HIGH PERFORMANCE DIESELS
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could purchase a new truck, semi or pickup, of course with a diesel engine and not have the usual emissions-related problems? That has been our goal for the past 6 years and we may finally be there. Our newest product is “Max Mileage Fuel Born Catalyst” (FBC), and when added to the diesel fuel it does two things that directly improve engine performance and improve engine reliability. The first is it increases the burn rate of fuel to allow you to extract as much heat energy as possible from every drop of diesel to improve engine efficiency. The second is it lowers the burn off temperature of the soot and carbon by 250 degrees in the combustion chamber and exhaust system. So what does this mean to you? Think Passive Regen, which is the natural burning of soot and carbon that happens around 1000 degrees exhaust gas temperature (EGT). The Max Mileage Catalyst lowers this passive regen temperature to about 750 degrees so most of the soot is burned before the exhaust gasses enter the exhaust manifold and turbocharger. Any accumulated soot build-up for in-service diesel engines burns away harmlessly while you drive.
Why do so many Variable Geometry Turbochargers fail prematurely? It’s because soot and carbon accumulate on the vanes in the turbine housing. Thousands of turbochargers are replaced each year because of excessive soot buildup on the vanes. The cost of these turbochargers is $2,600 to $3,000 plus labor and down time. The turbocharger vanes are the first thing the exhaust soot contacts once it passes through the exhaust valve, and that is where the accumulation starts. Tracing the path further downstream, soot-laden exhaust then enters the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) valve and EGR cooler when the ECM (Engine Control Module) requests the EGR valve to open. We at Pittsburgh Power know that EGR valve failure rates are also high because of accumulated soot. Let’s continue to follow the soot and carbon-laden exhaust until it leaves the exhaust pipe. Once the exhaust exits the turbocharger it passes by the “doser” injector, then through the DOC (Diesel Oxidative Catalyst) and on to the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter). This is where the soot and carbon are trapped, and when the sensors see a decrease in flow, the automatic regen takes place as triggered by the ECM. When the regens can no longer restore exhaust flow, the DPF must be removed from the truck and baked to burn out the soot. (And additional cleaning using either forced air or high-pressure water wash equipment is required to remove incombustible “ash” deposits.) The last item in the exhaust flow is the SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction). This is where the DEF fluid is mixed with the exhaust to lower harmful NOx emissions by converting it into harmless N2 (nitrogen gas). Dealing with these problems means that the truck can be down for several days at a time, and in trucking, time is money.
All of this “emissions” or ATS (After Treatment System) equipment is necessary because diesel engines produce soot and the soot and carbon require heat, 1,000 plus degrees, to burn. This is where the Max Mileage Fuel Catalyst comes into play. The fuel catalyst drastically lowers the amount of soot coming out of the engine by burning the fuel faster and cleaner. This is the reason why our customers talk about how much better their engines run with the catalyst and how it is improving their fuel economy in many cases. The same catalytic effect that increases the burn rate of diesel also lowers the burn-off temperature of soot by 250 degrees. This added “cleaning” effect increases engine up time by lowering the failure rates for the EGR, VGT, doser valves, DOC, and DPF.
Now, let’s do the math. It takes 1 fluid ounce of the fuel catalyst to treat every 25 gallons of diesel fuel, so 1 gallon treats 3,200 gallons of diesel. The average truck will use 1 gallon of fuel catalyst every 2 months. The regens will greatly decrease, and the DEF consumption will decrease. The engine will be quieter, pull a little better, run smoother and you might gain a little fuel mileage. These are all important reasons for any diesel engine owner to consider using the fuel catalyst, even if their truck engine is “pre-emissions” (2007 or newer) or has a DPF delete. And, typically, the product will more than pay for itself. But the bigger pay-off is for owners of those ATS “emissions” engines simply because the product eliminates emissions-related breakdowns from their routine driving experience. We are seeing that the fuel catalyst along with the Dorothy are a great combination to keep you on a problem-free path for any OEM certified “emissions” diesel engine. Yes, the fuel catalyst is expensive at approximately 8 cents per gallon to treat at $220 plus shipping per gallon, and the annual cost to use can be around $1,500. However, I feel confident telling you that with minimal breakdowns and the savings on fuel and DEF fluid, the cost of the fuel catalyst is nothing compared to spending $6,000 to $12,000 per year to maintain the emissions system, not to mention the additional loss of revenue from unscheduled downtime.
We have good news on the Dorothy Soot Separation EGR Filter kits! In the coming months, we will be releasing home installation kits for many truck configurations in popular demand. Soon to be available are kits for any CM2250 & CM2350 equipped Pete 379, 386, 389, 579, Kenworth T-680, and International Lonestar. After that, we will finish development for other ISX equipped trucks, as well as the Detroit DD platform. Development for Dorothy kits has been slower than expected due to the number of variations between the newer trucks and engines. We have heard your requests for Dorothy, and we are making changes to the manufacturing process to speed up development that will also improve the design and quality. Please continue to check our social media pages and website for updates.
Written by Bruce Mallinson and Andrew Wilson
Pittsburgh Power Inc.
3600 South Noah Dr. Saxonburg, Pa. 16056
724-360-4080 PittsburghPower.com