004 18:29:28  
This has gotta be close!



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
wolfy

05-17-2004 18:46:15




Report to Moderator
 Re: Biggest engine you've ever heard of in reply to Jim A., 05-17-2004 18:29:28  
There's a very big engine probably 20-30 feet long, 8 ft tall on display & always running at thr Farmers & Thresherman's Jubilee in Somerset Co.(Jubilee runs Thur- Sun after Labor Day each year). this engine had a building built around it & it's a good sized bldg. The engine supplied the power for the electricity for Chicago. I've read the plaque a couple times & forget nearly all that I read. BIG engine, has a sound of it's own.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
[Options]  [Printer Friendly]  [Posting Help]  [Return to Forum]   [Log in to Reply]

Hop to:


TRACTOR PARTS TRACTOR MANUALS
We sell tractor parts!  We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]

Home  |  Forums


Copyright © 1997-2023 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy

TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters

Website Accessibility Policy