tractor pull question,
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Postmaster
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From: Kentucky
tractor pull question,
My wife and I were at a burger joint last fri nite, and we noticed 4 -7 flat bed trucks go by, with pulling trucks on them. So we followed them to see if they were pulling in our town, and they were. The tractors pulled first (rats, they waited too late to pull the 4x4 p/u's , so we left) and I noticed that the modified IH's and JD's were taking the full pulls mostly. What was curious was, I noticed that whenever the smoke out of the big diesels stacks blew out a HUGE BLACK , vertical cloud, all the way down the track, that rig would make a good pull. But, whenever the rig never really put out any thick black smoke, the tractor didnt pull too good. I always thought unburned fuel caused black smoke, but these puppies HAD to be burning it up to get the 300 ft pulls, right ?. I wonder what is going on in the combustion of diesel fuel that causes that ?
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Alot of the black smoke is for "looks." Who would want to watch tractors pull without the bellowing smoke clouds?? Well yeah I would but anyway... They use water injection to help make all the smoke. The ones that don't smoke alot, thus not making full pulls, arn't controling the engine correctly.
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From: Kentucky
Originally posted by 79_250RangerLariat
Alot of the black smoke is for "looks." Who would want to watch tractors pull without the bellowing smoke clouds?? Well yeah I would but anyway... They use water injection to help make all the smoke. The ones that don't smoke alot, thus not making full pulls, arn't controling the engine correctly.
Alot of the black smoke is for "looks." Who would want to watch tractors pull without the bellowing smoke clouds?? Well yeah I would but anyway... They use water injection to help make all the smoke. The ones that don't smoke alot, thus not making full pulls, arn't controling the engine correctly.
Lead Driver
Joined: Mar 2000
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From: Hampstead, NC
I don't know about the water injection, but running 2-4 LARGE turbo's on those engines and the amount of fuel going through them there's bound to be some that is left unburned. I also don't believe the water is only to produce the smoke. On another note, the one's (tractors) that don't blow any black smoke at all are alky burners. They also put on a good show. The diesel's are cool to watch at night on a dimly lit track, about a 4-6 foot long flame coming out the stack.
Laughing Gas
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From: New England
I saw pro mud-racers run once--amazing! Paddle tires, super light weight (I doubt any were much over 2200lbs), & sick horsepower from what looked & sounded like blown alky Hemis & Rats. Yikes.
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Posting Guru
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From: Thomson, GA
the ones I go to, only the turbo's make the smoke. They build up pressure at the start of the run, and when the smoke changes colors, and optimum boost is reached, the start their pull.
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Post Fiend
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From: Enjoying the real world.
Air/fuel ratio isn't critical in diesels. More fuel=more power. More air cooler exhaust and less smoke. The smoke is from injecting as much diesel fuel as possible to make power. Diesel = black smoke, water = white smoke.
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yes the thick dark smoke is from water injection as for where it is injected i dont know ill have to ask my brother, he pulls them big tractors, he runs a 7130 IH magnum twin turbos, bored and stroked to the max hes on the 2nd motor last one blew all over the track, he also has a 1949 M farmall that pulls in the open class at antiquw tractor pulls, thats also bored and strocked as for as it will go, header, head ported and polished big 18-4-38 tires on the back runs on jet fuel, boy are they fun to watch he has a propane injection to blow fire at the stack for nigth pulls, best things next to watching the big truck pulls
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From: Woodruff, SC
Ken is right! Excessive fuel not water produces black smoke. Ever see the big trucks on the highway pushing black smoke? They usually have the injector pump wound up along with bigger injectors to gain power.
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Yes, but there is a big difference in big trucks on the highway and tractor pull tractors....
Your spinning the turbos at a tremoundous rpm, without the water injection your going to burn them up. I don't know many pullers that could afford to replace the turbo after each pull. Take a good look at the smoke as it gets 100+ feet in the air. Its not the "smoke" you see coming out of a Peterbilt going down the interstate.
I was just checking a tractor site and here is an answer for those who do not believe the tractors have water injection:
"In Reply to: Re: Water Injection Systems posted by questions on March 06, 2002 at 19:34:51:
The Water in injected on the discharge side of the turbo. The water expands 1643 times when it jumps into steam while absorbing a whole lot of heat. The water goes in, steam comes out, goes back into the turbo to whirl the turbo over to make more boost to absorb more water to make more steam, get the picture. To hear a super take off I believe it would be an exponential equations. "
So, I wasn't clear enuf when I first stated water injection makes the smoke. It doesn't "make" the smoke but without it you would only get smoke and a really really big BANG
Your spinning the turbos at a tremoundous rpm, without the water injection your going to burn them up. I don't know many pullers that could afford to replace the turbo after each pull. Take a good look at the smoke as it gets 100+ feet in the air. Its not the "smoke" you see coming out of a Peterbilt going down the interstate.
I was just checking a tractor site and here is an answer for those who do not believe the tractors have water injection:
"In Reply to: Re: Water Injection Systems posted by questions on March 06, 2002 at 19:34:51:
The Water in injected on the discharge side of the turbo. The water expands 1643 times when it jumps into steam while absorbing a whole lot of heat. The water goes in, steam comes out, goes back into the turbo to whirl the turbo over to make more boost to absorb more water to make more steam, get the picture. To hear a super take off I believe it would be an exponential equations. "
So, I wasn't clear enuf when I first stated water injection makes the smoke. It doesn't "make" the smoke but without it you would only get smoke and a really really big BANG
Last edited by 79_250RangerLariat; Oct 11, 2003 at 06:21 PM.
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From: Enjoying the real world.
Gas engine:
white = water
blue = engine oil
black or grey = fuel
Diesel engine:
white = water or improper injection timing
blue = engine oil
black/dark grey = fuel
Water will never make black smoke. When is the last time you saw black steam? They may ad water injection, but that's not what's causing the black smoke. A better way of protecting a turbo is to force more air into it, this will cool the exhaust stream tremendously.
white = water
blue = engine oil
black or grey = fuel
Diesel engine:
white = water or improper injection timing
blue = engine oil
black/dark grey = fuel
Water will never make black smoke. When is the last time you saw black steam? They may ad water injection, but that's not what's causing the black smoke. A better way of protecting a turbo is to force more air into it, this will cool the exhaust stream tremendously.
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Yes, and evidently you did not read my message. 
The water does NOT make the SMOKE. I mistyped in my origonal reply. You can turn your pumps up all you want but you won't make the power with out pulling out the heat and increasing BOOST. Which the WATER does.
For more info go to yesterdaystractors . com and ask the tractor pullers on there.
The water does NOT make the SMOKE. I mistyped in my origonal reply. You can turn your pumps up all you want but you won't make the power with out pulling out the heat and increasing BOOST. Which the WATER does. For more info go to yesterdaystractors . com and ask the tractor pullers on there.
