ON THE
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If your fleet has switched to synthetic lubricants and you fail to manage their use effectively, operating costs will rocket. Chris Graham considers one method of keeping costs in check.
Oil changes are a routine part of truck maintenance. Operators generally used to calculate drain schedules on mileage, or based the intervals on specified calendar dates. The modern approach for many of the UK's most forward-looking fleets is more scientific.
At its core lies the belief that lubricant should be changed when its condition makes this necessary and not before. Efficient oil condition monitoring is essential if this strategy is to prove successful, especially as the use of fully synthetic engine lubricant becomes increasingly popular. To maximise the benefits of these expensive fluids—often over 15 per litre more expensive than mineral alternatives—their service life must be stretched to the full.
To achieve drain intervals of more than mo,000km requires top efficiency oil management. High-quality product must be used correctly to minimise engine wear and maximise lubricant service life. With this in mind Groeneveld launched Oilmaster, the automatic oil level controller.
Adopted
It's been adopted by a number of premier fleets, most recently Safeway. Oilmaster is an essentially simple device which guarantees to maintain engine oil level at its optimum, replenishing when necessary.
Groeneveld's sales manager south east, Colin Jones, explains: "The system consists of an electronic pump unit, mounted inside a dry cavity within a 12.5-litre oil reservoir. A supply pipe runs from the pump to a convenient point on top of the engine, usually on the rocker cover. Oil is added through this in response to input from a carefully specified metering unit which measures lubricant level within the sump, via a modified sump plug connector. In addition there is a dashboard warning light which alerts the driver to the state of the system."
Oilmaster's main aim is to replenish the engine oil level as and when necessary. The system is designed so there is no risk of used oil feeding back into the reservoir, guaranteeing that only fresh, clean oil of the required quality is fed to the engine.
The pump assembly contains an electronic control unit which, apart from processing data from the metering unit and triggering replenishment, offers the advantage of a comprehensive memory function. This allows Oilmaster to operate an effective vehiclebased engine oil management system.
Jones says: "A record of every action is stored within the control unit's memory so the vehicle operator has the ability, with the use of the appropriate Groeneveld test equipment, to interrogate the system and recover these records.
"Information about the total number of replenishments is available, together with details logging the number of warnings given." A dashboard-mounted light provides feedback for the driver about the system's state of operation. It illuminates for a few seconds when the ignition is switched on, to confirm that the system has selfchecked and that all is well.
Continuous flashing signals that the oil level in the reservoir is low, while a constantly illuminated light means that either the reservoir is Oilmaster supplies oil to the engine via a single drilling, usually in a rocker cover. empty, or the system is inoperative for some other reason. All such indicators are stored in the system's memory for future reference.
Rather than continuously monitoring oil levels, Oilmaster does its work only at pre-determined intervals. The control unit ensures the oil level is assessed and augmented if necessary, only after the engine has been standing idle for longer than 30 minutes.
The metering unit takes a measurement the instant the ignition is The reservoir tank can be mounted up to eight metres away from the engine.
switched on and, if the oil level has dropped, a carefully controlled volume of fresh lubricant is metered out. To this end, the pump unit has a calibrated half-litre pre-chamber. It is the oil within this which is injected into the engine, avoiding the possibility of the reservoir's contents being pumped into the engine all at once.
Groeneveld believes that over-filling an engine with oil is one of the most common causes of wasted lubricant. Jones considers that even filling up to the" max" mark on the dipstick can cause problems.
He explains; "The commonly held belief that the oil level should be maintained at or close to the "max" mark on the stick is not entirely appropriate. Our experience, particularly with Mercedes-Benz, Scania and Daf applications, suggests that filling and maintaining the oil level at a mid-way point between the "min" and "max" level marks represents the ideal running condition. Oilmaster does just this."
Jones continues: "Typically a driver will take a dipstick reading, not usually allowing an adequate drain-down time, will notice that the
level appears low, and top up with whatever oil comes to hand. His failure to allow sufficient drain-down time will mean that in many cases he is needlessly topping up, and condemning much of what he adds to be burned off-by the engine. Knock-on effects of over-filling can also be a worsening in fuel consumption and potential damage to catalytic converters where fitted.
"An engine filled to a level approaching or exceeding the "max" point will always burn off oil. This applies to the majority of commercial vehicle engines in our experience. The engine is much better served by maintaining a consistent level at a midway point between the two extremes."
410 winning Woo
tones says this problem can be compounded by inaccurately marked dipsticks. In his experience many engines, particularly those from independent makers, suffer in this way. "Consequently," he says, "we pay little attention to the dipstick when setting up the Oilmaster system on a vehicle. The engine is filled with oil according to the manufacturer's capacity recommendation and, from that known point of reference, a dipstick reading is taken to establish the correct fill level."
The money-saving potential of Oilmaster has become one of its biggest selling points. Originally it was marketed as a device for countering neglect and poor maintenance. Now, with the arrival of expensive synthetic lubricants, a more money-driven aim has emerged. Cutting oil wastage levels has become the name of the game, with operators becoming anxious to do all they can to prevent the needless loss of this expensive fluid.
Another important practical point is that fitting the Oilmaster usually does not involve drilling an engine's sump to accommodate the modified drain plug connector.
Jones says: "Wherever possible we always attach our own matching sump plug which incorporates a connection to the metering unit. When the time comes, engine oil is drained out through our connector in the conventional—nothing has to be stripped down or removed."
Training
Groeneveld says that installation typically takes four to five hours and, in theory, there are no further maintenance requirements.
The manufacturer prefers to oversee installation itself whenever possible, although installation training can be offered for large fleet operators.
A final point to remember is that mixing oil types is a bad idea for those already specifying synthetic lubricant. Inadvertently topping-up with a mineral product will do much to degrade the synthetic oil, reducing its performance and protective capabilities.
Jones says: "Many of our customers cap-off the oil filler neck to prevent unauthorised and possibly incorrect oil addition. Oilmaster users are assured replenishment, with the correct oil, whenever it is necessary."