When the polar vortex pushes in and temperatures drop into the teens and well below zero, waste operators in more than 25 percent of the U.S. and most of Canada face operational impacts the remaining 75 percent rarely ever worry about. Proper preparation is the key to maintaining your company鈥檚 targets.
By Harold Ogden
Photos courtesy of Aqua-Hot Heating Systems.
Idling and winter seem to go together like a hand in a glove. Winter often increases maintenance crew work, disrupts refuse collection service and creates other delays that translate in higher operational obstacles and costs, as well as additional burdens on collectors.
Is Your Fleet Ready for a Frigid Morning Shift?
The day might start something like this: As the collectors wake up at 4 a.m. to start their day with their first cup of coffee, fleet maintenance are already starting up and idling refuse trucks so the residential team is ready to roll by 6 a.m. In freezing weather you will quickly find your infrastructure weak spots.
Cold starts鈥攁ny start below vehicle operating temperature鈥攅ventually will play havoc with your anti-idling goals and your financial reports. Moving cold metal in any vehicle, diesel or natural gas, creates a lot of wear and tear until the fluids heat up. Cold starts with diesel spew high emissions of particulate matter, especially during cold weather, until the vehicle reaches operating temperatures. Natural gas vehicles may have low engine oil pressure from thickened engine oil or iced-up fuel filters from condensation created by the hot engine cooling down after the prior shift. In short, you鈥檒l want to be ready before any storm fronts move in.
Many options exist: Plug-in block heaters for each truck are possible, but typically shift the costs to the electrical bill and won鈥檛 keep up with long spells of sustained cold. Keep extra fuel filters in stock to swap out for any frozen filters. Wrap everything in insulation, slide cardboard behind grills or use grille bibs. Install multiple heaters on each truck.
Why Pick A Fuel-Fired Hydronic Heating System?
A simple and more effective solution is to equip each vehicle with a single auxiliary fuel-fired hydronic heating system configured for each truck. Hydronic heating simply means hot fluid circulates through tubing loop runs connected to heat exchangers located where you need the warmth. For waste collection vehicle fleets, the fuel-fired hydronic system operates on the fleet鈥檚 on-board fuel sources and reduces or eliminates other expense areas.
Of course, any expense needs justification. That means looking at how a hydronic system increases operational efficiency and lowers costs. Typical metrics are:
- Idling time reduction
- Emission reductions by eliminating idling
- Reduced fuel consumption by eliminating idling
- Maintenance cost reduction by eliminating idling, cold starts and unburned fuel buildup
- Inventory holding cost reduction for wear parts, fuel filters, O-rings and the like
- Reduced or avoided infrastructure costs like electricity rates and additional plug-in stations
- Preemptive measures that avoid major cost events, such as repairs if hydraulic pumps were to implode on the high-pressure side after the hydraulic fluid forms air bubbles in extremely low temperatures and is compressed
- On-time or accelerated shift departure increases
- Maximized interior cabin heat鈥攚indscreen defrosting鈥攑rior to the shift start and through the day so the collectors are warm and productive as they get in and out of the vehicle or operate on-board electronics
A properly selected hydronic heating system is likely to rapidly pay for itself through direct and indirect cost savings.
Three Important Considerations in Choosing a Hydronic System
Any municipality鈥攐r contractor to a municipality鈥攚ill want to look for three basic criteria to start a conversation with a hydronic system manufacturer about auxiliary heating systems:
It鈥檚 mandatory that any auxiliary fuel-fired heating system meets regulatory approvals for emission standards, such as those from the California Air Resource Board
Product safety certification, such as ETL (Intertek Testing Services) for use on vehicles operated in the U.S. and Canada.
For a mixed-fuel fleet, a single supplier that makes a diesel and a natural gas hydronic heating system that鈥檚 approved and certified and will train fleets on installation and maintenance.
Installation and Maintenance
An auxiliary heating system is not a commodity, so its efficiency, reliability, performance and even safety is directly related to the choice of equipment鈥攑roper selection for what the fleet is trying to accomplish鈥攖he quality of the installation鈥攑roper heat distribution, location, fuel source hook-ups and exhaust venting鈥攁nd periodic maintenance, based on the manufacturer鈥檚 recommendations, of the equipment selected.
Installation of a hydronic system unit takes roughly four hours. Once the fleet service technicians are familiar with the process, installation time is about two-hours per vehicle. This applies to diesel as well as natural gas installations.
System mounting is usually on the frame rail. Fuel-line hook-ups vary by vehicle make and require service technicians knowledgeable about diesel and/or natural gas vehicles. After the connections are made, it is necessary to bleed check the lines to ensure there are no leaks in either the coolant circuit or the fuel line hook-up.
Most refuse fleets also choose to install ambient temperature controls or smart thermostats on trucks equipped with auxiliary heaters. These controls are user-settable to regulate the heater system activity. This saves fuel and increase personnel efficiencies.
Annual maintenance鈥攆ilter and nozzle change鈥攆or diesel-fired heating systems is recommended since they are both 鈥渨ear鈥� parts. There are no wear parts for the natural gas-fired systems so they don鈥檛 need any maintenance. Doing a monthly five-minute burn cycle is an adequate system check for both systems. A five-minute burn cycle each month is enough to keep seals lubed and check for any leaks along the coolant circuit. For the diesel it helps maintain the nozzle performance.
If You鈥檙e Part of the 25 Percent
A hydronic heating system is a smart investment for waste and recycling fleets operating in cold weather regions. From the opening bell and throughout the collection day, the heaters will keep truck cabin and fluids at operating temperature, no matter the outside temperature. All day. On the road. Waiting at the transfer station. Stuck in bad weather conditions. In the yard. All without idling. | WA
Harold Ogden is the Director of Sales and Marketing for Aqua-Hot Heating Systems, Inc. (Frederick, CO). He leads company initiatives for new product and market development as well as the technical and customer service team. Founded in 1984, Aqua-Hot Heating Systems, Inc. is a privately held company that designs and manufacturers hydronic heating systems for vehicles. Aqua-Hot is the dominant brand of hydronic heating systems for recreational motorhomes in North America, supplying diesel and propane systems certified by ETL for residential applications. Aqua-Hot also holds patents for hydronic heating systems and patents are pending for the Aqua-Hot庐 and Aqua-Hot庐 Work Ready鈩� brand natural gas and propane burners. Aqua-Hot Work Ready offers nine hydronic commercial vehicle hydronic heating systems with various accessories, factory-managed warranties and engineering application assistance. Harold can be reached at (303) 651-5500, ext. 112 or via e-mail at [email protected].
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