What kind of pricing are you finding? Are these tripacs really costing $10k to have installed and 5k to repair as this guy was saying?
Home Brew APU
Discussion in 'Road Stories' started by mightymike, Oct 11, 2010.
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I just looked up this tripac system.
2 diesel engines, two a/c systems, two alternators, it makes idling the giant main diesel engine seem smart.
With electronic injection, I dont see why these supposed engineers cannot figure out how to limit fuel just enough to spin the engine's rotating mass and the accessories, thereby saving fuel and not having to install redundant systems.
Well, after everyone switches to APU's they will come out with that system I'm talkin about, thats business for ya.Last edited: Oct 12, 2010
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delta5 Thanks this.
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Mostly the green weinies want the big engine stopped when the truck is stopped. They really prefer a battery type APU.
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you could get a honda genset. much quieter than the industrial ones. if you wanted to be fancy you could hook the gennie exhaust into the stack on the tractor. besides the hondas run clean
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First, idling a 500hp or-so diesel engine is really bad for it. It drastically cuts down on the life of the engine. Low-power idling will cause the temperature of the engine to be low, and moisture to form in the cylinders. That combines with the sulpher in the fuel (even if it is ultra-low sulpher fuel) to form sulphuric acid. The acid scores the cylinders, eventually causing blow-by and fuel to get into the oil. Hello early in-frame.
The best way to idle the engine is at RPMs that keeps the engine at normal operating temperature (high idle) - which will burn a lot of fuel - but will help with the moisture problem. Its roughly ten times the amount of fuel a Tripac consumes. So you're faced with a real expensive engine repair (eventually) or a lot of extra fuel expense. And even at high-idle, the engine will need an in-frame sooner.
Strapping a generator to the catwalk is all well and good... until you turn the rig really tight, and the trailer mashes the generator. And... the vibration problem - will probably kill the generator and/or air-conditioner (Mr. Murphy really knows when to kick a good man) when you need it most (summer day in say Casa Grande AZ) when you don't have the extra scratch to buy a new one. Definitely go for an RV unit if you're going that way. I've seen them mounted to the roof of a sleeper... -
I agree with "Independent". It seems that every parameter about fuel injection can be controlled to limit our speed/rpm/caloric intake, etc., etc. Why couldn't there be a switch/control be put in the cab, so that when we need to idle, only on every third stroke of the piston would fuel be injected? We could run at high idle (therefore keeping temps up), and the firing order could still be disributed across ALL cylinders (to reduce/eliminate the previously mentioned condensation issue). Why? Follow the money!!! It's, probably, not anything that hasn't been thought of already. The engine makers are in the business of selling engines.
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cylinder temp would still be down,so it would perpetually be warming up, never really fully up to cyl temp. you still are racking up the engine hours on a big expensive engine. oh yes you could order up a programming like that on the series 60's. drivers hated it, it ran rough as if it was missing, did not exactly sing you sleep. even if they are not firing you still have to overcome the friction of 6 big pistons pumping up and down. it is never going to come close to the lower fuel burn of the genset
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