Equipment World Digital Magazine
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Fuel management doesn't end until the fuel has been burned in the combustion chamber. In other applications, the invest- ment in supplemental onboard fi ltration is also worthwhile, due to random fueling locations and use of outside fuel sources with unknown fi ltration and fuel management. In our operation, haul trucks need onboard fi ltration due to the high amount of off-site fuel consump- tion. Not all fuel is equal, so we must manage fi ll ups with the help of inline fi ltration. For this, we have found that Wix fi lters work best and they are accessible at any auto parts store. Should a driver run into some bad fuel, they can easily remove and replace the inline fuel fi lter before it damages the onboard OEM fi lter and leaves him stranded. Conclusion The costs of these modern engines and their components, as well as their downtime costs, are justifying investments in fi ltration that, frankly, were not economical even four or fi ve years ago. The industry is seeing these increased costs of operation, but most are not actively looking for solutions or fi xes. The hope is that engine and equipment manufacturers will step up to the plate, but due to the mas- sive time and fi nancial costs of de- veloping these new environmentally friendly engines, most are cash and time constrained. They're also caught in a market that is increasingly reli- ant on parts and service revenues to offset lower margins on new equip- ment sales, and also trying to offset government-mandated engine devel- opment costs. Because of that, I do not expect any major improvements, and believe that progressive owner operators will be best served to make their own investments in research and aftermarket fi ltration solutions. Fuel fi ltration and management has never been more demand- ing, nor have the potential costs and savings been so high. Today's equipment managers need to take a proactive role in implementing fuel fi ltration and management programs. Your bottom line depends on it. November 2016 | EquipmentWorld.com 38 Fine Grade Made Easy www.level-best.com • 800-342-0905 Automatic Laser-Guided Grade Box • Finish Grade for Concrete Placement • Crown Sports Fields • Grade Building Pads ON GRADE... AUTOMATICALLY! ATI_Equip0115_PG073.indd 1 9/18/15 10:10 AM Elliott Stanton, CEM, serves as an equipment technical specialist at Strike LLC, in Dilley Texas. Strike is the largest privately held pipeline company in North America and provides turnkey energy services to all sectors of the oil, gas, utility and power industries. Prior to his three years at Strike, Stanton served as the branch manager for Doggett Heavy Machinery Services, a John Deere equipment distributor on the Texas Gulf Coast. You can reach him at: Elliott.Stanton@strikeusa.com. maintenance | continued