SORE - Potential Amendments to Subpart E, Part 1065 California Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for New 2013 and Later Small Off Road Engines, Engine-Testing Procedures
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Potential Amendments to the California Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for New 2013 and Later Small Off-Road Engines; Engine-Testing Procedures (Part 1065) as of March 24, 2021.
This page consists of material released as part of the development process for the Proposed Amendments to the Small Off-Road Engine (SORE) Regulations.
For the Proposed Amendments and other rulemaking documents that the Board will consider for adoption during the public hearing in December 2021, please refer to the SORE rulemaking page.
(Note: The potential amendments are shown in underline to indicate additions and strikeout to indicate deletions from the existing regulatory text.)
Subpart E – Engine Selection, Preparation, and Maintenance
§ 1065.401 Test engine selection.
While all engine configurations within a certified engine family must comply with the applicable standards in the standard‑setting part, you need not test each configuration for certification.
(a) Select an engine configuration within the engine family for testing, as follows:
(1) Test the engine that we specify, whether we issue general guidance or give you specific instructions.
(2) If we do not tell you which engine to test, follow any instructions in the standard‑setting part.
(3) If we do not tell you which engine to test and the standard‑setting part does not include specifications for selecting test engines, use good engineering judgment to select the engine configuration within the engine family that is most likely to exceed an emission standard.
(b) In the absence of other information, the following characteristics are appropriate to consider when selecting the engine to test:
(1) Maximum fueling rates.
(2) Maximum loads.
(3) Maximum in‑use speeds.
(4) Highest sales volume.
(c) For our testing, we may select any engine configuration within the engine family.
§ 1065.405 Test engine preparation and maintenance.
This part 1065 describes how to test engines for a variety of purposes, including certification testing, production‑line testing, and in‑use testing. Depending on which type of testing is being conducted, different preparation and maintenance requirements apply for the test engine.
(a) If you are testing an emission‑data engine for certification, make sure it is built to represent production engines, consistent with paragraph (f) of this section. This includes governors that you normally install on production engines. Production engines should also be tested with their installed governors. If your engine is equipped with multiple user‑selectable governor types and if the governor does not manipulate the emission control system (i.e., the governor only modulates an “operator demand” signal such as commanded fuel rate, torque, or power), choose the governor type that allows the test cell to most accurately follow the duty cycle. If the governor manipulates the emission control system, treat it as an adjustable parameter. See paragraph (b) of this section for guidance on setting adjustable parameters. If you do not install governors on production engines, simulate a governor that is representative of a governor that others will install on your production engines. In certain circumstances, you may incorporate test cell components to simulate an in‑use configuration. For example, §§ 1065.122 and 1065.125 allow the use of test cell components to represent engine cooling and intake air systems. The provisions in § 1065.110(e) also apply to emission‑data engines for certification.
(b) We may set adjustable parameters to any value in the valid range, and you are responsible for controlling emissions over the full valid range. For each adjustable parameter, if the standard‑setting part has no unique requirements and if we have not specified a value, select the most common or representative in‑use setting. If information on the most common or representative in‑use setting is not available, select the setting representing the engine's original shipped configuration. If information on the most common or representative and original settings is not available, set the adjustable parameter in the middle of the valid range.
(b) (c) Testing generally occurs only after the test engine has undergone a stabilization step (or in‑use operation). If the engine has not already been stabilized, run the test engine, with all emission control systems operating, long enough to stabilize emission levels. Note that you must generally use the same stabilization procedures for emission‑data engines for which you apply the same deterioration factors so low‑hour emission‑data engines are consistent with the low‑hour engine used to develop the deterioration factor.
(1) Unless otherwise specified in the standard‑setting part, you may consider emission levels stable without measurement after 50 h of operation. If the engine needs less operation to stabilize emission levels, record your reasons and the methods for doing this, and give us these records if we ask for them. If the engine will be tested for certification as a low‑hour engine, see the standard‑setting part for limits on testing engines to establish low‑hour emission levels.
(2) You may stabilize emissions from a catalytic exhaust aftertreatment device by operating it on a different engine, consistent with good engineering judgment. Note that good engineering judgment requires that you must consider both the purpose of the test and how your stabilization method will affect the development and application of deterioration factors. For example, this method of stabilization is generally not appropriate for production engines. We may also allow you to stabilize emissions from a catalytic exhaust aftertreatment device by operating it on an engine‑exhaust simulator.
(c) (d) Record any maintenance, modifications, parts changes, diagnostic or emissions testing and document the need for each event. You must provide this information if we request it.
(d) (e) For accumulating operating hours on your test engines, select engine operation that represents normal in‑use operation for the engine family.
