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Permalink Reply by Paul Spencer on February 9, 2012 at 12:49am

That's an old article about technology that has been on the street for some time now.  Out of my own personal curiosity, what does SAFER have to do with apparatus safety? As an EVT I know the technology is pretty cool. (pardon the pun)  I'm not aware of any issues in my area with the 2010 engines.  I personally am much more concerned with the 2007 era engines and internal EGR.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Adams on February 11, 2012 at 7:09am

Hi Paul,

I know the article is old but it explains it in very easy terms for others, what I am concerned with is not just the EGR (Exhaust Gas Re-circulation System) but the DPF Regen System and the new UREA. Both of these systems can cause your unit to shut down prematurely. The military is exempt from this technological system because well in battle you can't take a timeout ans say I need to do a manual REGEN on my tank. We are in the business that if you call we come and well if the Engineer does not see the warning signs then you may not get there or when you are on a bump and run on structure protection and the unit dies on you and you are trapped. I just think that we need to be exempt to.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Spencer on February 11, 2012 at 3:24pm

Hey Chris,

You’re absolutely right on all points.  I can’t agree more that any failure of a piece of equipment is simply not acceptable.  I come from a place very deep on the technical side of fire vehicles.  I know that all diesel engines have automatic shut downs and limp modes for issues like over heat or no oil pressure.  In fire truck applications we turn them off.  Most times that is after the vehicle is delivered, so that the safety systems are active while the vehicle is still in “shake down” status.

I believe your concern is for an automatic shut down or derate being active in the computer.  I agree, they need to be turned off for fire apparatus.  With the DOC, the only reason it would ever de-rate is if you ran out of DEF.  So if we put a 1 gallon container in the engineers compartment no worries, right?  The DPF is really not an issue, I think.  When you are pumping hard it heats up and lights off and it really isn’t an issue.  For me these two components are so important because I have been hammer so hard by diesel exhaust in the fire station and on a fire ground over my career.  Finally, because of these technologies (DOC & DPF) those following behind me in this industry will not have to deal with the medical repercussions of diesel exhaust.

With EGR in heavy duty diesel applications I know it is a very weak link in the longevity issue of the engines.  I am significantly worried about diesel engine failure long term and potentially  on a fire ground due to the incredibly high EGR flow rates and the heavily retarded diesel engines of the 2007 era engines.  Thanks for listening.

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