Diesel Engine Backfire
Diesel Engine Backfire
(OP)
thread403-160410
One of our engines has backfired violently and dislocated [blew out] part of the exhaust piping. There was no pressure relief designed nor built into the exhaust line behind the silencer. The exhaust line is double-walled insulated stainless piping - 20" inside and 24" outside. The exhaust runs 20' horizontal then turns vertical for 50'. The diesel engine generator is 2000kW. There is no jacket heater nor an aftercooler heater. The block temperature was recorded at 78 deg. at the time. The backfire occurred 10-15 seconds after ignition. It had been 2-3 weeks since the last engine start. It is a brand new genset.
Cammax indicated from the referenced thread above that a backfire is usually caused by some other mechanical failure of some sort. I want to know what those failures might be.
Any insight is appreciated.
One of our engines has backfired violently and dislocated [blew out] part of the exhaust piping. There was no pressure relief designed nor built into the exhaust line behind the silencer. The exhaust line is double-walled insulated stainless piping - 20" inside and 24" outside. The exhaust runs 20' horizontal then turns vertical for 50'. The diesel engine generator is 2000kW. There is no jacket heater nor an aftercooler heater. The block temperature was recorded at 78 deg. at the time. The backfire occurred 10-15 seconds after ignition. It had been 2-3 weeks since the last engine start. It is a brand new genset.
Cammax indicated from the referenced thread above that a backfire is usually caused by some other mechanical failure of some sort. I want to know what those failures might be.
Any insight is appreciated.





RE: Diesel Engine Backfire
RE: Diesel Engine Backfire
In our case the silencer is horizontal, and as near as I can determine, we get a build up of un-burnt fuel and or oil in it. The engines are Detroit Diesel 2 cycles that really need to be run fully loaded, not the 60% we get on tests).
The back fire does not occur until the engine has been run for 30 minutes at full load, then turned off, and then back on (annual certification)
To date its caused no problems other than concern, but it certainly is something to be taken seriously.