Volvo Penta maximum revs - time limit?

vyv_cox

vyv_cox

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A friend is in dispute with a charter operator who claims that he ran the engine of a yacht for long periods, causing failure to the cylinder head gasket. I totally disagree with the fundamental hypothesis but am searching for information that can help him.

Unfortunately we do not know the engine model but it was in a yacht and is probably fairly recent, maybe 30 - 40 HP. Has anyone come across any instruction as to the period that any Volvo engine can safely be operated at maximum revs? I am well aware of the Yanmar instruction but have not seen the same for Volvo.

Most of the WOT (Wide open throttle) information and forum chats are concerned with relatively large mobo engines but I can find nothing for smaller ones.

Thanks for any information.
 
Nothing in the handbook. Pre 2005 engines (20X0) of that size max at 3600 but usually propped for 3400. on my charter boat we instructed charters to cruise at 2400 which gives 5.5 knots but no restrictions on using higher revs if necessary. Post engines (D1-X0) max at 3200, but propped for a minimum of 3000. Cruise at 2200.

Can't see running at high revs alone would cause problems unless there was previous damage such as overheating. They like most small diesels are very conservatively governed to run at safe speeds.

Interested to know the basis for the operator claiming it was run at too high revs - does he have a real time monitor of some sort?
 
Headgasket failure is not going to be cause directly by high rpm, but by overheating.
It would not take a long period of use when the cooling system is marginal to cause head gasket failure.
For example if the coolant flow is restricted by weed, then half an hour of motoring into a chop will get the temperature up.
If you don't hear the alarm, or check the gauge frequently, damage could be done.
 
FWIIW, Beta quote their engine ratings as;-
Power Output; BHP to ISO 3046 and Declared Power; kW to ISO8665.
Other than rpm limits, operational restrictions based on these figures would be meaningless to any owner unless they were given an interpretation, or a maybe had a copy of the ( expensive ) standard, and in any case, depend on the prop. fitted to the engine.
IMO, the charter operator's claim is quite unreasonable.
 
Last edited:
vyv_cox said:
A friend is in dispute with a charter operator who claims that he ran the engine of a yacht for long periods, causing failure to the cylinder head gasket. I totally disagree with the fundamental hypothesis but am searching for information that can help him.

Unfortunately we do not know the engine model but it was in a yacht and is probably fairly recent, maybe 30 - 40 HP. Has anyone come across any instruction as to the period that any Volvo engine can safely be operated at maximum revs? I am well aware of the Yanmar instruction but have not seen the same for Volvo.

Most of the WOT (Wide open throttle) information and forum chats are concerned with relatively large mobo engines but I can find nothing for smaller ones.

Thanks for any information.
Click to expand...

No information I can find from Volvo limiting the amount of time running for their engines. In any case the amount of heat generated, which is what can affect a head gasket, is dependent on the load, so time per se is not a unit to use to limit the use of an engine!
The cooling system would have been designed to cope with the maximum power capable of being developed and time shouldnt come in to it. If the cooling system is working properly then the thermostat would be adjusting dynamically to keep the system temperature at an optimum temperature. If the system has been compromised by blockages, poor pump performance or scaling then its another matter. A reasonable person chartering would expect the system to be functioning correctly and that it would cope with extended running times, whether they did it or not. For information, my engine ran for 48 hrs non stop crossing Biscay with no problems.
Stu
 
vyv_cox said:
To clarify, the charter company claims that 3 minutes at maximum revs is the limit.
Click to expand...

The duty rating of engines is a bit of a mystery. Volvo Penta launched the 2001/2002/2003 range with both PD and LD ratings. The LD rating said max revs for no more than 1 hour in every 12 hours running - see attached extract from product bulletin. The PD rating seems to have no constraints.

View attachment 65230
 
"Charter company" "probably fairly recent" so I would expect it to be at the oldest a 20X0 series engine. I cant find any "time" specs on these and given what I have said before, given that that base engine is a commercial industrial engine used in hard worked plant, that there would be no limits on its "time" use.
Stu
 
For the charter company to insist on the 3 minute max revs rule it would need to be in the terms and conditions of the charter contract. It is clearly unreasonable and unenforceable, max engine revs are there to be used in emergency anyway.
If it does come to a dispute, how are they going to prove that it was run for any time at max revs? As others have said it is more likely the cooling was to blame, and that is down to the charter company.
 
My boat is quite old at 1988 but has VP engines.
It isn't however a planing craft, so is quite similar to a yacht in the engine application.

It still has a clear plaque which says "Optimum Cruising speed 200rpm below obtained maximum speed".
And although this doesn't say "Don't run the engines flat out everywhere" it certainly implies it.
From my research on the engines I also know they're only rated as light duty, and I even came across the duty cycle somewhere.

