EDI launches LSI engine range

Diesel Progress North American Edition, August, 2007

The landscape of the highly competitive large spark ignited (LSI) engine market in North America has changed once again with the announcement that Engine Distributors Inc. (EDI) will offer a line of emissions-certified industrial engines for a variety of stationary and mobile equipment applications.

The new line from EDI will include 1.6, 2.3, 4.0 and 6.8 L models available as gasoline, natural gas or LP fueled engines, as well as dual-fuel configurations. The four engines cover an output range from 53 to 225 hp.

The base engines are purchased from Ford Component Sales by EDI and are packaged with electronic control modules and fuel systems and other certified components from EControls Inc., San Antonio, Texas.

One of the keys to EDI's new program is that the Blackwood, N.J., company will serve as the manufacturer of record (MOR) for the new engine line, assuming all the liability for the range.

"That's the key--we are the MOR, it's one stop," said Glenn Cummins Jr., president of EDI. "We hold the certificates, we assume the responsibility for these engines.

"We are going to offer a complete line of certified engines--high-tech, automotive-based engines for the industrial markets available as gasoline, natural gas, LP or dual fuel, that work, are fuel efficient and meet all the environmental requirements."

Concerning Ford's position on the industrial engine market, Jim Azzouz, OEM/Specialty Vehicle, Power Products manager said, "Ford has evaluated the Power Products business and has developed a new business model to continue doing business in the industrial market.

"The new model is to sell power-train assemblies and components to the experts, the experts being our distributors. It will be our Ford Power Products distributor's responsibility to identify their customers' requirements and to ensure they provide an end product that meets their needs," Azzouz said.

Cummins said the four-cylinder, 2.3 L engine has been certified, along with the four-cylinder, 1.6 L engine. The six-cylinder, 4.0 L and 10-cylinder, 6.8 L engines are expected to be certified before the end of 2007.

"We think there's going to be a real market for equipment that had used gas engines and then switched over to diesels," Cummins said. "We think a lot of those applications will come back to these types of engines.

"If it has the torque and the horsepower and the reliability, why wouldn't you? Especially when you consider the future costs associated with emissions-compliant diesels in this size range."

One of the perceived drawbacks to using automotive-based engines in industrial use has been durability and reliability. But Cummins will have none of that, noting that "the endurance of gas engine products has increased along with cars.

"There was a time when a car hit 100,000 miles and you were ready for it to break down, you didn't have a high confidence level," Cummins said. "Today, you can run some of these engines a couple hundred thousand miles and not even touch the spark plugs. That's the kind of base product we're going to be delivering."

The new EDI line will be packaged at the company's Blackwood operations, which had packaged engines for Ford Power Products through the end of 2006. The engines will go to market and be supported both through an OEM-direct sales program from EDI, as well as sales and service through a network of former Ford Power Product distributors. To date, EDI has signed 14 distributors in the U.S. and Canada. The company said it also has plans to add a series of European distributors. North American signed distributors are:

* Anderson Industrial Engines Co., Omaha, Neb.;

* CK Power Products, St. Louis, Mo.;

* Engine Distributors Inc., Archdale, N.C.;

* Engine Distributors Inc., Blackwood, N.J.;

* Engine Center Inc., Ferndale, Mich.;

* Engine Distributors Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.;

* Engine Distributors Inc., Jacksonville, Fla.;

* Graham Ford Inc., Columbus, Ohio.;

* Industrial Engines Ltd., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada;

* M & I Ford, Daphne, Ala.;

* M K Power Products Corp., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada;

* North Coast Ford Industrial, Cleveland, Ohio;

* Pacific Torque, Burien, Wash.;

* Pitt Auto Electric, Cranberry Twp, Pa.;

* Powertech Engines Inc., Fresno, Calif.

Cummins said the engines are targeted toward generator sets, sweepers, compressors, backhoes, trenchers and other off-highway applications. Currently, Genie is using the EDI 2.3 L dual-fuel model on some of its self-propelled rough terrain scissor lifts, as well as some aerial work platforms.

The new EDI fine starts with the inline, four-cylinder, 1.6 L engine. The two-valves-per-cylinder engine has an overhead cam design with single, sleeve-type chain-drive camshaft with a hydraulic tensioning system. The engines have cast-iron exhaust manifolds for off-highway use.

Intermittent ratings, all at 3600 rpm, are 63 hp for gasoline, 52 hp for natural gas and 57 hp on LP. Peak torques at 3200 rpm are 93 lb.ft., 78 lb.ft. and 86 lb.ft., respectively.

Next is the inline four-cylinder, 2.3 L engine, with gasoline, natural gas and LP ratings of 93 hp, 84 hp and 91 hp at 3200 rpm. Torque ratings are 156 lb.ft., 140 lb.ft. and 153 lb.ft. at 3200 rpm, respectively. The engine uses a three-way catalyst/muffler and is EPA and CARB certified, the company said.