APUs- Electric vs. diesel

yea it is .2 gph on TK. .6 gph on my truck. Like you said how many nights will I be using it for a/c . I already have a bunk heater.

 

double yellow there is a serious flaw in your math. you are assuming the apu runs constantly and never shuts off. most apus cut on and off . they don't run constantly although I have seen quite a number of tripacs that's don't seem to ever cut off, on a ten hour break my apu may run 15 minutes an hour tops or maybe a total of two hours.

so I might use 2 gallons a night or 7.00 bersus 10 gallons idling this cat motor or 35.00 , my fuel mileage went up 1 mpg gallon after I installed my apu.

an apu will pay for itself in a years time with sometimes who stays on the road a good bit of the time, and worst case withing 2 years.


10 year payback is completely off the wall, at 1mpg for example going from 6 to 7 mpg is a savings at 3.50 a gallon on 100,000 miles is a savings of 2,300 gallons , at 3.50 a gallon that's ]$8050.00 dollars a year.

plus the hours on the main engine is a huge savings.

 

We have been using electric APU's basically since they came out, here's the deal.


The early models sucked, they lacked capacity, were almost a "kit" of thrown together parts, and they required constant attention, fast forward to today, the units are much improved, most are fully integrated, and something that a lot of people don't realize is that IF you order an electric APU WITH the truck, you get the best insulation package available, and that makes a HUGE difference over installing an electric APU in an existing truck.

Two most important questions with an electric APU, are you fully OTR? IOW, do you run enough constant hours a day to recharge the battery's? Also, how big of a sleeper are you trying to cool? We run 60" midroofs and they will freeze you out even in 100 degree heat, now, try the same with a 72" condo, and it is a different story.

The main reason I have stuck with electric is that as a fleet owner it is hard enough to find drivers that will regularly check the oil in the truck, let alone an extra piece of equipment, and then of course you now have the emissions issues.

That is our experience in a nutshell. Hope it helps.

 

exactly. Like your math. Being I be practically living on road and it not be running constantly it still pays for itself in 2 years way I see it.

 

I have the Park Smart electric climate control on my Cascadia. According to Freightliner it will run 8-10hrs and requires about 6 hours to recharge. My truck is a 60" mid roof XT and the unit has no trouble keeping up.
It is quiet, has no emissions, and takes up less than 3 cubic feet of space (12x12.5x24) under a cabinet. The batteries are located in a box mounted to the frame rail and not under the bunk.

Hope this helps you some.

 

Get the one that's capable of cooling both the cab and sleeper. If you're in 100 deg. temps you won't need to idle your truck or be confined to the sleeper.

 

Also, keeping your engine warm in freezing temps might be something to consider.

 

I am assuming it runs the same amount of time as you would be idling (e.g. running a/c during the 8 hours you're sleeping in Phoenix, AZ).

Now you might be somewhere where you only really want A/C for the first 2 hours, but there are ~$1,000 systems that start/stop your main engine just like the apu so the run time should be comparable.

The apu will also need extra maintenance (offset by less wear on the main engine's emissions system if you have one), adds 400lbs (a constant loss of 0.1% mpg), and there is an additional opportunity cost of spending 15k now (if you invested the money at 8%, the breakeven point for my given assumptions moves from 10 years to ~30).

Your assumptions may differ.

 

The gas setup I have saves right at $3 per hour. I have $3k in the whole thing, and it isn't some cobbled together POS.
Running the AC now in Tx, and can't even hear the generator running.
Just another suggestion.
Martin

 

It all depends on where you drive, I have an Tri-Pak diesel, electric will never suit my bill. As an O/O by biggest expense is fuel. I never want to idle my truck, when it comes to coldweather Tri-Pak with the Arabic package never have a problem start the truck in -25 temp. Outside.

Hands down diesel, battery technology is getting better every year but, it can muster the cold.