Yanmar 110

[CaptMac]

During the Seattle show, we started talking about what rpm people use to cruise. On Island Ranger, I have always considered 2800-2900 to be the highest I should run on a continuous basis, and several other Yanmar 110 owners used the same limit. The engine max rpm is 3300, and the boat really feels great when I run higher rpm.... so.....

I asked the Yanmar guy at the booth today. From my brief discussion with him, he appeared very knowledgable, had worked on Yanmars for quite some time and seemed to know his stuff. He walked over to the engine on the show floor (they had one of our engines on display) and read the little plaque that is mounted on top of the engine. It says 3100 is the continuous operating rpm, and the Yanmar guy said I should run the engine there - not 2800 - it was better for the engine to be run at 3100.

Does anyone have knowledge/experience running that close to max? Is it really better for the engine?

Thanks,
Mac

 

[j&lgray]

Thanks for the info Mac. The information that I have read on diesels in general is to run the engine at 80% of wide open throttle (WOT) because it brings the oil temperature up to a point that prevents damage to the engine cause when engines run a very long time at the lower RPM's. Therefore, 80% would be about 2700 RPM's. My reading is that the oil becomes the place for a host of bad things that will happen when the oil temperature is not hot enough. For those of you new to diesels, these engines rely more upon oil for things and that is part of the reason why they have 7 quarts of it in the pans.

You can run at the lower RPM's but need to do a "cleansing" phase of running at the high RPM's for a bit. On our river trip, we ran all day at 1800 to 2100 RPM's and I mean 4 to 10 hours of running. At least once a day, we would run at 3000 RPM's for about 10 to 15 minutes and then engine would seem to run better afterwards-but maybe that was the Skipper's wishful thinking.

I like the fuel savings at the lower RPM's and the laid back handling needs. Running at 3100 RPM's means about 11-12 knots, using the trim tabs to push down the bow for a more level ride and paying closer attention for those nasty things in the water that can ruin your day.

 

[captd]

During the Seattle show, we started talking about what rpm people use to cruise. On Island Ranger, I have always considered 2800-2900 to be the highest I should run on a continuous basis, and several other Yanmar 110 owners used the same limit. The engine max rpm is 3300, and the boat really feels great when I run higher rpm.... so.....

I asked the Yanmar guy at the booth today. From my brief discussion with him, he appeared very knowledgable, had worked on Yanmars for quite some time and seemed to know his stuff. He walked over to the engine on the show floor (they had one of our engines on display) and read the little plaque that is mounted on top of the engine. It says 3100 is the continuous operating rpm, and the Yanmar guy said I should run the engine there - not 2800 - it was better for the engine to be run at 3100.

Does anyone have knowledge/experience running that close to max? Is it really better for the engine?

Thanks,
Mac

That is what a Yanmar mechanic told me. He said it is good for the engine to run wide open for awhile. Indicating that a wide open run across the gulf stream wouuld not hurt the engine. ( 60 miles ) That is why it has a govenor. My fishing buddy in Panama only idled his when parked in his yard. The turbo froze up. Now he opens it wide open for a part of his running session. I have always felt it wise to open it up then cut it back 10% whether gas outboards or diesel. I know every diesel truck and motor home I have owned needed to blow the carbon out. The old two stroke Detroits in my old Chris run best wide open. The MCI motorhome, with same engine, it was necessary to peg the govenor in every gear or you would blow it and have to start over again. No syncro in any gear and had to double clutch in perfect time with the rpm. Now I know it is different with turbo'ed 4 strokes. These 4's will not handle the same nor last as long as 8V71's ( naturally aspirated ).
I also like the best fuel economy and to relax and enjoy the scenery. I have never gotten any input on Cummins diesel. But I am sure they would say to hit wot sometime during the day. Especialy just before you shut it down.
Anyone get the word from Cummins?
Only my humble opinion. :|
captd

 

[Stella Maris]

I agree with John on running at the 1800 RPM range. We will do this for the good part of the day and then run WOT for ten to fifteen minutes. We also crank it up to about 2700 RPM for the first ten to fifteen minutes to get the oil to operating temp.

Again, I have to agree with John as to the lower speed giving you more time to react to those nasty things in the water. We were cruising along at 1800 and drove up on to a rock pinnacle that was just six inches under water! (This was on Lake Mead) When the boat came to a stop, we were a mere six to eight inches from the prop! What was amazing is the back of the boat was sitting in six inches of water while the front was back in fifty! We had to be towed off of the rock as we were high and dry in the stern. The total damage was $1,500.00! At a higher rate of speed, I do believe we would have holed the boat.

