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(MdiI1E11 ROADTEST PRODUCT PROFILE Our test tipper's normal work is

15th December 1994
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Page 28, 15th December 1994 — (MdiI1E11 ROADTEST PRODUCT PROFILE Our test tipper's normal work is
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carrying bulk animal feed which is offloaded with a blower system running from Volvo's gearbox mounted double-ended PTO. This drives both the blower and the tipping gear and can do either independently. The aluminium PPG body is fitted with four internal moveable partitions which can be fitted into six positions along its 7.6m length. Our eight -legger was specified with the day cab and longest wheelbase (5.6m) which still leaves room for the Edbro front end tipping gear. To accommodate the low density load the ribbed-sided body is a little over 2.4m high giving an overall height of 3.5m. This is topped off with a Dawbarn automated sheeting system.

When running on derv, the familiar TD102FM 10-litre lump pushes out 307hp (229kw) at 1.900rpm with torque figures of 9801bft (1,330Nm) at 1,200 rpm. This drives through Volvo's R1400 eight-speed (plus crawler) range change gearbox to a pair of single reduction (3.7Ekl) rear axles.

To enable our test to he carried out with relative ease, Volvo fitted an additional 90-litre test tank coupled via duplicate pipework and two-position taps. The normal tank was filled with biodiesel and the smaller one with derv; switching between the two simply entailed moving the two taps (one on the feed, one on the return) from horizontal to vertical. As bio and normal diesel can be mixed, running the engine for a few minutes ensures the chosen fuel had fed through.

Because biodiesel is not available in filling stations, our test vehicle was shadowed by our long-term test Ford Transit carrying a 205-litre barrel of the green fuel! We borrowed a FillRite 12V pump from Hi-Tech to mount on top of the barrel and record how much fuel we used to regain our tank-top level. This unit is designed to dispense fuel to site vehicles such as dump trucks and has a calibrated meter marked in tenths of a litre so we were able to calculate fuel consumption accurately.

PRODUCTIVITY Overall, the FL needed 12% more biodiesel than dery to get round our tipper route. Its green credentials were shown at its best on the A roads, where bio consumption was 8.8% heavier than on the motorway section where it consumed biodiesel more than 18% quicker than dery This reflects the hard work put in by the engine keeping at the 96km/h limit. That said, with a ribbed bulker body our vehicle was never going to set any fuel records.

The consequence of using a lower calorific fuel was also reflected in our track testing. Overall the acceleration times were slower, but if they exhibited any coherent trend it was that the difference was less marked at higher speeds.

As the Milker body was loaded almost to the top, there was a very high centre of gravity. This prevented the difference in fuel being translated into average speed on the A-road section with only lmph separating the figures. On the motorway the difference was more marked, with just under 4mph separating the dery and biodiesel runs.

Because of farm traffic and livestock we were unable to record comparative times on Edge Hill.

However, it was interesting to note that on the M1 near the M45 junction the hill dragged our speed down to 50mph (80km/h) with biodiesel. On the dery run we were initially baulked but after that the speed picked up to 52mph (83km/h).

While we couldn't assess the emission performance of biodiesel in terms of what legislation requires, CM did carry out smoke testing as per the annual test. We did the free acceleration test using a meter identical to those used by the VI test stations. Running on dery the we recorded a K value of 1.75ny1, switching to biodiesel dropped that to 0.83m-1. While both would pass in the test station, the difference was visible. However, putting biodiesel in the tank will not instantly give enable your truck to pass the Californian CARB emissions regulations —CO and HC, NOx can be slightly higher.

Also with a cetane value of 49, the bio truck

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Organisations: US Federal Reserve

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