The great Polar Vortex of the 2013-2104 winter has many fleets and owner-operators gearing up to battle the cold temperatures that will soon be heading our way.
Since 1976, DAVCO Technology has produced fuel filter/water separators for the on- and off-highway diesel engine markets that incorporate optional coolant and electric heaters. These options prevent fuel gelling during cold weather. There are numerous success stories associated with DAVCO’s cold weather fuel heating options.
For example, in January 2014, John Garrison, DAVCO regional sales manager, was contacted by Rod Simon, fleet maintenance director at TMC, to help find a solution to his fleet’s fuel gelling issue. At the time TMC had more than 200 trucks down due to fuel gelling.
To help eliminate fuel gelling, DAVCO offers coolant and electric fuel heating options with the Fuel Pro 382 and Fuel Pro 483. The coolant heat feature available with the Fuel Pro 382 or Fuel Pro 483 uses engine coolant to warm the fuel while the truck is in operation. DAVCO also has two electric heater options; a 12-volt DC heater (thermostatically controlled to turn on when the fuel temperature falls below 50º F) and a 120-volt AC model that is used to keep fuel from gelling when the truck is parked overnight. These heaters are only used to heat fuel for initial engine start-up.
TMC selected the engine coolant heat feature to help its situation during cold weather over-the-road operation. Garrison developed a program for TMC to upgrade the Fuel Pro 382 units with the coolant heat feature. The trucks were originally equipped with the OEM-installed fuel heat feature. Most new common rail fueled engines do not have high return fuel flow rate or temperature to use as a heat source. As a result, coolant heat should always be specified for equipment operating in cold climates.
In the end, TMC retrofitted more than 580 trucks with coolant as a heat source in the Fuel Pro 382. Downtime due to fuel gelling issues was eliminated.
Access www.davco.com or call 800-328-2611 for more information.
