BUSRide Maintenance October 2013

OCTOBER.2013

busridemaintenance.com

the exclusive maintenance resource for the transit and motorcoach industry

FILTRATION BUILT FOR BUSES p4

Coolant inhibitors make the difference p6

p6

LETTER FROM THE INDUSTRY

A tire pressuring monitoring system is actually necessary Fleet managers know they can maximize tire life and improve safety simply by maintaining proper air pressures. Nonetheless, despite best intentions to manage tire pressures through preventive maintenance programs and tire programs, keeping air pressure at or near the manufacturer recommended levels continues to be a significant challenge.

Getting the same PSI on the tire gauge at different intervals does not always happen. All this has led to the all too common practice of “thumping ‘em” to feel if tires are filled enough — a poor substitute for proper PSI gauging.

A reliable tire pressure monitoring system is preferable for consistent and correct tire pressures. Optimally programmed, such a system can trigger audible and visual alerts when the pressure in a tire drops below the recommended level, and typically features alarms for high temperatures and high pressures.

A growing number of fleet operations are discovering they can justify their investment in tire pressure monitoring systems by the savings in costs allocated to tire maintenance programs. Capturing tire pressure readings off the onboard system minimizes dependence on the driver to acknowledge a tire pressure alarm and fix the problem. Overall, tire pressure monitoring systems are proving to be a reliable and durable solution with low ongoing maintenance costs.

Jim Samocki, General Manager Doran Manufacturing Cincinnati, OH

OCTOBER 2013

CONTENTS

Vol. 03 • No. 10 Publisher / Editor in Chief Steve Kane steve@busride.com Associate Publisher Sali T. Williams swilliams@busride.com Editor David Hubbard david@busride.com Managing Editor Richard Tackett rtackett@busride.com Art Director Stephen Gamble sgamble@theproducersinc.com Production Director Kevin Dixon kdixon@busride.com Accountant Fred Valdez fvaldez@powertrademedia.com

BUS industry SAFETY council

busridemaintenance.com

Filtration built for buses

While Luber-finer filter products apply to all heavy-duty vehicles, the company notes the importance of compensating for filtration needs in buses

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By Richard Tackett

Expertise produces cool results Prestone is continually adapting its coolant and DEF products to patent new technologies

By Richard Tackett

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BUSRIDE MAINTENANCE | OCTO B ER . 2013

A publication of:

DEPARTMENTS

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LETTER FROM THE INDUSTRY

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Products and Services

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to: BUSRide Magazine 4742 North 24th Street, Suite 340 Phoenix, Arizona 85016 Phone: (602) 265-7600 Fax: (602) 277-7588 busridemaintenance.com busridemaintenance.com

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Tire Runout Gauge pinpoints problems early

Restroom in an envelope

ESCO says its simple-to-use and economical Tire Runout Gauge measures both radial and lateral tire runout conditions, and can help eliminate irregular tire wear, ride vibration and lengthen the life of tires.

GKR Industries introduces the Convenience Bag for discreet containment and disposal of vomit or urine when a restroom is not nearby. GKR says the latex-free Convenience Bag allows the freedom to vomit or urinate without requiring assistance. The special valve design will not allow the contents to spill if the bag is dropped. The design directs the odor into the bag. Outer hand-protection helps eliminate the chance of bodily fluids contaminating the user. The rigid six-inch opening makes it easy to use.

Each bag is individually wrapped and small enough to place in a purse, briefcase or pocket. The bag can later be discarded without fear of leaking.

The Patented Tire Runout Gauge utilizes a roller wheel placed against the tire tread combined with a gauge bar, individual low and high spot sliders and magnified measurement readout that quickly shows the amount of runout present. The company says the Tire Runout Gauge can pinpoint problems either directly related to the tire and rim or some other trouble areas that may be causing runout. It is an early indicator of wheels and/or tires that need to be reworked or discarded.

