Service for Savings
In Article four, it is the shop maintenance employee’s turn to keep your concrete boom pump running in an efficient manner for consistent fuel savings. There are five key maintenance areas to pay special attention to.
Tire Inflation
Several resources for fuel efficiency tips list tire inflation at or near the top of things to do on your vehicle. Under-inflation of tires causes greater rolling resistance, which makes the engine work harder and use more fuel. How much you will save is up for debate; however, the added benefits of greater reliability at high speeds and even tread wear should be enough to encourage the practice.
Filter Maintenance
Clogged air filters act as barriers to free air flow. The engine then uses up some of the energy it gets from the fuel to pull in the air it needs. This decreases what is available for pumping and increases the amount of fuel used, up to 10% more according to some sources.
Hydraulic Oil Selection
All concrete boom pump manufacturers have recommendations on what hydraulic oil will work best in their equipment. This is mostly due to performance, which makes the most efficient use of the energy needed to move the oil. The key parameters are pour point and viscosity.
Boom & Hopper Lubrication
The S-Valve shifts thousands of times every day. The boom arms articulate every time a new position is configured and upon opening and closing. In both cases, a lack of proper lubrication (amount and type) will require more work every time movement is required. Simply, more work = more fuel used.
Wear Part Adjustment & Replacement
Improperly adjusted or worn out wear plates in the pump cell will either allow the concrete to leak (thus decreasing the pumping efficiency) or cause excessive friction that requires more work to overcome. Either way, the amount of fuel required per cubic yard of output will have needlessly increased.
For more information on the maintenance of your Putzmeister concrete boom pump, our Customer Support Group offers a Truck-Mounted Concrete Boom Pump Maintenance and Service School. Visit Putzmeister's Service School listing for current class offerings.
