Kent, WA, September 17, 2021 – American Piledriving Equipment (APE) is announcing major updates for the 13 largest of their 14 Power units, including updating their engines to meet all requirements of the EU Stage IV emissions standards.
APE power units, which supply power to many types of equipment that operate on a construction site without their own power source, have been redesigned by American Piledriving Equipment to meet Tier IV requirements as set forth by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The power units also underwent significant design changes separate from the engine upgrades to improve runtime, heat management, and fuel consumption.
Variable Hydraulic Fan Drives are now standard on the model c-13 and up. An advanced hydraulic fan drive, independent of the engine, increases unit efficiency in the following ways: In cold temperature climates, fan speed is turned down, reducing warm-up time. In hotter climates, if a unit gets hot, the operator can set the engine speed down to a high idle while the cooling fan remains at full speed to cool down faster. During drive time, Hydraulic Fan Drive regulates the fan speed according to heat load. (Heat load is determined by 3 thermostats engine coolant/water temperature, charge air, and hydraulic oil temperature, whichever is highest. This option allows for longer run times given that the fan is working only as hard as it needs to, and the engine can throttle down while the fan maintains max cooling. These vastly improved efficiencies in-unit temperature management allow production to benefit from less waiting. Diminished fuel use is realized from an independent fan and engine relationship.
APE added new high-pressure hydraulic pumps to all power units (as opposed to old gear style pumps) resulting in an overall efficiency increase of approximately 10-15 percent. The key to high-performing and reliable hydraulic systems is fluid conditioning. Maintaining a high hydraulic fluid cleanliness level and a low operating temperature is integral to the APE power unit design. Clean cool lubricant increases the thickness of the lubricant film between internal running elements of the power transmission components resulting in less friction. Reduced friction equals less heat. Less heat generated lowers the demand on the cooling system, which in turn saves fuel. Reduced heat also equals longer service life and increased overall performance.
Several improvements to the monitoring capabilities of the power units were added as part of this overhaul. A Protective Hydraulic Circuit – via a microcontroller allows APE to monitor the condition and performance of the unit for diagnostics. [Not sure I got this piece right – G] Additionally, a laptop can plug into any unit and diagnose. This allows field diagnostics to take place sooner and remedied sooner and work resumes sooner. In several of the new models, Telematics allows remote diagnostics, access to the power unit systems for remote diagnosis. Gains are realized by faster diagnosis and time waiting for a service tech is now production time. The “Smart monitoring” capability protects the equipment [Same as “Protective Hydraulic Circuit”?] from running under poor operating conditions, therefore avoiding stress on the equipment, fewer breakdowns, better equipment longevity.
An additional setting [on the control panel?] was created to save fuel, reduce wear, protect longevity: Auto Idle – if the power unit sits idle for more than a set time it can be set to cut to idle.
“As the mandate of the more expensive Tier IV diesel engines on US construction equipment came into effect, rather than accept that the new power units would simply be more expensive than the previous versions, APE used the opportunity to create a better power unit.” Says APE design engineer Dan Miller, “These units are smarter, they’re overall more efficient, they have very effective fuel consumption features, advanced fluid conditioning features, and onboard diagnostics. These units are more reliable and cost less to operate.”
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Source: American Piledriving Equipment, Inc.
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American Piledriving Equipment Inc.
APE is a world leader in deep foundation systems installation equipment, including vibratory, diesel, and hydraulic pile drivers; drilling and wick drain systems, as well as the highly efficient HD Piling system. From the world’s largest piles to more conventional applications, APE drives deeper.
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