At 1800, we burn just over 1/2 gallon per hour.

 

[rt11002003]

I don't have the Yanmar 110 in my R-21 EC. However, I have experience with an earlier version of that engine in an Albin 27. We ran it at 80 to 90% of WOT (3,600 rpm WOT) when covering distance. When gunkholing, or just looking around, we ran it around 1,800 to 2,400 rpm. In both instances we'd run it up to WOT for about 5 minutes every hour. Never had a problem with that engine. It would start in 20 degree weather with just a touch of the starter (it didn't have glow plugs) and I never saw any black smoke. It would show a touch of white smoke for a couple of minutes just after starting.

According to the manual, the Yanmar engine in my EC is supposed to be run at WOT (3,600 rpm) less than 5% of the time and cruise rpm 3,200 rpm 90% of the time. That leaves 5% to run slowly. However it provides another option if one has operated the engine for a long period at slow speed. Every two hours, put it in neutral and run it from low speed to high speed about 5 times, that clears the carbon. The manual also recommends running at or near WOT periodically, for the same reason. It also cautions against shutting down the engine without a cooling down period (no load) of 5 minutes when running the engine for awhile under load.

Diesels should spend most of their lives running under load to keep the oil at the correct temperature. If not, one will have problems with carbon which will lead to further problems.

Gene

 

[terraplane]

I have hull 52 ( i think) R 25...2008 model. Last year was year one and I put about 130 hours on the Yanmar 110, with not a bit of difficulty . Happy with it.
I generally cruise at between 1800 and 2200, but every hour i rev it up to almost the max and run it for about 8 minutes.
Periodically, if i'm at idle, i goose it up four or five times to blow it out.
Maybe one out of three outings..(range in time between an hour or so, and eight hours) I run at almost full throttle for about two hours,then back to the above.
I hope that is handling the carbon problem, because, frankly, i really enjoy the slower speed. Not only because of the savings, but because the landscape (which is beatiful here) passes slowly and you can "see' and hear more.

terraplane on BANJO

 

[CaptMac]

Thanks for the feedback.

I pulled my manual, and did some further reading. It says to run 60-70% power most of the time during the first 10 hours (initial breakin), then 70% power most of the time for the next 40 hours (end of breakin). And it defines 60% power as 2700 rpm, 70 % as 2800 rpm and 3000 as 80% power.

The manual never says what to run (most of the time) after breakin. The Yanmar mechanic said 3100 rpm is best. The manual does say to race the engine in neutral for 5 times once every 2 hours if running for long periods at low speed.

I don't completely buy the "keeping the oil hot to burn off acids". The engine is water cooled, and runs at temp even at low rpm (eventually) - right? I did read in the manual that they want us to run at maximum rpm periodically to clean out hard carbon deposits, maintaining engine performance and prolonging the life of the engine. So if it is good to run at maximum speed periodically while underway, I'm now thinking that 3000 rpm is conservative, maybe 3100 is right?....

mac

 

[j&lgray]

Great information and thanks for the effort in sharing this Mac.

Though the engine is water cooled, the oil plays a huge role in handling heat. Oil is also the material analyzed to diagnose problems that cannot be seen. If the oil is bad, the engine is having severe problems.

 

[Gratitude]

I raised the 3100 rpm question with a friend who is a diesel mechanic for a local fire department. He admits he does not know marine engines. He said, "If it functions the same way as a land diesel you should be able to run it at 3100 without concern. He echoed the notion that this is the reason the engine has a governor on it.

I personally run my 110 at around 2200 and up to 2800 when I want to run it hard. I will now consider running it up to 3100. A lot easier to do with diesel at 2.44 than 4.44

 

[j&lgray]

You have go boating when the spirit calls you. Today, we took the Laurie Ann out, launching in Everett, WA with a flat seas and a windless day on Puget Sound. Rather than idling at the dock for 15 minutes in the 36 degree day, we eased her out under a light load for 10 minutes running at 1,500 RPM's at 5 knots and when the water temperature came up to 175 degrees,we cranked her up to 3,000 RPM's and did a guilt-free run of 40 minutes to our cabin on Hat Island running at 11 to 12 knots. Then, we let her cool down gradually before shutting her off for the day.

Still learning after all these years.