C280-12

MARINE PROPULSION

4962 bhp
(3700 bkW)
1000 rpm

SPECIFICATIONS
V-12, 4-Stroke-Cycle-Diesel
Emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IMO compliant
Bore mm (in) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280 (11.0)
Stroke mm (in) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 (11.8)
Displacement L (cu in). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 (13,546)
Rotation (from flywheel end) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CCW or
CW Compression Ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13:1
Aspiration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TurbochargedAftercooled
Low Idle Speed rpm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Rated Speed rpm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1000
Shown with
Accessory Equipment

STANDARD EQUIPMENT
Air Intake and Exhaust System
Charge air cooler, air inlet shutoff, high flow
turbocharger, dry manifold with soft or hard shielding
Basic Engine Arrangement
Vee engine with one-piece grey iron cylinder block,
individual cylinder heads with four intake/exhaust valves,
right- or left-hand service side available
Control System
Dual Caterpillar A3 electronic engine control unit (ECU)
with electronic unit injector fuel system, rigid wiring
harness (10 amp, 24 volt power required to drive ECU)
Cooling System
Single or combined system, engine mounted freshwater
and seawater pumps, engine coolant water drains
Fuel System
Engine operates on MDO; fuel injection system consists
of engine-driven fuel transfer pump and an electronic unit
injector for each cylinder, engine-mounted duplex fuel
filters, and flexible connections
Lube Oil System
Top-mounted crankcase breather, three centrifugal oil
filters with single shutoff, gear-driven pump, duplex oil
filter, crankcase explosion relief, oil filler and dipstick

LEHM5269-02

Monitoring, Alarm, and Safety Control System

Alarms and shutdowns provided as required by marine
society for unmanned machinery spaces. Marine
Monitoring System II or Engine Control Panel are
available; systems include temperature, pressure, and
speed sensors; optional: oil mist detector or particle
detector available
ECU Functions
Key-switch, desired engine speed, programmable low
idle, SAE J1939 data link, Cat data link, Messenger
(displays engine data, diagnostics, etc.), diagnostics,
general alarm, programmable parameters (system,
application, and tattletales), Caterpillar ET service tool
interface, remote shutdown, shutdown notify, load
feedback, overspeed shutdown, overspeed verify, engine
power correction, bollard pull test
General
Four lifting eyes mounted to cylinder heads, Caterpillar
yellow paint, parts books and maintenance manuals,
shrink wrap
Optional Supplied Equipment
Torsional coupling, fresh water heat exchanger, fuel
cooler, expansion tank, emergency pumps and
connections, jacket water heater, flexible connections,
and anti-vibration isolators

Page 1 of 4

C280-12

MARINE PROPULSION
4962 bhp (3700 bkW)

PERFORMANCE DATA

C280-12

DIESEL ENGINE TECHNICAL DATA

RATED SPEED (RPM):

1
RATED POWER (bkW):
BMEP @ 100% LOAD (kPa):
COMPRESSION RATIO:
o
AFTERCOOLER WATER ( C):
o
JACKET WATER OUTLET ( C):
IGNITION SYSTEM:
FIRING PRESSURE, MAXIMUM (kPa):

1000
3700
2003
13:1
32
90
EUI
16200

ENGINE RATING:
TURBOCHARGER PART #:
COMBUSTION:
FUEL TYPE:
EXHAUST MANIFOLD:
5
EMISSIONS :
MEAN PISTON SPEED (m/s):

Marine CSR
189-4427
DI
Distillate
DRY
IMO Certified
10

Engine Performance
6000

4000

5000

3000

Engine Power (bhp)

Engine Power (bkW)

3500

2500
2000
1500

1000

P1

500

500

600

700

800

900

1000

3000

2000

A
P1

1000

0
400

4000

0
400

1100

500

600

700

Curve A

Engine
Speed
rpm
1000
910
850
800
750
700
630
600
500

Engine
Optimum
Speed
Load
rpm
1000
(Curve P1)
910
850
800
750
700
630
600
500

ZONE LIMIT DATA

Fuel
Boost
3
Fuel
Press
Cons
g/
Rate
kPa
kW-hr
L/hr
Gauge
207
913.0
231
203
814.6
207
200
749.6
175
206
545.1
102
209
462.4
78
210
373.0
54
213
334.6
45
216
320.8
42
223
265.8
35

