Fleetowner

		Have a question regarding Anti Idling Solutions? Ask John Dennehy. Submit your questions.

YOUR EXPERT for Anti Idling Solutions- sponsored by Espar Heater Systems

John Dennehy

V.P. of Marketing and Communications
Espar Heater Systems
(800) 387-4800
Email Us

Mr. Dennehy has been V.P. of Marketing and Communications with Espar for 9 years. He has played an integral part in working with several levels of government agencies in both the U.S. and Canada to bring awareness to the challenges of idling, anti-idling technologies and the reduction of green house gases. Mr. Dennehy will entertain questions on anti-idling technologies, state regulations and state/province initiatives regarding rebates/incentives and also idling laws and fines within each state.

Archive for November, 2005

Question 52
Wednesday, November 30th, 2005 @ 12:00 am


Q.		What are the chances of the unit catching fire and how much maintenance from year to year?


A.		Chris, if you’re talking about the Auxiliary forced air-heating system (Espar’s Airtronic D2 Bunk Heater), the chances of that unit catching fire is nil. The unit has many safety features integrated within it, those include a flame sensor, temperature sensor, overheat shut down sensors and much more, all Espar heating systems have these features. We recommend that the units be started for at least 15 minutes per month, even in the summer months. It�s good to keep some of the internal components revolving from time to time; we also recommend that a glow pin be changed every two years. While this is not necessary it can be determined by removing it and seeing if there is any carbon build up on the pin itself.

Question 55
Friday, November 25th, 2005 @ 12:00 am


Q.		Is it true that some states consider the running of a APU “ideling”?


A.		No, not yet. While I have heard that some drivers have been fined because they were running their APU’s instead of their truck engines. I believe it is a matter of ignorance on the enforcement side, and I believe that it would be overturned in a court of law. This is a matter of time before there is a national awareness to the fact that the APU should not be considered and idling engine, particularly when it comes to Class 8 trucks. There is a lot of interest on this subject of late, particularly by CARB ( California Resource Board), these APU’s might have to go through some stringent testing and regulations but short term as I know it … they are not considered as part of the Class 8 truck engine idle.

Question 38
Friday, November 18th, 2005 @ 12:00 am


Q.		I manage a large fleet of dump trucks and pickups that are both Diesel and Unleaded. Can you offer me some assistance in explaining why we should not idle our units to our operators? We paid an additional $150,000. in fuel costs to keep our fleet operating in the last fiscal year.


A.		Mack, that is a lot of money and you probably do this every year. What a waste. You’re idling for a number of reasons and none of them are necessary, you’re idling to bring the engine up to operating temperatures, you’re idling to provide advance heat to the cab area, you’re idling because its “HABIT”. Stop idling it is unnecessary, there are many technologies out there that can provide you with advanced engine pre-heat, advanced cab heat and you�ve got to get rid of the old habit. Old Habits do die-hard. The unnecessary idling is hurting our environment, it�s hurting your pocket book and it is wasting valuable resources � we do not have enough fuel in this world to waste. If you purchased our technologies, you would have paid for them already and every additional year of not idling those dump trucks at $150,000.00 would be money saved to the company and your bottom line, which might affect, bonuses, profit sharing, and incentives. Etc.

Question 39
Wednesday, November 16th, 2005 @ 12:00 am


Q.		It has now been over 3 months (nearly 4) since your last post.


A.		Todd, been extremely busy, traveling, computer system upgrades and such, I’m back.

Question 40
Monday, November 7th, 2005 @ 12:00 am


Q.		Do the coolant heaters fit within the definition of APU?Example Webasto’s Thermo 50, DBW 2010 etc.


A.		No, an APU gives you 3 things, the ability via a generator to give you heat, air-conditioning and power. The units you mention above heat coolant, these are diesel fired coolant heaters not generators. They can bring engines up to temperature and additionally via a heat exchanger provide heat to interiors. The are much smaller the APU’s and easier to install.

2 Next Page »