Every day customers are fighting machine derate conditions due to emissions component failures.
As the governments around the world continue to push cleaner burning internal combustion engines equipment owners continue to be challenged by downtime.
" I bought new equipment to have reliability and now my new equipment is down more than my old machines."
As emissions systems continue to evolve, the complexity of the machine systems has too. Current engines using High Pressure Common Rail fuel systems generate fuel pressures in excess of 25,000psi. This requires the fuel to be very clean and filtration systems to remove contamination down single digit micron sizes. This has direct impact on the service and maintenance schedules of the machine and demands owners to maintain very clean fuel in their supply and transfer tanks. "Dirty" fuel will now clog filter faster, creating lower pressures for the fuel feeding the high pressure pump. This will generate a diagnostic trouble code (DTC) and place the machine into power de-rated condition. If not addressed quickly the additional errors that will occur will be an elevated soot level in the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF). Any DTC related to an emissions system component will disable the machine's ability to perform DPF regeneration and soot levels will climb.
This situation is one that did not exist prior to Interim Tier 4 and Final Tier 4 emissions levels for off-road diesel engines and catches many owners by surprise. Common feedback when working through these issues is "I am filling all my machines from the same tanks". This may be the case but we first check the age of the other machines and if the bulk fuel is being moved into a truck mounted transfer tank first. Often the smaller transfer tanks are found to be the source of foreign materials in the fuel.
Check you fuel tanks often, change your filters filters at a max of 500 hour interval, and drain your fuel water separator every day the machine runs. Your service techs and your bottom line will thank me.