[Alan Wheeler]

Diesels don't have a "redline" as such. They are speed Governed. The redline point is usually much higher than the governed speed. "Redlining" is of course, a term taken from a Rev counter on a Petrol performance engine. The "Redline" being a red marker that was set to a upper RPM limit of the engine. Above that limit usually meant detruction of the engine. As a Petrol engine can rev easily much high than it's safe operating RPM, "redlining" is easily achieved.
A Diesel should be able to be reved to it's max RPM and sit there governed by the limiter in the IP. The danger with the Diesel engine is not being able to reach close enough to max RPM when under load. A rule of thumb is usually a difference of approx 200RPM between full and no loads. The continuose and Max ratings are relevant to heat production and are very different to "Redline" terms. By the way, a Diesel can indeed run very hot. Infact, in some circumstances, they can output much more heat than Petrol. I have seen large engines running their manifolds a very cherry Red. In most circumstances, the heat output of Diesel engines require more cooling than Petrol engines.

Yes, the big killer of a Diesel is idle, especially when cold. We have had some great discusions on this subject and a lot of info is available with a search. But in a nut shell, get the engine under load as soon as you can.
An Alternator will not put much of a load on most engines. An 80A alternator takes ruffly 2Hp from an engine, so even a 20Hp engine will find that fairly easy work. But also, most alternators will not start charging till they reach 1000RPM and good charge power is not untill 1500RPM. But what speed the alternator is actually spinning at is determined by the gearing of pulleys driving it. So Engine RPM may or may not be indicative of what the Alternator is doing.

Sorry Duckhead, I'm not meaning top bust you here, so please don't take it that way. But it is interesting that the Carbon soot from Diesel emmision is now considered to be possibly the most carsonagenic substance known. But it is also true that many more of the noxciouse emmisions are not present that are in Petrol exhaust.

Another good discusion we have in the archivs is on oils. A search wil bring up some good info on that. But also in a nutshell, the way to check oil for quality is within the specs on the back of the container. You will see a number of manufacturers specifications that the oil must meet to obtain that rating No. the manufacturers have required. The oil MUST meet that rating as a minimum requirement. So don't read the front lable, it may tell you nothing more than it's a syntheic blend, but those numbers on the back tell you what the blend is required to meet.