How protecting the quality of your fuel and other fluid assets can save time and money on vehicle and plant running, maintenance and replacement costs
When you have invested a great deal of capital in building your fleet and purchasing plant, you want to be sure that your vehicles are in peak condition so that they can help you to make money, rather than costing you money. You can do several things to minimise the ongoing costs of running and maintaining those vehicles and maximise their longevity. Delaying the need to outlay large sums of money on overhauls and the replacement of expensive (but essential) items leads to very significant savings. One of the best ways to do this is to ensure that the fluids you are putting in your vehicles and stationary plant are clean.
Keeping your stored fuel and fluids contaminant free:
- reduces fuel and service fluid wastage
- avoids preventable, unscheduled maintenance
- maximises component life and lengthens the time between costly major services
- protects vehicle original equipment manufacturer (OEM) warranties
- reduces fuel consumption and therefore greenhouse emissions
- allows the adoption of the latest (and most efficient) engine technologies
All these factors add up to improve productivity and deliver significant ongoing savings.
How does clean fuel improve vehicle and plant performance?
Modern diesel engines have been designed and engineered to offer improved efficiency, reduced emissions, and longer service intervals. However, these improvements in design and engineering mean these engines are less tolerant of contaminants in fuel, oil, and other service fluids.
Many modern engines have higher fuel injection pressures, to improve fuel atomisation. Better fuel atomisation results in a larger surface to volume ratio and a better fuel/air mix, which improves the fuel’s combustion characteristics and enables more complete fuel combustion. More complete fuel combustion means less fuel wastage and greater fuel efficiency – and more complete combustion is more readily achievable with clean fluids, not dirty ones.
Modern engines are designed to utilise fuel as a mist, and engine components need to fit together with exacting tolerances to achieve complete combustion. This means that even small contaminant particles can cause wear and tear on internal engine components and have a harmful effect on the life and performance of fuel systems.
While the use of more modern components and systems has helped to reduce consumption and emissions, their emission control capabilities are less effective when they are required to process contaminated fluids. Contaminated fluids cause the fuel efficiency savings to also be lost. The key to reducing pollutants emitted by vehicles or plant equipment and maximising their fuel efficiency is to only use clean liquids. Greater compliance around emission control, reduction, and reporting can result in more government approvals and can better position the business to pursue large contracts. and can better position the business to pursue large contracts. Maintaining clean fluids in your operation can have many positive flow-on effects, not the least of which are building a good reputation and bringing in more revenue.
What are the pinch points for contamination in the fluid management lifecycle and how do you control them?
1. Receiving
Liquids going into machines must match the manufacturer’s requirements to ensure that warranties remain intact, so that the OEM will look after your vehicle if something breaks. Unfortunately, before accepting your fluid delivery it’s difficult to be certain whether it’s clean or not, whether it’s up to spec and meets the cleanliness requirements of the OEM.
There are several ways to ensure that your fuel is clean and uncontaminated. Consider sampling and testing it – for example, inline cleanliness testing to check the fuel’s density and identify the presence of water in fuel. Another option is to filter bulk industrial liquids after receipt, to prevent downstream problems.
2. Storing
Fuel storage is an important pinch point for maintaining the cleanliness of your fuel. If there is water in your fuel the suspended water droplets will sink to the bottom of the storage tank, as will any particulate contaminants, and you should be able to drain water, particulates, and sludge from the bottom of the tank to ensure they aren’t deposited into machinery and vehicles when refuelling. You can also top up your bulk storage tanks before using liquids that are close to the tank-bottom.
Modern diesel fuels (including ultra-low-sulphur diesels and biodiesels) are susceptible to microbial contamination and moisture retention, which can seriously degrade the quality of the fuel, reduce the life of your fuel filters, and accelerate corrosion of tanks, pipes, and other metal components.