(e) (f) If your engine will be used in a vehicle equipment equipped with a canister for storing evaporative hydrocarbons for eventual combustion in the engine and the test sequence involves a cold‑start or hot‑start duty cycle, attach a canister to the engine before running an emission test. You may omit using an evaporative canister for any hot‑stabilized duty cycles. You may request to omit using an evaporative canister during testing if you can show that it would not affect your ability to show compliance with the applicable emission standards. You may operate the engine without an installed canister for service accumulation. Prior to an emission test, use the following steps to attach a canister to your engine:
(1) Use a canister and plumbing arrangement that represents the in‑use configuration of the largest capacity canister in all expected applications.
(2) Use a canister that is fully loaded with fuel vapors. Load the canister as described in California Test Procedure TP‑902, Test Procedure for Determining Evaporative Emissions from Small Off‑Road Engines,adopted July 26, 2004, and last amended MMMM DD, YYYY.
(3) Connect the canister's purge port to the engine.
(4) Plug the canister port that is normally connected to the fuel tank.
(g) This paragraph (g) defines the components that are considered to be part of the engine for laboratory testing. See §1065.110 for provisions related to system boundaries with respect to work inputs and outputs.
(1) This paragraph (g)(1) describes certain criteria for considering a component to be part of the test engine. The criteria are intended to apply broadly, such that a component would generally be considered part of the engine in cases of uncertainty. Except as specified in paragraph (g)(2) of this section, an engine‑related component meeting both the following criteria is considered to be part of the test engine for purposes of testing and for stabilizing emission levels, preconditioning, and measuring emission levels:
(i) The component directly affects the functioning of the engine, is related to controlling emissions, or transmits engine power. This would include engine cooling systems, engine controls, and transmissions.
(ii) The component is covered by the applicable certificate of conformity. For example, this criterion would typically exclude radiators not described in an application for certification.
(2) This paragraph (g)(2) applies for engine‑related components that meet the criteria of paragraph (g)(1) of this section, but that are part of the laboratory setup or are used for other engines. Such components are considered to be part of the test engine for preconditioning, but not for engine stabilization. For example, if you test your engines using the same laboratory exhaust tubing for all tests, there would be no restrictions on the number of test hours that could be accumulated with the tubing, but it would need to be preconditioned separately for each engine.
§ 1065.410 Maintenance limits for stabilized test engines.
(a) After you stabilize the test engine's emission levels, you may do maintenance as allowed by the standard‑setting part. However, you may not do any maintenance based on emission measurements from the test engine (i.e., unscheduled maintenance).
(b) For any critical emission‑related maintenance—other than what we specifically allow in the standard‑setting part—you must completely test an engine for emissions before and after doing any maintenance that might affect emissions, unless we waive this requirement.
(c) Keep a record of the inspection and update your application to document any changes as a result of the inspection. You may use equipment, instruments, or engineering grade tools to identify bad engine components. Any equipment, instruments, or tools used for scheduled maintenance on emission data engines must be representative of what is planned to be available to dealerships and other service outlets. If you inspect an engine, keep a record of the inspection and update your application to document any changes that result. You may use any kind of equipment, instrument, or tool that is available at dealerships and other service outlets to identify bad engine components or perform maintenance.
(d) You may repair defective parts from a test engine if they are unrelated to emission control. You must ask us to approve repairs that might affect the engine’s emission controls. If we determine that a part failure, system malfunction, or associated repairs have made the engine's emission controls unrepresentative of production engines, you may no longer use it as an emission‑data engine. Also, if your test engine has a major mechanical failure that requires you to take it apart, you may no longer use it as an emission‑data engine.
§ 1065.415 Durability demonstration.
If the standard‑setting part requires durability testing, you must accumulate service in a way that represents how you expect the engine to operate in use. You may accumulate service hours using an accelerated schedule, such as through continuous operation or by using duty cycles that are more aggressive than in‑use operation, subject to any pre‑approval requirements established in the applicable standard‑setting part.
(a) Maintenance. The following limits apply to the maintenance that we allow you to do on an emission‑data engine:
(1) You may perform scheduled maintenance that you recommend to operators, but only if it is consistent with the standard‑setting part's restrictions.
(2) You may perform additional maintenance only as specified in § 1065.410 or allowed by the standard‑setting part.
(b) Emission measurements. Perform emission tests following the provisions of the standard setting part and this part, as applicable. Perform emission tests as appropriate to determine deterioration factors consistent with good engineering judgment. Evenly space any tests between the first and last test points throughout the durability period, unless we approve otherwise.