Exh
Temp to
Turbo
C
533
538
545
523
526
505
501
499
497

Exh
Stack
Temp
C
333
387
414
442
453
446
453
456
464

Exh
Flow
cu m/
min
739.3
695.1
621.0
426.9
372.0
299.5
257.9
242.7
223.8

PROPELLER DEMAND DATA

Fuel
Boost
Air
Exh
3
4
Fuel
Press
Temp to
Cons
Flow
Power
g/
Rate
kPa
cu m/
Turbo
bkW
kW-hr
L/hr
Gauge
Min
C
3330
207
821.7
205
340.9
508
2509
205
613.2
134
243.0
505
2045
207
504.6
94
187.3
503
1705
212
430.9
69
151.9
493
1405
212
355.0
51
126.6
472
1142 2216
3017.2
37
108.0
449
833
218
216.4
23
86.1
402
719
217
186.1
17
77.6
388
416
225
111.6
11
60.8
321

Exh
Stack
Temp
C
371
398
422
428
421
406
370
353
292

Exh
Flow
cu m/
min
727.4
541.0
432.8
354.5
292.4
314.1
183.6
161.0
113.0

Power
bkW
3700
3366
3144
2220
1856
1490
1318
1246
1000

Air
4

Flow
cu m/
Min
367.9
317.3
271.7
178.9
153.6
124.9
106.3
99.6
91.1

Engine
Speed
rpm
1000
910
850
800
750
700
630
600
500

Curve A

Optimum
Load
(Curve P1)

Engine
Speed
rpm
1000
910
850
800
750
700
630
600
500

800

900

Engine Speed (rpm)

Engine Speed (rpm)

Power
bhp
4962
4514
4217
2977
2489
1998
1767
1671
1341

ZONE LIMIT DATA

Fuel
Boost
3
Fuel
Press
Cons
lb/
Rate
in Hghp-hr
gal/hr
Gauge
0.341
241.1
68
0.334
215.1
61
0.329
197.9
52
0.339
143.9
30
0.344
122.1
23
0.346
98.5
16
0.351
88.4
13
0.356
84.7
12
0.367
70.2
10

Power
bhp
4466
3365
2742
2286
1884
1532
1117
965
558

PROPELLER DEMAND DATA

Fuel
Boost
3
Fuel
Press
Cons
lb/
Rate
in Hghp-hr
gal/hr
Gauge
0.341
216.9
61
0.338
161.9
40
0.341
133.2
28
0.349
113.8
20
0.349
93.7
15
3.648
796.6
11
0.359
57.1
7
0.357
49.1
5
0.370
29.5
3

1000

Exh
Temp to
Turbo
F
991
1000
1013
973
979
941
934
930
927

Exh
Stack
Temp
F
631
729
777
828
847
835
847
853
867

Exh
Flow
cfm
26109
24546
21929
15076
13136
10576
9108
8573
7905

Exh
Temp to
Turbo
Flow
cfm
F
12040
946
8583
941
6616
937
5364
919
4470
882
3815
840
3040
756
2742
730
2146
610

Exh
Stack
Temp
F
700
748
792
802
790
763
698
667
558

Exh
Flow
cfm
25689
19105
15283
12519
10325
11094
6483
5685
3990

Air
4

Flow
cfm
12994
11205
9596
6318
5424
4411
3755
3517
3219

Air

Heat Rejection @ 100% Load and 25 C Air

Lube Oil Cooler
Jacket Water
AfterCooler
Total Heat Rejection to Raw Water
2

Exhaust Gas
Radiation

kW
kW
kW
kW

( Btu/min )
( Btu/min )
( Btu/min )
( Btu/min )

377
758
1032
2168

(
(
(
(

21450
43147
58736
123333

kW
kW

( Btu/min )
( Btu/min )

2831
455

( 161091 )
( 25905 )

