Single cylinder, is it the last trench of mechanical resistance?

‘Single cylinder, the last trench of mechanical resistance’. It sounds as an old-fashioned headline. Let’s continue with the review of comparisons. Here you will find the PDF with the whole comparison. 

Single cylinder. Electronics is on the way

At Bauma, in April 2019, Hatz opened the electronic control season also on mono under the initials E1, available for both  B and D series. Here we will deal with the 300 cc engines by Hatz, Kohler and Yanmar. However, the path is shared by all ‘singles’ up to the half-liter top. As a statement issued by Richter-Schützeneder – Hatz Sales & Marketing Director said: «We believe that the trend towards downsizing and hybridization will be rewarding. Take for example the Led Hybrid concept, a light tower, located here outside, which features the 1B30E, the smallest 4.5 kW motor. The light tower is able to benefit from E1 technology because, unlike compactors and other applications, it works without any operator. Before, we wouldn’t be able to know the operating conditions of the engine, how external temperatures and altitude act, while the E1 is instead able to provide these information also thanks to remote connectivity».

Summing up the power range covered by the E1 technology used on the B series (1B50E, 1B30E and the brother with vertical shaft, the 1B30VE) we start from 6.7 and reach 8 kW. Faced with the electronic turning point Yanmar relies on its roots, which lie in the meticulous development of combustion. An approach that prompted Osaka to customize the injector (featuring a timing modeled around the Stanadyne rate shape nozzle).

Yanmar

But let’s briefly take stock. The LN series is the silenced evolution of the Lv, a development of the LA platform which is ready for EPA standards. In meeting the limits on noise emissions (see directive 2005/88 EC onwards) which facilitates the work of genset manufacturers the mechanical injector by Yanmar itself plays a crucial role and is appreciated for pre-injection at low loads. Among the various ‘sound-absorbing’ solutions are plastic covers, the intake manifold integrated into the air filter box and the increased mass of the crankshaft.

Since their Tier 4 final edition Yanmar single cylinder engines have both fixed and variable rpm, replicate the previous dimensions and feature the catalyst (this is the exclusive contribution of the Japanese to the evolution of single-cylinder engines). Since December 2014 they are in fact available with catalyst for unburnt hydrocarbons. DOC is not a one-shot experiment for Yanmar engineering, pioneering the exhaust gas recirculation in Stage III in under 56 kW range where Tnv (leaving the mono segment for a while) have always been appreciated.

Kohler

Kohler also thinks of applications such as light towers, which are suitable for hybridized solutions, including the use of solar panels. To complete the picture let’s dive into the past, in 2006, on the eve of the last annual edition of EIMA International, when we wrote “The LD range has been enriched with the ‘S’ version. The re-engineering involved the injection system, the combustion chamber and the injection pump, in particular the propeller and the delivery valves. The RSN Stanadyne injector is strategic in converting the 350 to the silenced version able to modulate the flow according to the lift“.