March 22, 2009

Kohler Introduces Industry’s First E85 Compatable Small Engine Line



Fuel efficient, cleaner burning engines will soon be the standard – not an option – on all KOHLER Command PRO® and Aegis® twin-cylinder engines.

Starting with its Command PRO 30 gasoline, twin-cylinder model in March, Kohler will introduce the first flex-fuel, electronic fuel injection(EFI) engine. Over the next two years, Kohler will convert its entire Command PRO air-cooled and Aegis liquid-cooled engines with this technology. And at a competitive price with traditional carbureted engines.

Kohler partnered with Delphi – a leading global supplier of mobile electronics and transportation systems – to design this new flex-fuel EFI system with patent-pending technology that will offer significant fuel savings, improved performance and reduced emissions.

KOHLER flex-fuel EFI models will be available on 26 twin-cylinder models ranging from 19-41 hp, and will operate efficiently and without excessive wear on the engine when E-85 or any other alternative fuel is used. An additional benefit of the new Kohler flex-fuel EFI engines is instant load response. The Kohler exclusive EFI system allows the engine to respond with peak Kohler performance even in changing altitudes and load requirements, which in turn, operates at top efficiency.

Kohler also designed this new line of engines within the same footprint as its current Command PRO and Aegis models, so that OEMs can easily drop in the newest Kohler engine without altering the end equipment design to accommodate the engine.

This is accommodated by Kohler’s exclusive self-contained EFI design, which features only one fuel line rather than an additional return fuel line with a special harness. The fuel module, electronic control unit and sensors are also all engine-mounted.

“Kohler introduces this new technology not only at a time when fuel prices are hitting all-time highs, but there’s also been movement of diesel-powered users looking more carefully at spark-ignited engines and what they can now bring to the table,” said Rich Koehl, director of marketing and quality, Kohler Engines. “Depending on the application, end users can realize a 17% to 28% fuel efficiency savings. And, Kohler will be within the EPA phase 3/CARB Tier 3 levels immediately, with extremely low levels of HC and NOx being produced. If the engines run on E-85, those emissions levels are reduced even further compared to operating with gasoline.”

Also true to Kohler Engines, the “closed-loop” system will continue to be a standard feature on these new engines. In most EFI engines, when an EFI engine is started, it operates in an “open loop” mode mapped by the electronic control unit (ECU). Only KOHLER EFI engines include an oxygen sensor that analyzes the air/fuel mixture in the exhaust. If the oxygen level strays from the ideal air/fuel mixture, the sensor triggers adjustments in the ECU map to adjust the amount of fuel injected into the system. Only KOHLER EFI engines then “close the loop” between the air/fuel intake and the exhaust output to provide a constant steam of critical feedback - and optimal power and fuel economy. The closed loop advantage also means that only KOHLER EFI engines automatically adapt to air cleaner conditions and altitude changes.

Kohler was the first small-engine manufacturer to introduce EFI with closed loop on its engines in the mid 1990s, featuring the EFI system as an option and just a few select air- and liquid-cooled models, which carried a higher price tag over its carbureted models. Since then, KOHLER has found a way to take the EFI technology – long used in the automotive industry – and integrate it among multiple horsepower levels at an extremely competitive price.

Source : Kohler

Update June 2010 : The above press release is no longer available on the Kohler website but according to this February 2010 press release the flex fuel option is still planned but won't be available until sometime later this year.

Flex fuel program forthcoming
In 2008, Kohler also announced plans to develop the industry’s first EFI engines with a flex-fuel option. According to Litt (Cam Litt, marketing manager), this alternate fuel option, such as E-85, could be available to OEMs some time in 2010, once the business has completed the EFI conversion across the entire Command PRO twin-cylinder line. Added Litt: “In the future, our KOHLER EFI engines will also be E-85 capable, meaning the engine will be more adaptable to varying fuel formulations.”

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