ESCO Brooksville, FL

GKR Industries Crestwood, IL

QuadLink™ Kit desulfates eight leadacid batteries

For mechanics and fleet managers who need to charge and maintain multiple 12-volt lead-acid batteries, Xtreme Charge® by PulseTech Products Corporation offers a kit to automatically maintain and desulfate up to eight batteries at a time.

The eightstation QuadLink Charger Kit includes a Dual-Station Xtreme Charge® Battery Charger and Desulfator; QuadLink (XC-QL4) four-station multipliers; a 12V battery tester; plus battery and extension leads in varying lengths.

The company says the variable float charge of this battery charger improves battery condition by increasing the charge rate safely to optimal levels and protecting batteries from being overcharged.

The kit, according to Pulse Tech, is extremely easy to assemble and use.

PulseTech Products Southlake, TX

busridemaintenance.com | BUSRIDE MAINTENANCE

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Filtration built for buses While Luber-finer filter products apply to all heavy-duty vehicles, the company notes the importance of compensating for filtration needs in buses.

By Richard Tackett

L

uber-finer, Perrysburg, OH, manufactures heavy-duty filtration. The brand originated in 1936 in California developing around the racing circuits. In 1979, Luber-finer became part of Champion Laboratories. In recent years, FRAM Filtration acquired Champion Laboratories and created one of the world’s largest filter manufacturers.

“We’ve been in the business since 1936, starting with engine oil filters,” says John Gaither, director of HD Product Engineering at FRAM Filtration. “Later we moved into diesel fuel and air intake. We do some OEM work now and most of what we do is sold as our Luber-finer brand.”

“A full analysis will tell you if something really bad is going on.”

Customers should also pay close attention to air filter efficiency when purchasing, which is indicated by an easy-to-interpret ratio.

“All filters have some kind of liquid going through them, as well as some contaminant that should be trapped by the filters,” Gaither says. “When testing our products, we circulate the fluid and add a contaminant like dust or water. We then sample the fluid both downstream and upstream from the filter. The ratio of contaminants, downstream vs. upstream, indicates the filter’s efficiency. The buyer can look for that number, and it’s a great way to compare one filter to another.”

Compensate for increased wear

Customer concerns

Gaither says that while many of the Luber-finer filter products apply to all heavy-duty vehicles, it’s important to draw a distinction between truck and bus applications.

“The primary difference between buses and trucks is their duty cycle,” he says. “Buses are idling a lot, and they’re going from idling to near full-throttle very often. It’s that shift in load that indicates severe service. You get a lot of increased wear.”

“Air filtration on a bus is fairly critical,” Gaither continues.

“The environment in which the engine operates isn’t the best in the world. There are a lot of contaminants in the air, not only from other engines but from the bus engine itself.”

Gaither says that operators can take simple steps to compensate for increased wear. For example, he says, purchasing an inexpensive Filter Minder gauge can make a world’s difference.

“That little $10 device saves the owner a lot of money by preventing premature filter changes,” he says. “It allows you to get the benefit of a small dust layer on your filter, which is when the filter is most efficient. That’s not the time to take it out, and many operators waste money by doing so. We want to sell filters, there’s no doubt about that, but the best way for us to do that is to try and save folks some money.”

If operators aren’t running their engines at OEM-specified levels, Luber-finer offers the XL high-performance line. The XL line features 100 percent synthetic filter media. They’re designed for severe service applications and for operators running longer drain intervals. Gaither says the synthetic filter media is only recommended for operators who are also running regular oil analysis.

“Our recommendation is to run oil analysis, particularly for buses and vehicles that don’t run at a constant RPM,” he says.

Gaither says that many customer concerns can be assuaged through education. Avoiding a premature filter change, for example, can slow efficiency degradation. Another big issue is external leakage. According to Gaither, most external leakage comes from some issue that occurred during filter installation.

Either there was some contaminant on a sealing surface, or the filter wasn’t sufficiently tightened.

