Smoother Roads Ahead - John Deere Industrial Engines

DURABILITY IN HARSH CONDITIONSA Cure for the EncrustedJohn Deere-powered washers endure harsh conditions to remove sand and salt from power line insulatorsThink of the environment’s harshest elements – sand, salt,extreme heat, and concrete dust – and you have targeted the veryingredients that wreak havoc on equipment. However, those are justthe very conditions that a John Deere-powered Energized InsulatorWasher must endure.Mitsa Imex designs and assembles several packages of insulatorwasher skids. All of these packages are designed to clean insulatorstrings encrusted with sand and salt residue and other industrialpollutants, and to a limited extent, contaminating overhead linenetworks.Energized Insulator Washing applications have found a particularfavor in the Middle East, where the climatic conditions are veryharsh and power-line insulators must be periodically cleaned toprevent interruptions of electric service caused by the buildup ofcontaminants that settle on insulators and flash over.“Salt and sand are the two biggest contributors power interruptions,”explains Jim Krause, technical product manager of the insulatorcleaning package product line of Mitsa International. “If youget a sand storm and then a fog moves in, it will create crust on theinsulator that wind can’t blow off. Gradually, it begins arcingbetween dry band and finally a flashover will occur.The components of the wash skid must endure harsh climaticconditions and operate many hours daily with good performance.Therefore it is essential the insulator washer components be readilyaccessible and easy to maintain to reduce downtime. The engine isone of the critical components as a power source for the washerskid.Mitsa Imex of St. Louis, Mo., is responsible for the design andthe packaging of the Insulator washer skid for its parent company.Mitsa engineers specified and incorporated in its wash skid designa power source equipped with a heavy-duty radiator and air filter."We have been using John Deere engines since the 1980s, andin recent years, we have decided after a long study, evaluation, andfield experience, to use the 115 hp John Deere Power Tech 4045Tto drive the four-stage Waterous centrifugal pump, which deliversa stream of water at a rate of 60 gpm @ 1000 psi and at 2500 rpm.We are very satisfied with their performance, and that says a lot,considering what these engines must endure. You have the heatof the desert, sand storms, and a lot of equipment neglect, saysKrause. “The Middle East is probably the harshest environmentyou will find on earth. But, we haven’t had problem with aJohn Deere engine and are happy and pleased with the serviceand support provided by John Deere”.Engine: PowerTech 4045T – a 115 hp, 4-cylinder, 4.5 L,turbocharged diesel engine.Distributor: CK Power Products, St. Louis, Mo.,(314) 868-8620.A Mitsa Energized Insulator Washer arrives Amman, Jordan, where it will clean power lineinsulators encrusted by sand and salt residues. A John Deere 4045T engine independentlypowers the truck-mounted washer.PowerSource 9