Farm Compliance

The M5 rating is for marine applications that operate 300 hours or less per year and have load factors less than 35 percent with 30 minutes out of each 8 hours of operation at full power. At M5, its highest rating, the 6.8L offers 298 kW (400 hp) at 2800 rpm* and consumes 77.6 liters of fuel per hour (20.5 gallons) at full load rated speed.

"We are very happy to be able to offer our marine customers an expanded lineup of marine propulsion engines with more and higher horsepower ratings," said Carl Micu, sales product manager for JDPS. "Now that the newly configured 6.8L engine has an M5 rating, customers can get up to 400 hp out of one of our most popular engines, where before the 6.8L engine topped out at 300 hp."

The M5 rating is most suitable for recreational applications, but the engine’s four other ratings, which are suited for both recreational and commercial applications, also offer increased horsepower. The 6068SFM75 offers top-of-class fuel economy for every rating at both full load rated speed and typical cruising speeds.

The 6068SFM75 is a new marine engine design based on the heavy-duty John Deere off-highway PowerTech 6.8L engine used in John Deere agricultural and construction and forestry machines. This engine offers new features such as a 4-valve cylinder head, a high-pressure common-rail fuel system with pilot injection, a new seawater aftercooler, a heat exchanger with integrated top tank, a water-cooled exhaust manifold and turbo, as well as a viscous damper and a closed crankcase ventilation system.

"We designed the new 6068SFM75 to provide a high power output while maintaining the legendary long-term reliability our customers have come to expect from John Deere marine engines," Micu said. "This new engine lives up to the reputation our marine engines have earned for rugged durability, fuel economy, quiet operation and ease of maintenance."

In addition to its M5 rating, the 6.8L engine is available at four other ratings*:

• M4: 265 kW (355 hp) at 2700 rpm, 67 liters of fuel per hour (17.7 gallons) consumed at full load rated speed (M4 rating is up to 800 hours per year with load factors up to 40 percent for applications that use full power for no more than one hour of each 12 hours of operation). Possible applications include inshore crew boats, charter fishing boats, pilot boats and dive boats.
• M3: 239 kW (321 hp) at 2600 rpm, 60.2 liters of fuel per hour (15.9 gallons) consumed at full load rated speed (M3 rating is up to 2,000 hours per year with load factors up to 50 percent for applications that use full power for no more than four hours out of each 12 hours of operation). Possible applications include coastal fishing boats, offshore crew boats, research boats and short-range ferryboats.
• M2: 209 kW (280 hp) at 2500 rpm, 52.2 liters of fuel per hour (13.8 gallons) consumed at full load rated speed (M2 rating is up to 3,000 hours per year with load factors up to 65 percent for applications that are in continuous use and at full power for no more than 16 hours out of each 24 hours of operation). Possible applications include short range tugs and towboats, long-range ferryboats and large passenger vessels.
• M1: 186 kW (249 hp) at 2400 rpm, 47.3 liters of fuel per hour (12.5 gallons) consumed at full load rated speed (M1 rating is for applications that may operate up to 24 hours per day at uninterrupted full power for more than 3,000 hours per year and have load factors of more than 65 percent). Possible applications include line haul tugs and towboats and fish and shrimp trawlers/draggers.