)
)
)
)

Notes
o

1 Ratings are based on ISO 3046/1 and SAEJ1995 Jan 90 standard reference conditions of 100 kPa, 25 C, and 30% relative humidity at the stated aftercooler water temperature.
2 Exhaust Heat rejection is based on fuel LHV and is not normally recoverable in total
o

3 At 100% load with pumps +/- 3%. Performance and fuel consumption are based on 35 API, 16 C fuel having a lower heating value of 42,780 kJ/kg used at 29 C with a density
of 838.9 g/liter.
o

4 Air flows are shown for 25 C air inlet to the turbocharger and 32 C cooling water to the charge air cooler.
5 This engine's exhaust emissions are in compliance with the INTERNATIONAL MARINE ORGANIZATION'S (IMO) standard as described in REGULATION 13 of ANNEX VI of
MARPOL 73/78 and ISO 8178 for measuring HC, CO, PM, and NOx.

DM5818-01

1100

C280-12

MARINE PROPULSION
4962 bhp (3700 bkW)

02

03

ENGINE DIMENSIONS

954

Rear Face of Crankshaft Adapter

3658

3404

Centerline
of Engine
01

01

02

01

Mounting Surface
High Inertia
Flywheel

Right Side View

03

2022

Rear View

Engine

Overall Length
mm (in)

Overall Width
mm (in)

Overall Height
mm (in)

C280-12

4612 (181.6)

2022 (79.6)

3404 (134.0)

Engine Weights
Engine Dry Weight
Shipped Loose Items:

Fluids:

kg (lb)
25 980 (57,276)

Torsional Coupling
Plate-Type Heat Exchanger
Instrument/Alarm Panel

Lube Oil
Jacket Water
Heat Exchanger (FW, SW, LO)

420 (926)
450 (990)
200 (440)
828 (1,825)
800 (1,764)
80 (176)

C280-12

MARINE PROPULSION
4962 bhp (3700 bkW)

RATING DEFINITIONS AND

CONDITIONS
CONTINUOUS SERVICE RATING 100% of the engine
RATINGS are based on SAE J1995/ISO3046 standard
conditions of 100 kPa (29.61 in. Hg), 25C (77F), and
30% relative humidity at the stated charge air cooler
water temperature. Ratings also meet classification
society maximum temperature requirements of
45C (113F) air temperature to the turbocharger and
32C (90F) seawater temperature without derate.
Additional ratings may be available for specific customer
requirements. Consult your Caterpillar representative for
additional information.

FUEL RATES are based on 35 API, 16C (60F) fuel

used at 29C (85F) with a density of 838.9 g/liter
(7.001 lbs/U.S. gal). Lower Heat Value (LHV) of
42 780 kJ/kg (18,390 Btu/lb). Tolerance is +5%. Includes
all engine mounted pumps. BSFC without pumps is
3% less.
MARINE CERTIFICATION Ratings are marine
classification society approved by ABS, BV, CCS, DnV,
GL, KR, LRS, NKK, RINA, and RS. These societies have
also granted C280 factory line production approval which
eliminates requirement for society surveyor witness test.

Performance data is calculated in accordance with tolerances and conditions stated in this specification sheet and is only intended for purposes of
comparison with other manufacturers engines. Actual engine performance may vary according to the particular application of the engine and operating
conditions beyond Caterpillars control.
Power produced at the flywheel will be within standard tolerances up to 49C (120F) combustion air temperature measured at the air cleaner inlet, and fuel
temperature up to 52C (125F) measured at the fuel filter base. Power rated in accordance with NMMA procedure as crankshaft power. Reduce crankshaft
power by 3% for propeller shaft power.
CAT, CATERPILLAR, their respective logos, Caterpillar Yellow and the POWER EDGE trade dress, as well as corporate and product identity used herein,
are trademarks of Caterpillar and may not be used without permission.
TMI Reference No.: DM5818-01
LEHM5269-02 (4-07)

2007 Caterpillar
All rights reserved.
Materials and specifications are subject to change without notice.
The International System of Units (SI) is used in this publication.