Mechanical Technology November 2015

⎪ On the cover ⎪

“The diesel in Africa is amongst the worst in the world. While producers can manufacture low-sulphur clean diesel, the distribution infrastructure is often not suitable for keeping contaminants out,” he points out. At the pinnacle the Fleetguard fuel fil- tration solution is its NanoNet ® synthetic filter media. “When used in one of our diesel filters, such as the FF5782 spin-on diesel filter, the particulate in the diesel is removed to meet the 12/9/6 ISO 4406 cleanliness level. “Modern high-pressure common rail fuel injection diesel engines require high cleanliness levels to enable the fuel injectors at the combustion chamber to accurately inject the fuel air mix. Engine performance, efficiency and emissions all depend on these injectors, which are set to tolerances of between 1.0 and 3.0 µ m, so even the tiniest particles in the diesel or air can affect their performance,” Chowdary informs MechTech . Bottyan continues: “To allow an on-board fuel filter to maintain these high cleanliness levels, however, bulk fuel filtration systems are necessary to remove some of the contaminants before they enter the machine’s fuel tank. HFT supplies offline fuel filtration systems that can ensure acceptable (ISO 4406 18/16/13) cleanliness levels in storage and fuel tanks.” “The Fleetguard range however, in- cludes much more than just fuel filters,” continues Bottyan. “It is just as important to filter the air being mixed into the fuel. Using the same synthetic nano media, along with cellulose media layers, Cummins has developed NanoForce ® technology to use in conjunction with NanoNet fuel filtration. The whole aim is to extend the life of an engine and the service intervals, without increasing the breakdown risks. We can now offer an entire range of complementary products that, combined, offer the lowest possible total costs of ownership,” he reveals. Citing a typical mining vehicle, he says that fuel and oil filters are changed every 250, 500, 750 and 1 000 hours, with the air filter being changed at 500 and 1 ,000 hours. “Fleetguard air, oil and fuel filters are now designed to be changed every 1 000 hours, so an operator only uses half the air filters and one quarter of the oil and fuel filters compared to most OEM recom- mendations. This obviously also results in less maintenance downtime for the

vehicle, improving productivity. “In addition, coolant is usually drained every 4 000 to 6 000 hours. Fleetguard’s organic acid technology (OAT) is a lifelong coolant, which first needs to be changed during the midlife rebuild or stored and reused after the rebuild if the additive package is not compromised. This reduc- es the environmental impact of having to dispose of traditional coolants up and refill with new product.” Chowdary says. “The beauty is that our solutions work in tandem with each other,” says Bottyan. “Through the Fleetguard distribution collaboration, we can now offer total engine protection in addition to our total hydraulic fluid management offering. From a contamination protection point of view, we have truly become a one-stop shop,” he says. “In today’s economic environment, whether operators are running trucks, shovels, graders, dozers or excavators, they have to be cost conscious. Nobody can afford to spend more money than they have to. The Fleetguard OAT coolant and filtration combinations for engine oil, fuel and air, coupled with the hydraulic fluid filtration range from HFT, offers operators the absolute minimum total cost of ownership, and the maximum productivity from their equipment as- sets,” Chowdary concludes. q

tion manufacturing capabilities. We are unique in that we are closely involved with the research and development (R&D) of new engine technology. We are at the forefront of the development of the new emission-regulated diesel engines, which depend on very high cleanliness levels. Fleetguard ® is the only filtration and engine protection original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the world that belongs to a high-tech engine manufac- turer,” he points out. “Africa is a receiving continent for mobile vehicles and equipment. Very few diesel engines are manufactured in Africa and, therefore, few African countries have emissions regulations mandating the vehicles that may be used. In con- sequence, vehicles from Japan, China, Europe, North America and other parts of the world, all manufactured according to different emissions regulations, are being used in Africa. This creates complexities with respect to aftermarket emission con- trols, which we see as an opportunity,” Chowdary says, adding, “our Fleetguard range has the breadth and scope to cover legacy vehicles all the way through to the most up-to-date emission-regulated diesel engines.” While Africa is predominantly non- emission-regulated, an increasing num- ber of modern vehicles are being brought into the continent. “In meeting the emis- sions regulations, the first thing needed is good quality diesel. Low sulphur diesel with 10 ppm (ULSD) or less, for example, is required for Euro V and above vehicles, while for Euro III and IV and Tier II and III off-road vehicles, you can get away with 50 ppm,” says Bottyan. HFT’s Spartan head office. The Hytec Group has 34 operations supplying compo- nents and turnkey systems to the industrial and mobile equipment markets.

The HY-PRO diesel coalescing filter unit from

HFT is and offline fuel filtration system that can ensure acceptable (ISO 4406 18/16/13) cleanliness levels in storage and fuel tanks.

Mechanical Technology — November 2015

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