Detroit 2-71

[exbrown]

Did the military ever use the Detroit 2-71 in any equipment?

 

[nk14zp]

Not sure if the military did but I have seen them on a gen set to run a railroad refer boxcar. It was mounted in the end of the boxcar.

 

[wreckerman893]

I know they used the 3 cylinders in the Gama Goat and 4 and 6 cylinders in forklifts.

They may have been used in some older pump units or other engineer equipment.....I go all the way back to the 70's in the Army and I don't remember any specific item that used that engine.

I do think I remember seeing a genny powered by one in a military train car.....the whole genny was made by GM.

 

[Chief_919]

I have seen some in the old, old style large welding trailers.

 

[xm708]

gensets

Pretty sure that is what our power on the USCGC Bollard were before they put onans in it. Scared the cra* out of me winding those buggers up to 1800 rpms standing in front of them. We were hated around the east coast because they ran the exhaust up and out of the stack with no muffles and she was LOUD. One cool thing after a long night of off time it was easy to find your way home from the local watering hole because you could hear the mighty bollard from miles away. !!

 

[JDToumanian]

I have seen some in the old, old style large welding trailers.

I know where several 2-71 powered military welding trailers are, they were built in 1962 and 1966. Unfortunately they are in scrap condition and the seller wants $1200 each.

I've also seen a 3-71 powered centrifugal pump on a military trailer....

Jon

 

[exbrown]

i have read that these make good generators and will run on most anything, almost like a multifuel.

 

[steelypip]

They do make good generators, but they do not tolerate light loads well.

 

[exbrown]

They do make good generators, but they do not tolerate light loads well.

THere is a good bit of information on the web about these generators, with many people swearing by them.

Here are two people who sell them:

Emerson2-71 Generators "The Deuce"

20 kW Generators | 2-71 Detroit Diesel Engine | Heavy Duty Delco Generators | AFFORDABLEPOWER - Reliable Used Generators

There is also some discussion on this forum concerning these generators:


Antique Engines Antique Tractors Steam Engines and Old Iron

Any diesel genset that is called the "DEUCE" has to be OK!

From the discussion I have read, they are big, heavy, loud and reliable.
I also saw a post on a forum saying they had pdf manuals for military gensets using these engines. I will try and get a copy.

 

[BillIdaho]

My brother has a 1-71 generator, in like new condition, (10k watts). My dad had it when we were kids, (that's 50 years ago!), and I think it was no new then. My dad had the forethought to get all the spare parts particular to a single cylinder 71 series engine, such as head gasket, crank, etc. (Pistons, rings, rods, etc are all pretty much the same)
A mutual friend of ours went to the Detriot diesel school awhile back, and got the tour of their museum. The guy walking them through said they had about every model ever made. My friend piped up about knowing where a like-new 1-71 was. They were instantly REAL interested in appropriating it. ( They wanted it donated to their museum. My brother and I decided to let it sit where it is, thank you very much.)

 

[exbrown]

I know where several 2-71 powered military welding trailers are, they were built in 1962 and 1966. Unfortunately they are in scrap condition and the seller wants $1200 each.

I've also seen a 3-71 powered centrifugal pump on a military trailer....

Jon

If I was not so far away I would like to see them.

Price seems kind of high. Rebuilt gensets sell for around $4-5,000.

 

[exbrown]

My brother has a 1-71 generator, in like new condition, (10k watts).

I would love to see a picture of it if there is one.

 

[Rockcrusher]

i have one with a holgart generator head that had the 3 phases tied together an a screw wedging the circut breaker from tripping they said it went boom an mushroom cloud insued motor still runs just no power out put an no one knows who holgart is

 

[steelypip]

There was a thread on listerengine.com about the 1-71 DD generators bought by the Navy before WWII. There aren't many of them out there. If you look on youtube, at least one guy has uploaded some videos of his restored 1-71 generator.

Back to the 2-71s, they are great engines, and great generators, provided that you use them as designed - work them hard and they'll do well. Run them at 1800 RPM and 10% load for hours and you won't have a happy engine. All that DD slobber ends up being a really nasty case of wet stacking if you never get the engine hot enough to cook it off.

 

[JDToumanian]

no one knows who holgart is

I would bet that your unit is actually made by Hobart... Maybe the data plate is faded or has some damage that makes it look like "Holgart" instead of "Hobart" but Hobart is a popular brand of generators and welders.

Run them at 1800 RPM and 10% load for hours and you won't have a happy engine.

The 2-71 gensets that used to power virtually all railroad refrigerator cars were de-rated... They ran at 1200 rpm and used special injectors so that light loads would not cause problems... These injectors could be used to advantage on an 1800 rpm unit that ran light a lot.

Jon

 

[southdave]

I have seen some in the old, old style large welding trailers.

There is one them by me still on 105 type generator thingy with duece wheels it runs and for sale 55 I belive is the date