“We also have many folks that have changed an air filter, then reached inside with a white rag and found traces of dust on the clean side of the duct work,” Gaither says.

“That’s not a filter failure. No filter is 100 percent efficient at removing contaminants.”

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BUSRIDE MAINTENANCE | OCTO B ER . 2013

Luber-finer forges ahead Gaither says that continuing cooperation with engine OEMs has helped Luber-finer remain a powerful brand over the decades.

“We’re one of the largest suppliers in the U.S.,” he says.

“We have a lot of direct contact with the engine manufacturers, and we utilize the data we get from working with OEMs to design and build better aftermarket filters.”

busridemaintenance.com

Expertise produces cool results Prestone is continually adapting its coolant and DEF products to patent new technologies

By Richard Tackett

Proven technology and an adaptable supply chain have made Prestone, Danbury, CT, a premier supplier of antifreeze/coolant and diesel engine fluid (DEF) to the bus transportation industry. The company recently debuted its Command™ line of products, which is intended for use in any diesel powered commercial vehicle engine or stationary engine with aluminum or other engine metals.

The Command brand features various iterations of heavy-duty antifreeze/coolant as well as a DEF solution. Tom Kalagher, Prestone manager, Product Development,

says that the DEF and antifreeze/coolant lines were launched concurrently in order to save customers money.

“We did that because it allows customers to order both products in one shipment, so that they can hit minimum orders and get free shipping on deliveries,” Kalagher says.

“Another reason is that our customers were looking for additional supplies of DEF. They like to limit their number of suppliers and their number of orders, because it makes their lives easier. Supplying both types of products was something they were looking for.”

Chemical differences

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BUSRIDE MAINTENANCE | OCTO B ER . 2013

Dr. Peter Woyciesjes, Prestone’s worldwide RD&E manager, Coolants, says that the company’s patented inhibitor technology makes it unique in the heavyduty vehicle industry.

“The industry wants several product lines,” he says. “They want a conventional silicate-based product. They want extended-life technology, both with and without nitrite. We have both formulations, but ours are different because they have patented technology that’s unique to us.”

Woyciesjes says that Prestone has shown that the performance of the inhibitors provide unique performance benefits.

“Unfortunately, the glycol-water mixture in the coolant can be aggressive to the metals in the cooling system,” he says. “We add inhibitors to protect the various metals, and that’s where our expertise lies.”

Prestone has been providing corrosion protection for coolant systems, the composition of which has been everchanging over the past 80 years.

“Right now the market is changing again, as always, toward lighter metals,” Woyciesjes says. “For lighter metals you need different inhibitors. Prestone has always excelled in the protection of aluminum in various vehicles since the busridemaintenance.com

day of the passenger car. As more aluminum goes into buses and trucks, we’re bringing our longstanding aluminum protection into that market. Prestone is ideally suited to work in these applications.”

A strong supply chain In addition, Prestone is unique because of its fully-integrated manufacturing and supply chain.

“I’m in the R&D group but I do much more than just that,” Woyciesjes says. “As I develop formulations and understand the inhibitor technologies, I work with our supply side to identify the inhibitors that must be bought.”

He says Prestone blends and fills orders for customer needs, as well.

“We integrate at every step of production,” Woyciesjes says. “When we have a question in the field, we track it right back to the plants.

Right now we’re working with a fleet that’s having problems with a competitor’s product. We identify problems, identify the fix, and demonstrate how we can help them. We’re very close with our customers and potential customers.”

AT LEFT: Prestone’s patented antifreeze/ coolant formulation is based upon a concentrated blend of premium longlasting inhibitors.

FAR RIGHT: Prestone’s Command Diesel Exhaust Fluid is formulated with high-quality urea and pure demineralized water to work with all SCRequipped diesel engines.

AT RIGHT: The heavyduty antifreeze/coolant is a blend of ethylene glycol and a specially formulated inhibitor package designed for heavy-duty cooling system applications.

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