An interesting Christmas story for all to hear, so fill your egg nog mugs high and gather around the fire close , this little story starts a tale only germans know .Could it be true that the 617 was truly built to be of all things a generator motor.Heard this from an Army man stationed their in this time era ,he was very much a driver of the brand and talked alot to the" in crowd "of service techs of the day.

A generator doesn't need to produce torque across as wide an RPM band as a 617 does so I don't think it was meant to be only a generator engine. The 636 and 621 were so widely used in highway vehicles that the 617 had to have that application as key design criteria. Then again the Coventry Clinax in the Lotus Elite was originally a forklift engine.

Sixto
83 300SD

There is a guy in Indy that uses 617s as a direct replacement in large old forklifts. He pulls old Continentals out and sticks the ol' 5 cylinder turbo right in. Tells me they work great. He bought a 617 from me this past fall for a conversion. It's not an everyday thing but it is one of his shop's specialties. Another little known use for MB diesels is in aircraft. From 28Oct13 edition of Flying magazine: "...Diamond decided to create Austro Engine GmbH, its own company in Germany that buys small and efficient Mercedes A-class diesel engines, pulls off the automotive parts that aren’t needed, bolts on the aviation parts that are and installs them in brand new DA40 and DA42 models built at the Diamond factory in Austria. " The recent interest in aircraft use of diesel stems from the growing scarcity of leaded Avgas and the excellent availability of jet fuel around the world. Flying Benz diesels date back to the Zeppelins such as the Hindenburg.

Why don't we use those fuels that don't gel?

Sixto
83 300SE

Jet A at my local airport is ~$3.50/gal, untaxed for road use and I have to sign a waiver saying I won't use it in my diesel equipment when I buy it. With diesel being $2.39/gal, there's no chance that'll happen.

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617 swapped Toyota Pickup, 22-24 MPG, 50k miles on swap

Several of my friends crop dust w/PT-6 turboprops. Most of the year they burn Ag Diesel #2 because it's way cheaper than Jet A and the local Co-Op can deliver D2 via shuttle tanker to the grass strips where they land to take on what ever they are using for dust that day. On the other hand several A&Ps (aviation mechanic) I know drive w126s or w123s and burn sump fuel (before flight the pilot &/or crew drain fuel from the bottom/sump of the tank to check for water & contaminants - this is considered 'waste'). They sometimes mix it w/ATF, BD, hydraulic oil, or other alt fuels.

Must be a busy airport.

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Jim

One A&P works for a jump school - the planes fly all day, up & down. Another works for a flight school - ditto with the added plus that students sump between flights. Primary training students usually fly in one hour increments, mostly touch & goes. During a long summer day a single plane will rotate thru 10+ students & burn 50-75 gallons, being sump'd 10 times, pulling about 4-8 ounces per tank per plane. Some pilots only pull a few ounces per tank. On a Cessna 152, I'll pull 6 ounces or so from each wing tank, then about a quart from the gascolator, then re-do the wing tanks (about a half gallon total). In humid climates you may have to pull off more to be sure you got all the water out of the fuel. Spring brings another opportunity. Since lots of light singles use Mogas (autogas w/o alcohol) and it tends to deteriorate with winter storage, they need their tanks drained before resuming flying in the summer. 'Spent gas' mixes well with other alternative fuels for diesel use. Don't use too much in the blend or you will wreck the injection system.

I was thinking the engines were Maybach on the Hindy...?

Just checked...you're right: Daimler-Benz DB 602 16-cylinder diesel engines, 735 kW (1100 hp) each.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.