The technology has been licensed to Detroit Diesel, Mack and Cummins with companies such as Swift Transportation using the technology. Due to of my efforts in Alaska there has also been interest expressed in the technology by construction equipment dealers Caterpillar (NC Machinery), John Deere (Airport Rentals) ,Volvo (CMI) and Case (Yukon Equipment).

In regards to construction equipment the technology has been installed on Volvo A-40 Articulating Dump Trucks, Volvo 120, 150, and 180 model wheel loaders, Volvo 990 Motor Grader, John Deere 750J Crawler/Tractor and a Caterpillar 16M Motor Grader.

In Alaska we are using what we call the "Engine Only" components on class 8 truck day cabs. (It will work on any engine/truck size but historically on class 6-8 trucks). This consists of the control module, sensors and wiring harness. In Alaska we actually have altered the standard temperature and rpm settings to where the " Alaska " system raises block temperature to approximately 170 degrees (from 134 degrees) for shut down and the RPM to 1200 or higher, depending on OEM recommendations for operation in sub-zero conditions.

The First Alaska Install

My project in Alaska is the first ever Temp-A-Start installation on construction equipment. And, I can't give enough praise to Glenn and Cary Goetz formerly Alaska Truck and Gear in Fairbanks , Alaska for the success of this project.

Here we were: doing something that had never been attempted before with Cary Goetz actually modifying a 12v Temp-A-Start system to build a 24v Temp-A-Start system on the fly via cell phone with Stormy, the Temp-A-Start engineer in Peoria , using Radio Shack components! But, why shouldn't it have worked?

And, ASRC, instead of giving us a new Volvo L120E as expected, gave us an older L150E for the first install. Attached are some pictures of the shop and first install. Believe me; it was cold in that shop in November, 2005!

Special thanks also to Stefan Salomonsson, an engineer at Volvo CE in the loader group. His help in providing wiring diagrams in a matter of a few hours to help us through these installs was invaluable.

Prudhoe Bay , Alaska

In the Prudhoe Bay oil field, operations go 24/7 due to the nature of the business. However, with construction projects and other projects not directly related to the pumping of oil, work schedules vary such as 12 on / 12 off. It was in this type of work scenario where the technology was applied.

The first Volvo loader that was installed in Fairbanks , (November 2005) went into a quarry/gravel pit operation in Deadhorse , Alaska and worked on such a schedule. This is where the first test took place.

Shortly after the first install, the second Volvo loader was installed and it went into a quarry/gravel pit operation at Ft. Greeley , Alaska (this is a secure military site) and testing was done at that site.

At both sites the machines were normally left to run for the 12-14 hour time period when the operators were off duty. During these tests the temperature was estimated at -10F to -20F and the total run time for the machines was cut from the 12 to 14 hour time frame to the 3 hour time frame. In actuality, later I was told that the run time dropped to approximately 2 total hour run time during these periods.

Now, you have to remember, actual temperature, wind chill, engine compartment insulation and which way the engine compartment is facing (into or away from the wind) during the down time all have an effect on the run time. Also, the bigger the engine block (more mass the better) the better the result simply because it will retain heat longer.

ConocoPhillips-Kuparuk Operations (west Prudhoe Bay oil field) have done their own testing of the system and at -35F in a 12 on / 12 off work situation the results were basically the same and sometimes better, all depending on the variables I mentioned earlier.

Vocational Vehicle Users of Temp-A-Start

The vocational vehicle market is a market that Temp-A-Start had never looked at until I came along. I happen to know the owner of the technology through another project I had done for him (Cleanable Filtration). He approached me back in the summer of 2005 to see if any of my buddies in Alaska would be interested in the technology and, during my next trip to Fairbanks , I discussed it with Carl Tompkins, the former Equipment Manager for ASRC in Prudhoe Bay.

The rest is history .

Today I have ASRC/Houston Contracting, the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, ConocoPhillips, BP-Alaska, Schlumberger, BJ Services and Calfrac (Alberta, Canada) using the technology in the oil field. Calfrac actually has equipment in the Russian oil field with the technology installed on Kenworth tractors equipped with Caterpillar C-15's. The Odem Corporation has had the technology installed on equipment in their Fairbanks distribution operation.

Schlumberger installs the technology in their own shop in Rock Springs , Wyoming and we are currently working on a scaled down version of Temp-A-Start for their pickups in Alaska . And, I have been told that Schlumberger has plans on equipping their heavy trucks with Temp-A-Start that are destined for use in cold climates in their international operations.

