GOOD OIL CUTS OPERATING COSTS.
Page 48
Page 49
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The First of a Short Series of Articles Upon the Function of Lubricants and Their Choice.
TO the owners of large fleets of commercial vehicles, and to the user who may only be operating one or, perhaps, a small number of vehicles, it certainly will be true if it be said that the question of costs is the predominant factor in their operation. The running costs, embracing the outlay on tyres, fuel and oil, charges for material and labour employed in maintenance and depreciation, in addition to which are the standing charges, must all be taken into consideration and the ultimate profit will depend upon the cheapness With which the vehicles can be run.
Naturally, the purchase price of the tyres, fuel and oil will assume a proportion which can receive some control, but the effect of their use may have a bearing upon the ultimate life of the vehicle, so that discrimination in buying is necessary. Actually how much the vehicle is affected will depend upon the manner of operation and the skill of the driver, together with the care exercised in the maintenance of the vehicle, but these items may also be considered in the following manner : The tyres,assuming they are the correct size for the vehicle according to the load and the weight distribution, have a definite ultimate life. This represents a straight expense.
Petrol, too, is bought on a price basis, and, providing the carburetter is adjusted perfectly and the engine is Jperating normally, the expense here is governed also.
A more serious item for consideration, however, is the lubricant used ; this enters as a factor which has a definite control over very much bigger Sums in the operating costs, namely, depreciation and repairs ; therefore one cannot afford to take a single risk in the choice of the lubricant purchased if the most economical ultimate results are to be obtained.
Below is given (from an independent source) a summary of the items entering into the cost of operating a commercial vehicle, but one predominant factor is apparent in this or any other cost records published— lubrication represents about 2 per cent, only of the whole—yet this small item governs to a considerable extent the larger items, which amount to approximately 35 per cent, of the whole, namely, depreciation and repairs.
The figures in the table, are from a specific source andrepresent the costs of running a three-ton lorry under
a certain set of conditions. The figures, therefore, differ from those in The Commercial Motor's tables of operating costs, because the latter are average costs covering working under all sorts of conditions in all parts' of the country. In The Commercial Motor's tables the cost of lubricants (including grease as well as oil) is shown as about 3.86 per cent, of the total operating costs.
Hard Work Calls for Care in Lubrication.
There is probably no other self-propelled vehicle on the road to-day which is worked harder than the commercial vehicle, irrespective of the actual duty which it performs. If it be the light van, it is expected to operate all day long, whether in town or country and almost every day in the year, in some cases receiving little or no attention. The city passenger bus, the town or country char-it-banes, the haulage company's vehicle, transport vehicles—wherever encountered, the duty is hard and exacting, and all these vehicles must be on the road regularly to Justify their existence for the work they do and to pay reasonable profits. The longer they are on the road and operating successfully the better are the chances of reduced overall costs of operation on a mileage basis. It is the purpose of this short series of articles not only to show that successful and economical operation largely depends upon correct lubrication, but to give genuine advice based upon extensive practical experience of the right lubricant to use in any given situation. That proper lubrication is an important item to be effected in the successful operation of any vehicle is emphasized by a glance at any manufacturer's instruction book, for it will be observed that a considerable proportion of the contents is devoted to this subject. Before outlining the whole lubrication procedure throughout the chassis, a warning paragraph is generally inserted which is intended to safeguard the user and manufacturer alike. This frequently runs as folloWs:—
" Just how long and how satisfactorily a motor vehicle will operate depends more upon proper lubrication than upon any other feature in its maintenance. Bearing surfaces or assemblies which, where properly lubricated, will give years of perfect service may be completely ruined by a few hours of neglect ! "
It is a recognized fact that all the skill of the designer and the care of the manufacturer are wasted if inferior or unsuitable oils be used.
No matter how good the materials that are used in the chassis, or how carefully each cemponent has been assembled and tested, these will be unavailing if due care be not taken to ensure that each part shall be in good condition and so maintained, and this can truly be said of every vehicle on the road to-day. Correct lubrication plays a most important part in this respect, and only high-grade lubricants have the stability and character to provide the necessary oil film to protect all working parts under the operating conditions and temperatures which prevail.
Excessive rates of wear can be checked in every vehicle if the proper lubricant be used, for it is the provision of an efficient film of oil at all times to every working part which prevents metallic contact and wear. This can only be assured by the use of high-grade lubricants which are produced for their lubricating qualities alone and have been developed in the laboratory and have proved, under actual service conditions of the severest character, their fitness for the exacting conditions.
Engine Working Conditions Call for Good Oil.
It is quite useless to expect that low-priced oils will provide the necessary protective film, for under the high operating temperatures of the engines and the heavy load conditions encountered, their essential lubricating properties are insufficient. Even if mechanical breakdown does not occur soon after use, the rate of wear of vital parts such as bearings, crankshafts and cylinder bores is greater when a poor lubricant is used.
This wear is not apparent at once, but it is surely taking place and progressing until a premature ,repair or overhaul becomes essential. This, then, is where the large percentage of the operating costs creeps in, and we contend that the maintenance figure can be reduced to the lowest practical amount by the proper use of high-grade oil. All oils thin out with an increase In temperature, but the degree of " thinning " of the oil and the resistance to fracture of the oil film are dependent upon the original body and character of the oil. Oils of the proper body and character will reduce wear to the minimum.
To the owner this must be a point for serious attention, and, in considering the initial cost of the highgrade oils with their safeguards of reduced wear, of working surfaces and longer life, against the lowpriced inferior oils with the inevitable breakdown and a large repair bill, the conclusion is obvious. The initial cost of high-grade lubricants is undoubtedly greater, but against this must be placed the reduced items for depreciation and repairs so that a definite saving can be shown, apart from the avoidance of unnecessary loss of road service and incidental inconvenience, which, in themselves, are of the utmost importance.
That these several points have received the serious attention of specialists in high-grade lubricants is well known, for several grades of oil are produced and marketed to satisfy the individual requirements of each type of vehicle.