4 years | 8,000 hours on “Betty” still powering.

4 years | 8,000 hours on “Betty” still powering.

Four years on and 8,000 hours later, and Hung Nyugen’s “Betty” is still powering with an NT855 turbo charged model from Cummins, set up by Torquepower. Last week, Torquepower gave the engine a tune up (injector and valve adjustment) and a general health check, and we checked in with our favourite Darra fisherman to see what was happening with the fishing industry, and how did the engine, we installed in June 2016 fare with the workload.

“ Business is OK, said Hung, “but instead of 7 days each week, I am working 4 to 5 days. I’m in Hemmant on the Brisbane River today maintaining my nets and checking my gear. Corona has not been good for me. I’m fishing for prawns, crabs and squid, but the prices are not good. The engine though, she is great, very happy with Torquepower and their work. Don’t have any problems there. “

Torquepower Director, Ken Roberts explains – “The original engine had overheated and on our advice, Hung’s best option was to replace rather than repair. His engine model was an N855-210, which is a naturally aspirated 14-litre big cam Cummins. That engine is no longer in production so we had to supply a turbocharged Cummins NT855 as a replacement. Cummins sourced the engine from their joint venture with Dong Feng in China.

It comes with a range of spares and specialised tooling – exactly what an offshore fisherman needs.”

“The new engine was externally a little different from the original so Service Manager Carl Bickle at Torquepower set about modifying some of the hardware to make it compatible with the vessel’s existing plumbing. One change that was retained,  was heat-exchanger cooling rather than the keel cooling used on the old engine – contamination of which was responsible for the engine failure.”

Torquepower is your Cummins marine engine specialist.