The Garage 289

FLEX FUEL HAS
THE ANSWER
JUST SHY of 40m cars
on Britain’s roads
now face stricter MOT
testing as a result of
the new changes introduced
by the DVSA earlier
this year. New diesel emission
checks will be required
to make sure vehicles meet
“plate standards”. If they fail,
the repair bill could run into
thousands of pounds, which
for some vehicles will be more
than the car is worth.
Most at risk are drivers of
any diesel car from around
2006 onwards – models that
came with a diesel particulate
filter (DPF) to clean up
its emissions. The cost of reinstating
a DPF (some drivers
and not so environmentally
conscious garages removed
DPFs altogether for performance
gains and because of
the expense of replacing) or
replacing a broken one can
often be more than the car’s
residual value.
When the DVSA set the
deadline of 20th May 2018 for
all MOT stations to upgrade
their emissions analysers to
meet the new EURO 6 emissions
standard, it created a
degree of panic on two fronts:
for drivers, the prospect of
expensive bills and for MOT
stations, are a genuine concern
as demand for new emission
analysers across Europe
is outstripping supply. But it
is not just a ‘hardware’ issue -
many testing stations are waiting
for calibration upgrades to
their existing analysers. And
calibration is not a one off,
it needs repeating every six
months.
Whilst a work around has
been agreed with the DVSA
- meaning MOT stations can
continue to carry out tests on
existing equipment so long
as they can prove they have
placed an order for replacement
equipment before the
deadline of September 2018!
Garages are duly concerned
about being compliant by law
and so now it’s imperative
that aftermarket solutions are
made available to them to ensure
MOT stations can meet
the obligations being imposed
upon them - for their own legality
but also out of service to
their customers.
Whether the September
deadline will be met and garages
will be equipped to
measure the new emission
standards remains to be seen;
but, gas analysis aside what
choices do garage owners and
consumers have to ensure vehicles
meet the new emission
standards?
What are those choices?
It is agreed by most in the
industry that carbon deposits
are responsible for multiple
engine problems; decreased
engine performance; increased
fuel consumption and
MoT emission test failures.
1 - Chemical clean: There
is a plethora of chemical
cleaning products available
to consumers and garage
owners, but they are
not without their own
environmental impact.
2 - Replace the parts, or
replace the car! Given most
cars affected by these new
changes will be from around
2006 onwards - the cost
of labour and replacement
parts might well outweigh the
residual value of the vehicle.
3- Hydrogen cleaning has
become an increasingly
attractive option for many
reasons. There are a range
of hydrogen cleaning
manufacturers - most
emanating from the far east;
others converting welding
machines to perform a
similar function. The former
suffer from low quality build
materials, and the rigidity,
integrity and longevity
required for a garage
environment. The latter, is
not specifically designed
for the job meaning the
volume of hydrogen
produced is limited
and total run time is
in the tens of hours -
again not ideal for the
demands of the UK
MOT sector.
This year, the UK welcomed
a new entrant
to the hydrogen engine
cleaning industry, FlexFuel
Energy Development
(FFED). Today, its distribution
network includes
more than 800 centers
in France, Belgium and the
United Kingdom.
FFED uses its HY-Carbon
solution - a hydrogen decarbonizing
process - to reduce
engine emissions and fuel
consumption and increase engine
performance. By injecting
hydrogen into the intake
manifold, carbon deposits are
eliminated from key engine
components responsible for
performance and emissions -
the admission valves, the EGR
valve, the turbo and the particle
filter.
An engine treated with HY-
Carbon technology reduces
Co2 and CO emissions by up
to 50%; and significantly reduces
NoX emissions by up
to 54%.
Availability
FlexFuel Units are available
now. The lease cost of the unit
is £299 per month and garages
only need to treat two
vehicles per month to cover
the cost of the lease - anything
thereafter is profit.
No consumables, no maintenance,
no labour makes
HY-Carbon one of the most
profitable machines in the
workshop with units available
within 15 days of order.
31 Fuel Flex Advertorial.indd 1 04/02/2019 09:33