'88 Ingersoll Rand portable compressor

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We have an '88 Ingersoll Rand air compressor that we acquired from an auction a number of years ago. When purchased, the engine blows a decent cloud of black smoke when started and when the engine revs up when air is being used. Its a moderate cloud of black smoke but that's it. Engine runs great and sounds as it should. At one point my boss changed out the injectors, but it still puffs out the black cloud. Once the initial startup or after the cloud when revving up, there is no smoke. This leads me to be curious about a couple of things.

1) Is a small cloud of smoke normal upon start up and when the engine revs up?
2) If this isn't normal, do I need to add some sort of fuel regulator to combat this issue? Perhaps add a DPF to the system?
3) Were emissions really cared about back in 1988?

I ask the second question because I can recall that most diesel pickups back in the day could be seen letting out a pretty good cloud of black smoke when someone landed on the throttle. It would smoke for a moment but it would calm down and everything was fine. Or at least I have always assumed that things were okay and it was "meant to do that".

The crew is complaining about the puffs of smoke a bit and I know that we have the EPA come through our jobsites. I dont want anyone to have an issue that could shut us down or cause any issues for the company. Outside of the smoke, the piece of equipment works and runs great.

Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[MtnHaul]

We have an '88 Ingersoll Rand air compressor that we acquired from an auction a number of years ago. When purchased, the engine blows a decent cloud of black smoke when started and when the engine revs up when air is being used. Its a moderate cloud of black smoke but that's it. Engine runs great and sounds as it should. At one point my boss changed out the injectors, but it still puffs out the black cloud. Once the initial startup or after the cloud when revving up, there is no smoke. This leads me to be curious about a couple of things.

1) Is a small cloud of smoke normal upon start up and when the engine revs up?
2) If this isn't normal, do I need to add some sort of fuel regulator to combat this issue? Perhaps add a DPF to the system?
3) Were emissions really cared about back in 1988?

I ask the second question because I can recall that most diesel pickups back in the day could be seen letting out a pretty good cloud of black smoke when someone landed on the throttle. It would smoke for a moment but it would calm down and everything was fine. Or at least I have always assumed that things were okay and it was "meant to do that".

The crew is complaining about the puffs of smoke a bit and I know that we have the EPA come through our jobsites. I dont want anyone to have an issue that could shut us down or cause any issues for the company. Outside of the smoke, the piece of equipment works and runs great.

Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks

Is there a turbo on the engine? I've played around quite a bit with injection pump fueling and timing with turbo and non-turbo 7.3 IDI engines and my guess is that the smoke is probably normal. With a turbo installed there is the inevitable "turbo lag" where more fuel than air is present before the turbo can spin up and provide a better fuel/air mixture. If the engine is non-turbo then the smoke might just be normal. The timing could be way off due to wear on the injection pump. Timing is critical to get the best power and efficiency out of a diesel. The smoke puff could just be a sudden jump from idle to WOT and there's often a bit of smoke if that happens. Since the smoke clears up under load I wouldn't worry about it other than attracting unwanted attention, which is why I try to run without smoke--my truck is ugly and loud enough to attract plenty of attention.

 

[ShopHelp]

The engine is naturally aspirated. I don't believe/feel like the timing is off due to the fact that it operates perfectly and sounds great. I was leaning towards the belief that puff of smoke is "natural". It makes sense that we would see the smoke when jumping from idle to WOT and upon start up. This leads me to the question, is there something I can add to the exhaust system to keep the smoke to a minimum? Is adding a DPF system feasible? Aside from the fact the filter would have to be replaced versus being able to do a regeneration on the filter. I don't think that I would be able to generate the necessary heat to clear up the filter when it begins to clog up.

 

[Junk Meister]

What motor (Jon Deere-Perkins-OR?) and what injector pump and what size injectors are being ran makes a difference. I can tell stories from different machines , First thing I would do is try to check the pump setting. I believe some one has it turned up (NOT timing Advanced).

 

[MtnHaul]

If the new injectors changed nothing then I would be less inclined to think it was an injector issue. A 38 year old injection pump might have been turned up or had significant internal wear.

 

[Junk Meister]

I had a 3 cyl JD pump rebuilt by a shop He had 2 different sets/sizes said this set is right and this set is wrong. A few months later a clve dropped and head work was done at a different shop. They assumed responsibility but this little birdy told me it was the injector. Went back to the injector/pump place and the dipstick gave me the set that he previously said was wrong. It didn't start as easy as the first set and belched smoke on start up. Since I had been impressed with the "RIGHT" set I questioned them.
Story #2: Perkins with an electric solenoid (Car 80 Forklift)CAV pump rebuilt by an 80 yr old mechanic. I couldn't get fuel through the transfer pump put a new lift pump had clear clean fuel to the inj pump. Finally took it off and he checked it out and said it was getting fuel. Put it back on Getting worried about burning out a starter. Took it bach and showed him a video by Bundy bear and how much the pump put out when turned by hand , He said he would turn it up and when it started it would smoke more than it should. I made 4 60 mile round trips and the fork lift was usless for about 2 months. I could and in hind sight should have pulled the 4k# counter weight put it in his drive way. All my hassle due to the "WRONG PART. Did more UT and saw where one guy had my problem. I bought the RIGHT pump ring $28.00 and it started up immediately. It smoked a lot on start up and when the governor kicked in. I reset the pump setting back a few times until it was purring so now all is well.
Moral of my posts are - Just because it runs with new parts doesn't mean it is running right or couldn't run better and more efficiently. Make note I suggested the pump setting first to check, It is possible the "BOSS" asked for new injectors like the ones he handed the parts house and they may have been the "WRONG" ones. The actual part number on the IPL for that engine app might happen to be the "RIGHT" ones. A very easy to make oversight. But having a pump turned up is more common. A pump that is sloppy from wear "Usually" needs a while of cranking to get the pressure up to activate the injectors yet worn injectors "usually" slobber and smell fuel rich especially on start up and hard to start in cold weather
Just some of my experiences and maybe some one will stumble along and hopefully edjimicate me beterrer.
Hopefully this long worded reply will trip the imagination for future revues.
Checking the Pump settings (Up to someone else to dictate all of that) will be the most economical starting point.

 

[MtnHaul]

I do kind of like to think somebody turned up the pump on an air compressor--sounds like something Tim Allen would have done on Home Improvement.

 

[Junk Meister]

I do kind of like to think somebody turned up the pump on an air compressor--sounds like something Tim Allen would have done on Home Improvement.

OR if it is a John Deere I would expect that from a FARMER.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

post a video if possible, a slight puff of smoke during a no load idle to a full throttle load can cause a little puff of smoke, how tight is it maintained? maybe it just needs new filters and oil?

 

[Nutball]

Would injector cleaner in the fuel help any?

 

[MtnHaul]

Hopefully the OP can tel us the make & model of the engine so we're not just shooting in the dark here.

 

[ShopHelp]

The engine is a Klocker-Humboldt-Deutz AG diesel engine model deutz F2L511D