A good fuel management system, with a quality field controller will tell you how much fuel (or other bulk industrial liquid) is in the storage tank and whether there is a significant amount of water to be drained off. Alarms can be configured to indicate bulk water, filters that require replacement, and so on. It is also advisable to install a desiccant filter to absorb moisture in the air before it gets drawn into the tank.
3. Dispensing
Fuel and service fluid transfers are a primary vector for contaminants to be introduced into the fluid stream. Dust, dirt, and ore that has settled onto or into recesses in fluid transfer components is often pumped directly into fuel tanks, grease compartments, oil compartments, etc.
To avoid this during diesel refuelling, consider using bulk liquid transfer couplings of ‘dry break’ design with close-fitting dust caps, such as Banlaw’s quick fill refuelling couplings for safe, efficient, automated, and clean diesel refuelling.
Another option is to use lubricant couplings that have a ‘flush face’, such as Banlaw’s LubeCentral Flush Face range of fluid transfer and evacuation products. The nozzles and receivers are free of the exposed deep recesses commonly found on other service fluid transfer products, to prevent accumulation of grime that could result in fluid contamination issues for your fleet. The range also boasts differently-sized, colour-coded nozzles and receivers to prevent cross-contamination and avoid costly refuelling mistakes, as only properly matched nozzles and receivers will connect.
4. Consuming
Non-road diesel engines constitute a significant proportion of emissions globally, and regulations are rapidly changing to encourage emissions reduction. Tier 4 diesel engine emission standards were phased in between 2008 and 2015, to regulate emissions of particulate matter (black soot) and nitrogen oxides by non-road diesel engines.
Engineering advancements included in modern diesel engines, including electronically-controlled injector solenoids, high-pressure common rail fuel injection systems, selective catalytic reduction (UREA / DEF / AdBlue injection), and advanced turbocharging, have made significant improvements to emission control capabilities.
While these modern engines have a raft of features designed to improve operation, control diesel fuel emissions, and ensure eligibility for ATO Fuel Tax Credits (where additional environmental criteria apply), if the fuel you put in your engine is contaminated the engine’s performance will be compromised and productivity will suffer.
With Banlaw’s reliable contamination controls ensuring only clean fluids are used in mmachines, Tier 4 engines have reported fuel savings of between 5-20%, in comparison to Tier 2 engines. Tier 4 engines with additional features, such as load-sensing hydraulics, alternate idle speeds, and optimised RPM management, have reported fuel savings of up to 30%.
How do Fuel Management Systems help to ensure clean fuel and improve productivity
An advanced fuel management system, such as the completely integrated, end-to-end Banlaw Fuel Management System, helps to maintain proper contamination control. From the time you receive your fuel and other bulk industrial fluids, until the moment any waste fluids are removed from your site, we can help you cleanly and effectively Deliver > Store > Dispense > Consume > Recycle your high-value liquids.
Using clean fuel optimises engine performance, provides better fuel efficiency, and lowers maintenance costs thanks to substantial reductions in machinery breakdowns and downtime – this equates to productivity increases across your entire business that can mean significant financial savings. Banlaw’s Fuel Management System and superior-quality components ensure that you have clean fluids available when and where you need them – no unscheduled breakdowns or fuel system-related issues, and all the data insights you might need to keep becoming more efficient, and to ensure compliance.
Talk to us today to find out how a customised Banlaw Fuel Management System can keep your fuel clean and help you improve productivity
For more information on how a customised Banlaw Fuel Management System can help you improve productivity by protecting your fluid assets from contamination and ensuring the operability and longevity of your trucks, plant, and machinery, contact Banlaw today.
If your business wants to achieve cleaner, faster, and safer refuelling and fluid transfer, control access and track every drop, and deliver your fluid assets when and where they are needed, Banlaw has a solution to suit your needs and budget. Click here for Australian and international contact details, or to find a local distributor. Alternatively, click here to complete our online contact form and a Banlaw representative will contact you shortly.