For Calfrac, the technology is installed by a company named CanQuip in Calgary , Alberta , Canada . It is installed at the time of up-fitting the equipment with wet kits etc. CanQuip builds nitrogen pumping trailers, data logging vans and "cementers" as they call them, that pump cement and other products down a drill hole for formation stability. These tractors with trailers exceed $1M in cost when completed.

Installations in Alaska take place at the Western Peterbilt and Alaska Kenworth shops in Anchorage and Fairbanks and at Interior Mechanical Services in Fairbanks.

ASRC has also had the technology installed at West-Mark, Ceres, California and Western Cascade, Seattle , Washington when their equipment was being up-fitted there. ConocoPhillips in Alaska will do their own installation depending on the work load in the shop.

In October, 2007 I completed a pilot project with BJ Services (another oil field services company) in Rock Springs , Wyoming and in December, 2007 a pilot project at DIA ( Denver International Airport ) was initiated.

The DIA pilot project entails installing Temp-A-Start on runway plow trucks and perhaps working into their runway brooms (ones that are stored outside). The runway brooms are comprised of an Oshkosh chassis equipped with two caterpillar engines. We have already looked at firing up engines in tandem and do not believe there will be any big obstacles to overcome for Temp-A-Start to do this.

Temp-A-Start Installation Time

Installation by retro-fitting a truck chassis typically takes 8-10 hours the first go-around. After the first install, a journeyman mechanic is in the 6-8 hour range.

At the Western Peterbilt branch in Anchorage there is a young man that has been known to do a complete install on a Peterbilt day cab chassis with a Caterpillar C-15 in 4 ½ hours. God bless you Scott Holtzeimer!

I have learned through practical experience a piece of construction equipment falls within these same parameters.

Soft Dollars

Obviously, fuel savings through reduction in idle time with trucks and construction equipment is the first thing to stand out. This is money that moves directly to the bottom line.

However, Terry Howard of ASRC and I have had conversations where we extrapolated the benefits to using this system.

Think about it:

• Reduction in idle time pushes out the oil drain interval. If we just eliminate one oil drain and service this is a huge savings. Think about eliminating 2000 oil drains in Prudhoe Bay in one season!
• Reduce the number of oil drains and you reduce the amount of consumables needed to do the oil drains and services. A figure can be applied to this in regard to less filters and oil on site (reduction in inventory cost).
• Reduce the number of oil drains and you can take that time on the shop floor and devote it to another task. This is an efficiency gain for the operation.
• Reduce the number of oil drains and you reduce the opportunity to introduce contamination within the engine or other components.
• Reduction in battery service calls. Because Temp-A-Start monitors battery condition you are assured of good battery conditions for starting purposes. Let's say we have one service call for dead batteries for every two vehicles per season. That is 1000 less service calls we don't have to perform.
• Reduction in alternator failures. Temp-A-Start by virtue of monitoring battery condition means that in essence, the alternator output is also being monitored. When either get out of sync Temp-A-Start will actually start and stop more frequently. An operator that is used to the system will hear this and normally report it to the shop. If so, troubleshooting will tell you that if the battery condition is good and the grounding system (another trouble spot) is good, then you should look to the alternator for proper output. Fleet guys I have spoken with in the on-road industry tell me their battery and alternator problems basically go away with this technology.
• Reduction in starter problems. Again, Temp-A-Start by virtue of monitoring the electrical system virtually assures the starter of the proper voltage during the start phase of an engine. A Temp-A-Start start in cold weather is approximately 2-3 seconds. Again, fleet guys I have spoken with tell me their starter problems basically go away with this technology.
  A reduction in engine upper valve train wear: I have been told that engines equipped with Temp-A-Start experience much less upper valve train wear due to the fact that warm oil is pushed to the upper valve train during the start cycle. Makes sense to me.
• Reduce the number of oil drains on your equipment and you automatically reduce the hazardous waste stream that now has to be accounted for by fleet operations. This is a direct reduction in internal paperwork and the associated costs for waste removal.

When you take all of these things into consideration and put an estimated number to it we are talking serious money savings within a fleet equipment operation. It is an honor to have been the catalyst for this money savings opportunity for my equipment management friends in Alaska , Canada and elsewhere.