An Illinois-based company called Power Solutions International has received certification from the Environmental Protection Agency to sell its GM LS-based 6.0L V8 industrial mobile engines.
PSI’s take on the tried-and-true GM LS V8 engine is intended to be used in industrial mobile applications as a generator. This GM-based eight-cylinder has a fuel agnostic design, supporting a variety of fuels including natural gas, liquid propane and gasoline. It’s rated at 174 horsepower at 2,900 rpm and 315 pound-feet of torque at 2,900 rpm, which may not sound like much, however it’s more than enough for a generator application.
The recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) certification apply to the gasoline version of PSI’s 6.0L V8 for mobile, non-road usage. Brandon R. Higgins, vice president of industrial OEM sales at PSI, said PSI customers can “expect a higher output, higher quality and more efficient engine,” in its new GM-based 6.0L V8.
“We are proud of this development and excited to offer this solution to our many customers,” Higgins added.
A PSI mobile generator on display at an agricultural show
Going forward, PSI says it will offer both open and closed versions of the packaged power unit. The liquid propane-powered version will hit the market later this year. The company says its industrial mobile engines are used in a wide variety of applications, including material handling, construction, industrial sweeping, aircraft ground support, arbor care and mining.
PSI offers a wide variety of power systems like this, which range in size from 0.998 liters to a whopping 40 liters and offer a range of maximum power output ratings. The company does not share pricing of its power solutions on its website, so interested parties should reach out to the company for more information.
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Comments
The 6.0LS will always be one of my favorite engines. It gets a bad rap for being used to long in GM’s trucks, particularly in the detuned HD applications, but that kind of reliable power is really hard to find.
Reliable power is just what industrial uses want!
Why is PSI years behind to get an industrial rating of an truck engine that is out of date. The 2022 GM LT8 used in cargo vans and 2500 and 3500 series pickup trucks is vastly superior to the older 6.0 liter for operating on propane or CNG. The reason? Because the old 6.0 liter has a lower compression ratio of just 9.7 to one. The LT8 has a much better 10.8 to one compression ratio. This is very significant when running propane because propane has an octane rating of 104. You need a higher compression ratio to overcome to lower BTU energy of propane compared to gasoline. Even CNG has an octane rating of 120 but it doesn’t have the 37 percent hydrogen content of propane so CNG produces less power than when the same engine uses propane. Now we have the outdated LSX engine to be soon replaced by the LT based crate engine. The same issue with the 6.0 liter as with the LSX, neither one has water jackets between the cylinders so they run too hot under a heavy load. The LT8 has a drilled water passage between each cylinder to allow much better cooling so the new LTX will be a much better performer under high heat conditions than the LSX. Notice the low HP and torque of the PSI converted engine, it’s because of the too low compression ratio when it’s using propane .It takes a lot of time and money to certify an engine to a new class for the EPA and since the LT8 engine was being built 3 years ago, PSI should have started development for the new EPA standard before the LT8 was even installed in the first truck. A lower compression ratio means that more fuel will be burned for the same size of engine of per liter. PSI, too bad that you are 10 years too late with the old tech 6.0 liter.
While propane/CNG has a higher octane rating than gasoline, propane/CNG is injected in a gaseous form and therefore does not have the vaporization cooling that liquid fuels have. Further, propane/CNG has a higher temperature of combustion. Both these factors cancel out the octane gain over gasoline and pose a significant thermal management challenge.
This is obvious. The 6.0 is an already engineered engine that PSI has minimal work to do to, and!!!!! The 6.0 was calibrated by GM to run CNG back in 06 when gas prices were high so there is absolutely no R&D needed on PSI’s side. Moving from the L96 to the L8T would yes, reduce fuel consumption by 5-10%, but at what cost? It’s not really worth it.
money!!! I imagine the cost of the cost to buy this LS engine is much lower, than the more modern LT. The LS is simpler too, with good ole port injection, which is all that is needed for the de-tuned application. why add complexity and cost, when its in an application made to run 24/7 in between oil changes. I assume the LT version has GDI since it has higher compression? running steady RPM for long periods of time might contribute to atomized oil vapor gunking up the valves, like we see in mobile applications. I would go for the proven, simpler setup, that is detuned to using less than 1/2 of its full potential, and port injection to keep intake valves clean.