Patriot Coal Chooses MTU Series 4000

Patriot Coal chooses MTU Series 4000 engine for heaviest loads in repower of Komatsu 730E overburden truck.

CHARLESTON, West Virginia – At a surface coal mine operated by Patriot Coal, the job of removing the tons of rock overburden is reserved for the most powerful haul trucks in the company’s fleet —  the beefy diesel-electric Komatsu 730-Es. Many of the coal mines in this part of Appalachia are so-called “mountaintop” mines where the top of the mountain is literally removed to expose the seam of coal. To reduce fuel expenses and get longer engine life, Patriot Coal has been replacing the haul truck’s original- equipment Tier 1 engines with powerful and efficient  MTU Series 4000 Tier 2 engines from Western Branch Diesel in Charleston, WV.

A new 12-cylinder MTU Series 4000 Tier 2 diesel engine is outperforming the 16-cylinder Tier 1 engine it replaced in a West Virginia surface coal mine haul truck while reducing both fuel consumption and emissions.

“Patriot Coal already had successful experience with MTU Series 4000 Tier 1 engines in 16 of their Komatsu 830 haul trucks,” says Curtis Bartlett of Western Branch Diesel, the region’s MTU distributor. “So, when it came time to repower one of the powerful Komatsu 730-E haul trucks, the company decided to use the new MTU Series 4000 Tier 2 engine. In addition to having the objectives of lower emissions, longer engine life and better fuel economy, Patriot wanted to standardize its fleet to reduce costs associated with parts and maintenance.”

More compact and powerful engine

The original engine power supplied in the Komatsu 730 was from a different manufacturer, had 16 cylinders and produced 2,000 hp. The MTU Series 4000 engine that was installed is capable of producing 2,250 hp with only 12 cylinders. MTU’s improvements to the Series 4000 achieved EPA Tier 2 emissions compliance.