Great Bay Distributors is a major beverage wholesaler in central Florida that operates a fleet of Class 7 and 8 delivery trucks serving local retailers. Their trucks endure a tough routine of frequent stops and starts in heavy city traffic.

Great Bay was searching for prudent ways to reduce capital costs and total costs of ownership for their fleet. Toward those goals, the company sought to extend the operating life of their delivery vehicles by two years, for a total service life of ten years.

The responsibility for keeping rolling stock operating reliably and cost effectively for a significantly longer time fell to Fleet Supervisor Michael Coleman. He determined that a major challenge in extending service time was avoiding engine wear that would lead to overhauls during prolonged periods of operation. To combat wear, he looked for the most effective technologies for keeping engine oil as clean as possible throughout the entire oil drain cycle.

After considering all available engine oil cleaning/filtering methods, Coleman chose the Spinner II Model 560HE centrifuge. He knew that, unlike media filters that lose effectiveness as they begin to plug, a Spinner II centrifuge maintains constant cleaning efficiency throughout a service interval. He also favored the ease of maintenance with the centrifuge.

The Spinner II centrifuge is installed on all new trucks in the fleet.

After one year of operation, it was clear that the Spinner II centrifuge was the right choice for removing wear particles from the oil stream. For Coleman, the proof was evident by observing the abrasive debris captured in the rotor of the centrifuge.

“It is much more comforting for me to see the abrasive material from our engine oil isolated in the disposable rotor of a centrifuge than to have it freely circulating in the oil stream and damaging our engines,” said Coleman. “With solid contaminants removed by the Spinner II centrifuge, engine component wear will occur at a much reduced rate. Based on past performance, we expect to reach our goal of ten-year engine life.”

Today, all new vehicles entering the fleet are immediately outfitted with Spinner II Model 560HE centrifuges. Great Bay Distributors is confident this will allow their trucks to continually operate with the cleanest oil possible and last ten years without major engine repair due to wear.