But it would be foolish to run at max revs for any longer than a few minutes, simply because it doesn't really achieve anything other than burning fuel.
However, that's with a displacement boat and 2 engines; whether the single engined boat in your example could achieve hull speed or be able to take max revs for longer I wouldn't like to say.

The type of propping may also make a difference!
But wasn't there a temp gauge, and warning buzzer?
 
vyv_cox said:
A friend is in dispute with a charter operator who claims that he ran the engine of a yacht for long periods, causing failure to the cylinder head gasket. I totally disagree with the fundamental hypothesis but am searching for information that can help him.

Unfortunately we do not know the engine model but it was in a yacht and is probably fairly recent, maybe 30 - 40 HP. Has anyone come across any instruction as to the period that any Volvo engine can safely be operated at maximum revs? I am well aware of the Yanmar instruction but have not seen the same for Volvo.

Most of the WOT (Wide open throttle) information and forum chats are concerned with relatively large mobo engines but I can find nothing for smaller ones.

Thanks for any information.
Click to expand...
http://www.volvopenta.com/SiteColle...glish/Marine_Commercial_ProductGuide_2015.pdf
 
skipper_stu said:
http://www.volvopenta.com/SiteColle...glish/Marine_Commercial_ProductGuide_2015.pdf
Click to expand...

Useful. but does not show any D1 or D2 engines which are the ones that we use.

The D3 and upwards are all derivatives of vehicle or plant machinery engines that in many cases are available in several different outputs depending on the intended use - the sort of things you are familiar with. For obvious reasons they have very tightly defined operating cycles.

Our little normally aspirated low specific output (35hp/L) industrial engines have no such restrictions.
 
I think most people would regard operating at maximum speed for hours on end to be abuse, but where to draw the line?
Marine engines are not like car engines, they frequently run for 24 hours at a high percentage of their max rpm.
Many are related to generator engines which only run at one speed.

It's normal to check the temperature from time to time, or have an alarm you can hear.
Also to check oil and coolant periodically.
 
Back in the 1990's my friend, a commercial fisherman, had a 3 cylinder, turbo charged Volvo, (2003T?) which was either ticking over, whilst hauling his nets, or being driven flat out. He regularly blew head gaskets and eventually the whole engine. Volvo claimed that the repeated failures were due to it being run flat out for too long and wanted nothing to do with him. The engine ended up as an anchor on his hauling out rope; the only thing that it was good for he claimed!
 
CalicoJack said:
Back in the 1990's my friend, a commercial fisherman, had a 3 cylinder, turbo charged Volvo, (2003T?) which was either ticking over, whilst hauling his nets, or being driven flat out. He regularly blew head gaskets and eventually the whole engine. Volvo claimed that the repeated failures were due to it being run flat out for too long and wanted nothing to do with him. The engine ended up as an anchor on his hauling out rope; the only thing that it was good for he claimed!
Click to expand...

The 2003T was an oddball introduced to fill a gap in the range, and quickly dropped. Not a suitable engine for that type of use, although in cruising boats for which it was built like the HRs of the time it generally did OK although some nasty design features such as an aluminium oil cooler cunningly hidden so difficult to inspect for the inevitable corrosion.

Its replacement the 2040 was a much better bet, based on a Japanese Perkins engine.
 
Tranona said:
The 2003T was an oddball introduced to fill a gap in the range, and quickly dropped. Not a suitable engine for that type of use, although in cruising boats for which it was built like the HRs of the time it generally did OK although some nasty design features such as an aluminium oil cooler cunningly hidden so difficult to inspect for the inevitable corrosion.

Its replacement the 2040 was a much better bet, based on a Japanese Perkins engine.
Click to expand...
Exactly.
Stu
 
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lw395 said:
I think most people would regard operating at maximum speed for hours on end to be abuse, but where to draw the line?
Marine engines are not like car engines, they frequently run for 24 hours at a high percentage of their max rpm.
Many are related to generator engines which only run at one speed.

It's normal to check the temperature from time to time, or have an alarm you can hear.
Also to check oil and coolant periodically.
Click to expand...
The prob with all our thoughts is of course, its not so much the revs or time they are running, its the load that is the factor we should be looking at. The thermal output of the engine is wholly dependent on load, which is what most people fail to grasp. The diesel engine can sit there at what some manufacturers call hi idle, which is what we call maximum revs, and have no load and it will not generate a lot of heat (thats why we are advised to put the engine in gear to put a load on it to when we want to "warm it up"
So the charterer saying that the engine has been run for too much time and that has caused head gasket problems is full of cack! They have no way of telling for how long the engine has been run under maximum load! All they might have is an engine hours meter, it coukd have run for a long time but under no load!
Stu
 
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