Home FleetWatch 2011 Filtering out the dust

Filtering out the dust

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The dirt stops here. This installation of a UD Filter was done on a EURO 4 Scania operated by Gay Transport which reports excellent results.

The popular misconception that diesel fuel in South Africa is of a poor quality is not true. So says Richard Mendes, filter specialist at UD Filtration.

“What is true,’ he says, “is that copious quantities of dust (airborne contamination) enters the supply chain of diesel fuel between the refinery and the dispensing point of fuel to the consumer. Also, during operation of equipment, dust will be drawn into the fuel tank as the fuel is consumed and all this accumulation of contamination is the main reason for poor performance and premature injector failures.’

With climatic conditions in Africa being dry and dusty, compounded by the fact that we also have extremely abrasive dust in our atmosphere, the owners and operators of diesel equipment are left vulnerable to potentially crippling financial operational and repair costs.

“How many diesel vehicle owners have had to pay for new injectors due to the fact they have become worn or have failed as a result of dirt contamination in the diesel fuel? It all seems to be going the wrong way with no solution to the scenario. In a developing and growing economy, we have to make do with outdated technology while the rest of the world moves on.’

Mendes says while it is certainly true that you cannot stop dirt from entering into your diesel fuel tank, you can stop the dirt from causing irreparable damage in your high pressure diesel injector systems through fitting the correct filter system. The UD Filter, which Mendes markets, is claimed to remove ultra-fine dirt particles from the diesel fuel which pass through conventional fuel filters.

“With far cleaner fuel going through your injection system, wear and needle stiction caused by dirt are dramatically reduced. Your injectors will stay ‘˜in spec’ for longer with all the obvious EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature), fuel consumption, oil life and cost advantages. Pay back periods of less than six months are regularly achieved with complete UDF fuel system upgrades,’ says Mendes.

FleetWatch likes to check out claims made by component suppliers and thus spoke to Lourens Badenhorst, workshop manager of Gay Transport, who fitted UD Filters to the company’s fleet of Scania and Volvo trucks.

“Prior to fitting these filters, we had lots of problems and would send injectors in for repair every 400 000 to 500 000 kilometres. Since fitting them, we are clocking over 1-million kilometres without changing one injector. We no longer have any problems with our fuel systems and our fuel consumption is also good. They’re working for us,’ says Badenhorst. There’s nothing like a good endorsement from a trucker. UD Filtration has it , and that says a lot.