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Pump), " said Jordan Butler, product line manager for North American automatic
lubrication systems at SKF Group, a manufacturer of lubrication equipment,
bearings, seals, and other products.
The AECP draws its lubricant from a standard grease tube instead of a lubricant
reservoir that needs to be occasionally refilled. That makes replenishing
the system a little bit easier. According to Zach Cagle, strategic markets manager
for mobile on-road at SKF Group, a tube of grease should last six to eight weeks
under normal circumstances for a transport truck.
" We know certain grease points take certain amounts of grease, " Cagle said.
" You set up the AECP system's divider valve to deliver metered amounts of
grease to the different fittings. It's all timer-based. How often you tell it to turn
on is based on application. In a medium-duty vehicle with a lot of stops and
starts, you might program it to come on every three or four hours. A heavy-duty
vehicle might be every couple of hours. "
Benefits of automated greasing
" Some of these fleets will tell you that they get really good component wear
when greasing by hand, " Eisses said. " It is true that frequency of lubrication is
what gets you good component life. But those fleets doing it by hand every week
are spending a lot of money on wasted grease, technician labor, and vehicle
downtime. Also, every 3,000 miles (weekly) might not even be enough. You get
component wear when a component goes dry, and that could happen at any time. "
With an automated lubrication system, the technician is removed from the
greasing process, saving labor costs.
There is also the issue of downtime. On vehicles with longer drain intervals,
Eisses said the only reason to bring a vehicle in for service on some occasions is
to grease it. With an automated system, the greasing takes place while the vehicle
is in operation. That allows the vehicle to stay in operation until its next oil drain.
When a vehicle finally does come in for its scheduled service, Eisses said most
technicians will be more than happy to trade in their grease gun for a flashlight
to simply perform a thorough vehicle inspection. Part of that inspection now
includes the automated lubrication system.
" Check for evidence of fresh grease around all grease points, " Eisses advised.
" Then you know the automated system's pump is working, and there aren't any
broken lines. It's still a good idea to take a moment to inspect the lines for wear. "
Lubecore has developed a payback calculator to help fleets factor in all of the
benefits of switching to an automated system. Eisses said an automated system
can help a fleet save roughly $2,000 per year when compared to hand-greasing
a truck driving 100,000 miles per year. The automated system is expected to pay
for itself in two years, and savings are estimated at more than $16,000 over an
eight-year vehicle lifecycle. Additionally, Eisses said a fleet should consider the
likely extension of component life resulting from the more effective greasing
an automated system provides.
Erb Transport Limited in Baden, Ontario, Canada, was an early adopter of
automated lubrication systems more than 10 years ago. " Lubecore is our primary
provider on all of our power units, which includes long-haul sleeper tractors
and regional tractors, as well as the Erb straight-truck fleet where liftgates are
also protected by automated lubrication, " said Jim Pinder, senior corporate fleet
director for Erb Transport.
According to Pinder, an automated system has allowed the Erb maintenance
team to better schedule PM1 inspection timeframes knowing all components
connected to the system are regularly lubricated. Additionally, due to the
improved lubrication of the fifth wheel, steer tire and trailer tire wear have been
reduced. " Trailer pin plates are also lasting longer since fifth-wheel grease is
transferred to the trailer during operation, " Pinder explained. " Issues with seized
brake components have also been eliminated, which extends brake lining life. "
Of course, a technician doesn't have to worry about any of that if the vehicle
has an automated lubrication system. However, the system has to work properly,
and the fleet needs a plan for making sure it does.
" Because an automated system eliminates many of the machine's regular
walk-arounds, a leak or faulty line could go undetected and lead to components
not receiving the lubrication they need, " Boren said. " When considering
a switch to an automated system, be sure to include a plan for the operator to
maintain daily inspections of the system and lines. "
Good preventive maintenance is all about keeping an eye on the vehicle.
Whether hand-greasing or relying on an automated system, it's important to
keep those eyes wide open. The difference is in how the technician will be able
to use their hands when that vehicle is in for service.
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July 2023 | FleetMaintenance.com
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