kcsteve124

I have heard that the gas turbines are not as maintenance free as advertised. My understanding is that you have work on them more than hi-perf gas engines and that rebuids are done more often than 3000hrs or whatever the say. Who can share some pros and cons of the turbine?

Payton

3000 hours? To put that in perspective. The Merc 1075 and 1200 needs pulled and sent to Merc at 50 hours for a valvetrain check. Then pulled again and sent to Merc to be rebuilt at 150 hours.
How many HP is the gas turbine putting out?

GLH

Con.

-No Insurance available.
-Limited trottleing, turbines are only efficient at a certain rpm when not running there they deteriorate faster than the 3000hrs between overhaul claimed.

glassdave

iTrader: (1)

the actual turbines themselves are relativly trouble free and can for many hours before needing any rebuilds. the systems required to put that power to the water ,however , can be somewhat troublesome to say the least. best bet is to contact Job Aruda of Turbine Marine they have the best stuff out there.

Byrdman

Has anybody run them in bigger waves yet????...I was under the impression that they really could not be throttled as to compete in big waves...technology is always changing though.

bgchuby01

they run on kerosene or diesel fuel. in an airplane they have a 3000 hr TBO depending on the make but in a boat there is no FAA to say they need to come out. If you use a fairly new engine they have computer controls for the fuel so that you can run them at any rpm and not have a problem

bgchuby01

If I had a checkbook that could support buying a large cat, turbine is the way I would go, but I am also a turbine rated pilot so I would feel right at home

Pete B

The Turbines used, are from Helicopters, (Turbo shaft)
and while they put out plenty of HP, they are really designed to operate @85% or better. the turbines used are no longer certifiable by the FAA. Most are former Military engines.
Most Aircraft engines have High time componets which must be remove reguardless if they are still working fine.
Turbines fall in to that catagory. once removed can be recondition and used in other non- flying applications.

rocketboat

the deterioration of the engine at lower rpm can come from nozzle cokeing wich is a buildup of carbon on the fuel nozzles. other than that though... there is not any extra wear and tear on the engine at lower rpm. We actually have a computer control for the older turbine engines (normally called a F.A.D.E.C. system on aircraft, which stands for Full Authority Digital Engine (Or Electronic) Control.) that are used in boats that prevents hotstarts and over revving of the engine. Although the onboard hydromechanical fuel control does a pretty good job of limiting the over revving by itself. Turbine lag on it's own will keep you pretty safe in all but the biggest hariest airborne situations. We have a pretty good system for getting the power to the water as well... infact built by the same guy who builds Johns stuff but with a few tweaks just for us. Sorry our web site is crap right now... but that should change in the next few weeks so keep an eye out. We will have a "turbine engines for dummies" section for those of you who have never had the oportunity to see what makes them tick... or whine...
As for the big wave question... I have had one of our boats out in 4-5 footers but that's about it. (50' Airborne Marine... was at the Miami Boat show in '06)

rocketboat

Sorry and to answer the original question... Gas Turbines ARE that reliable... when you get them from a reliable source. Buying something like a Turbine engine off of e-bay without really knowing what you are getting... well... you are asking for trouble. They are simple in concept, but complex in design. Internal tolerances range in the .002-.004 for many components, and the pilots out there will confirm that they are pretty touchy when it comes to thermal limits.
So any horror stories you hear of them being maintenance pigs, probably come from someone trying to wedge one into their boat based upon reading a book about one once, rather than relying on a trained professional. Not that there arn't some very intelligent people out there who have had great success learning on the fly. But ask any pilot if they'd want a shade tree mechanic looking after their engine or a licenced A&P or Aircraft Maintenance Engineer... I think they might prefer the licenced guys... but if there are any pilots out there who want to weigh in on this please set me straight if I am out of line... (bgchuby01... any thoughts?)