Gaseous Fuel Revolution!
Kubota stopped by to demo their not-yet-released 1.6 liter natural gas engine last month. The engine is set to come out in November 2011, with deliveries around the first of the year. The local distributor is interested in partnering our gasifiers with their gensets for sale in Alaska. They brought the demo engine, the Kubota regional rep and a DG-972 for us to play with. Didn’t even have to write a check. Now that is service!
Unlike the 972, the 1.6 liter with no name is fully electronically controlled. For the demo they added a supertrap muffler and flywheel weights to simulate load. The result was one hell of a smooth demonstration. “You sold me.”
The Push Towards Gaseous Fuels
The results of EPA tier 4 emissions standards on engine manufacturers like Kubota is increased cost for compliance. Bill, the Kubota Rep told me that it costs several thousand dollars to make a diesel comply, whereas a natural gas engine only costs a few hundred. With developing nations making all sorts of biogasses, there is an expanded market for Kubota gaseous fuel engines.
Being a 3 cylinder engine we can get a really clean vacuum signal for manual automation of our controls. The customers that buy our units want them robust and we deliver.
Stay tuned for the photos of the completed 5kw DC genset. When the 1.6 liter hits the market we plan to make it our AC power offering.
