Filtration and condition based maintenance saved engine - Cjc.dk
Filtration and condition based maintenance saved engine - Cjc.dk
Filtration and condition based maintenance saved engine - Cjc.dk
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Schwing boom truck from Nichols Concrete Equipment Co. Inc. April 27 th , 2011<br />
<strong>Filtration</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>condition</strong> <strong>based</strong> <strong>maintenance</strong> <strong>saved</strong> <strong>engine</strong><br />
By Steffen D. Nyman, Corporate Trainer & Marketing Manager at C.C.JENSEN inc.<br />
Are oil change intervals on your truck a concern of yours<br />
If not, then surely avoiding a major <strong>engine</strong> failure is!<br />
Nichols Concrete Equipment has a long tradition of pumping concrete, but when times are tough<br />
they do not sit with their h<strong>and</strong>s in their lap <strong>and</strong> wait – they think smart <strong>and</strong> focus on <strong>maintenance</strong><br />
costs, because they know that sometimes you’ll need to spend a little now in order to create large<br />
savings in the future.<br />
Service Manager Bernd “Ben” Schlichter has vast experience with concrete boom <strong>and</strong> line pumps<br />
also from working with Schwing prior to joining Nichols Concrete Equipment. Nichols has 18<br />
concrete boom <strong>and</strong> line pumps at their site in Pelham, AL, <strong>and</strong> a total of 55 trucks at Nichols’ five<br />
service centers. They all run the same MACK AI ASET <strong>engine</strong> <strong>and</strong> transmission, but the rest of the<br />
trucks varies. The largest 7 axle truck has a boom of 61 meters (200 ft).<br />
“The oil systems on the cement trucks are working under severe <strong>condition</strong>s,” says Ben Schlichter<br />
<strong>and</strong> continues: “In 2008 we decided to start focusing on our <strong>maintenance</strong> costs <strong>and</strong> we took a<br />
closer look at the <strong>engine</strong> lube oil. Of course we changed the oil as recommended in the manual,<br />
but I believed there was a superior way to take care of the dust, wear particles <strong>and</strong> soot challenges,<br />
than just changing the oil.”<br />
That was when Axel Wegner of C.C.JENSEN Inc. came into the picture.<br />
C.C.JENSEN has manufactured oil filtration systems for almost 60 years <strong>and</strong> were most willing to<br />
consult the lube oil problems.<br />
It is a common misunderst<strong>and</strong>ing that oil needs to be changed after a fixed time, miles or hours in<br />
operation. The wise way is “CBM - Condition Based Maintenance” meaning only to change the oil<br />
when an oil analysis says that you need to – <strong>and</strong> not due to contamination, because you can easily<br />
get the dust, wear particle, water <strong>and</strong> oil oxidation (varnish) under control by fitting a good quality<br />
offline/kidney loop filter.<br />
Prior to looking at the <strong>engine</strong> lube oil Ben <strong>and</strong> Axel worked on hydraulics, installing kidney loop<br />
filters that showed good results keeping particulate <strong>and</strong> water levels down, which resulted in better<br />
performance <strong>and</strong> longer component life.<br />
Specific to <strong>engine</strong> lube it is advisable that an oil change should be <strong>based</strong> on the oils neutralization<br />
number (TBN/TAN), additive depletion, fuel dilution, soot level, oil viscosity out of specs or if the oil<br />
has been mixed with incompatible oils.<br />
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All of this can be checked in a used oil analysis, which was exactly what Axel Wegner advised Ben<br />
to do on the MACK <strong>engine</strong> lube oil. Instead of replacing the oil every 300 hours he took an oil<br />
sample <strong>and</strong> sent it off to a lab capable of checking the above mentioned plus particle counts in ISO<br />
codes.<br />
The CJC offline filter (HDU 15/25 with 12V DC motor driving the gear pump) was mounted on the<br />
