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Almaplex 1299 lubricant saved Gavco Materials $18,000 by extending trunnion roller bearings' lifespan.

Gavco Materials · Charleroi, Penn.

Construction|Concrete Mixers

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key takeaways

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Challenge

Drivers washed their trucks daily with a corrosive solution that degraded grease on roller bearings, necessitating a durable grease to withstand the workload and water washout due to infrequent regreasing.

LE solution

By using LE’s Almaplex Ultra-Syn Lubricant (1299), which offers superior high-temperature functionality and enhanced stability, the service life of roller bearings can be significantly extended beyond the previous average of 6-9 months.

Results

Switching to Almaplex 1299 has saved Gavco Materials $18,000 in bearing costs for nine Terex trucks, eliminating the need to replace bearings and reducing labor and downtime expenses.

LE 1299 is saving money and doing a great job for Gavco. Plus, I don’t miss changing out those back-breaking 100-pound bearing housings.

- Dennis Fiedler, Yard Shop Mechanic
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Customer Profile

Gavco Materials, Inc., is a sister company of Golden Eagle Construction and Cool Spring Stone Supply, both located in Uniontown, Penn. The Gavco ready-mix truck fleet consists of 26 Terex front loader trucks. 17 trucks run out of the Uniontown yard and nine trucks dispatch from the Charleroi shop.

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Application

Gavco uses nine Terex front loader model FDM-4000 trucks, with CAT C-13 diesel engines and Allison transmissions, to deliver redi-mix concrete to highway and construction sites.

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Challenge

Taking great pride in keeping their trucks clean, the drivers washed their trucks daily with an extremely corrosive water-and-acid solution that broke down the daily buildup of cement, dust and mud. They used this same corrosive solution to wash off the grease that squeezed out of the bearings onto the mixer drums. (The two trunnion roller bearings are located near the front of the cement mixer drum.) In the daily process of washing down the trucks and drums, the drivers were spraying the solution directly on the roller bearings, which served to break down the grease even further. It was crucial that they find a grease that could withstand the workload and water washout because the bearings were only regreased when the trucks were serviced at regular engine oil change intervals.

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LE Solution

Roller bearing life averaged 6-9 months. It took Dennis Fiedler, yard shop mechanic, one hour to change a bearing that weighs 100 pounds. Standard procedure dictates that if one bearing is bad, both bearings must be replaced in order to keep the mixer drum running true.

Larry Boyle, LE lubrication consultant, recommended LE’s Almaplex Ultra-Syn Lubricant (1299), an NLGI 2 grease. Almaplex 1299 is an aluminum complex thickened grease containing an ISO 460 viscosity synthetic base fluid. It contains Almasol® and Quinplex®, LE’s exclusive additives.

This additive combination provides excellent performance in the presence of water and – most importantly – superior high-temperature functionality. Other features include enhanced thermal and oxidation stability for longer service life, plus a recommended operating temperature of up to 450°F (232°C).

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Results

Each trunnion roller bearing costs $250. Gavco Materials was spending $500 to replace the bearings every 6-9 months. Truck downtime and labor costs involved in changing the bearings were even larger cost factors.

Since Dennis started using Almaplex 1299 in 2008, not one bearing has been replaced. To date, the savings have been $2,000 (four bearing sets) per truck. Almaplex 1299 has saved Gavco $18,000 in bearings for the nine Terex trucks.

“LE 1299 is saving money and doing a great job for Gavco. Plus, I don’t miss changing out those back-breaking 100-pound bearing housings,” Dennis said.

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