MARINES AWARD CONTRACT FOR UNIQUE DIESEL/MULTI-FUEL FRONTLINE ENGINES

Two Stroke International (2si) announced that it was awarded a contract by the Marine Corps to supply a unique lightweight diesel-fuel/multi-fuel low-compression spark-ignited engine. The Marine Corps is upgrading their M-17 Sanator transportable decontamination units by replacing the current gasoline-fueled engines.  This will save the Marines and the taxpayers tens of millions of dollars over the cost of replacing the entire units.  The replacement diesel-fuel engine adds only 24 pounds (11 Kg) total to the weight of the two-stroke gasoline-fueled engine being replaced. 

The engine was developed by 2si for applications that require powerful lightweight portable engines fueled by diesel fuel or other heavy fuels plus gasoline for use in transportable equipment.  The armed services have mandated no gasoline on the forward lines and insist on engines that burn JP5 and JP8.  In these applications the weight and engine-strength required by high-compression diesel engines using compression ignition is unacceptable.   The unique 2si engine is a low-compression lightweight industrial-duty engine that uses spark plugs for ignition rather than high-compression ignition.  The engine uses a patented mechanical direct-injection fuel delivery system that is licensed from the Italian engine manufacturer, Piaggio.  “This engine can cut the weight of a compression-ignition diesel of equivalent power in half,” according to company spokesperson Jim Davey. ”It would take two extra Marines to carry the M17 Sanator decontamination unit if a traditional compression-ignition diesel engine was used.” 

The Marines will use the engine to retrofit their entire inventory of transportable M17 Sanator decontamination units.  The M17 Sanator is a steam cleaner that can be hand-carried to locations inaccessible to wheeled vehicles.  The 2si engines are used to power the water pump and the combustion blower in the M17.  The machines are used to clean up after chemical and biological attacks.  They can also be used to decontaminate areas exposed to blood-borne pathogens and other contaminants therefore minimizing the spread of disease.  The units also have a setting to provide hot water for showers for troops in the field.  For instance, most of the hot water for showers in the field during Desert Storm was provided by the M17 Sanator.  That procedure also confirmed the M17’s readiness for use in case of a biological or chemical attack.  They are also used in peacetime to clean up after earthquakes and/or other disasters such as the recent earthquake in Kobe, Japan. 

The Department of Defense (DOD) along with 2si performed extensive tests of the new engine.  A battery of performance and endurance tests were conducted both on special test stands and on 11 of the actual M17 Sanator units. In addition, engines were randomly selected for hot and cold manual/pull start tests at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Aberdeen, Maryland.  The pull-start tests were accomplished using diesel-type fuels only and no other fuels were introduced to assist the starting process.  Army engineers, Marine Corps engineers, and DOD Quality Assurance representatives were included in the test program. 

The armed services require lightweight transportable power units that meet the “mono fuel forward” mandate, specifically JP5 and JP8, eliminating gasoline.  These engines can be used to run a vast array of portable equipment.  When lightweight transportable equipment is required the typically heavy and expensive, high-compression, diesel-cycle or compression-ignition engines are unacceptable.  The spark-ignited low-compression lightweight 2si engines fit these requirements perfectly.  Other applications for the engine include lightweight transportable generators, compressors, fire pumps, ATV vehicles, boats, reconnaissance vehicles and drones, and/or anything that requires lightweight power.

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