frame of the cement truck (see photos). The filter draws oil from the bottom of the <strong>engine</strong> sump,<br />
through a hollow drain plug, <strong>and</strong> returns the polished oil back to the <strong>engine</strong> through the oil filler<br />
tube.<br />
Because the CJC filter took care of the lube oil contaminants, Ben decided to test how long an oil<br />
change could be postponed. He took oil samples every 300 h <strong>and</strong> when the oil was still up to par, it<br />
remained in the <strong>engine</strong>. The same <strong>engine</strong> lube oil was in operation for 1300 h <strong>and</strong> the properties<br />
were still intact, except for the soot level being high at 900 h (see oil lab reports).<br />
Starting this CBM program Nichols Concrete Equipment confirmed how important oil analysis is<br />
for the reliability of the boom trucks. Ben explains: “The oil sample taken at 900 hours showed an<br />
increase in soot (insoluble’s). The CJC filter was doing its best to keep up, but the soot level in the<br />
oil was abnormally high. We found that this soot problem was caused by an improper valve<br />
adjustment, so we fixed it.”<br />
Ben continues: “Meanwhile on one of our other boom pumps a similar valve problem occurred.<br />
Unfortunately we hadn’t fitted a CJC filter on this <strong>engine</strong> nor did we do oil analysis, so the valve<br />
maladjustment got so bad that it caused severe <strong>engine</strong> damage.<br />
Ben continues: “If we had a CJC offline filter on this <strong>engine</strong> <strong>and</strong> had been watching the oil analysis,<br />
just like we did on the one with the CJC filter installed we could have avoided this <strong>engine</strong> failure<br />
costing us $7700 to repair.<br />
“We have learnt that <strong>condition</strong> <strong>based</strong> <strong>maintenance</strong> is the way to go – not only because the <strong>engine</strong><br />
lube oil will last much longer, meaning less oil waste, but because it can save us from doing<br />
expensive <strong>engine</strong> overhauls,” Ben Schlichter finally concludes.<br />
If you would like to lower your <strong>maintenance</strong> costs <strong>and</strong> learn more about Condition Based<br />
Maintenance please contact Area Sales Manager, Axel Wegner of C.C.JENSEN Inc.,<br />
email: axel@ccjensen.com or phone: 770-692-6001.<br />
Cost savings for Nichols Concrete Equipment Co. so far:<br />
Savings <strong>and</strong> costs<br />
Total<br />
Oil savings:<br />
1300 hours would require at least 4 oil changes + spin-on filters<br />
11 gal. of oil at $7.94/gal. per oil change, times 4: $ 349<br />
Savings in spin-on filters<br />
4x2 spin-on filters not necessary: $24.40 x 8: $ 195<br />
Maintenance time <strong>saved</strong>:<br />
3 hours at $42 per oil change, times 4 $ 504<br />
Oil <strong>and</strong> filter related savings in total $1048<br />
Savings by avoided <strong>engine</strong> overhaul $7715<br />
Cost for the CJC HDU <strong>engine</strong> lube oil filter<br />
10-15% the cost of<br />
the diesel <strong>engine</strong><br />
Cost for oil sampling within the 1300h oil life: $30 x 4 $ 120.00<br />
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Think smart – Condition Based Maintenance utilizing CJC offline filters <strong>and</strong> oil analysis<br />
C.C.JENSEN – Clean Oil – Bright Ideas<br />
C.C.JENSEN INC.<br />
1555 Senoia Rd, Suite A | Tyrone, GA 30290<br />
Office (770) 692-6001 | Fax (770) 692-6006<br />
Web www.ccjensen.com<br />
Photos: Ben Schlichter with Nichols’ boom truck fitted with the CJC filter<br />
The CJC filter polishing the <strong>engine</strong> oil from the MACK <strong>engine</strong><br />
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Photo showing the used CJC insert saturated with diesel <strong>engine</strong> soot compared to the new insert<br />
Used <strong>engine</strong> oil analysis results from Insight Services<br />
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