Bug-eater in diesel stops bus breakdowns

Press, 12 February 1986, Page 14

Bug-eater in diesel stops bus breakdowns

PA Auckland An Auckland company is on the verge of a worldwide breakthrough in the battle against a bug that eats diesel oil and halts trucks and buses. The bug breeds in diesel fuel systems, blocking filters and corroding metal and rubber linings in trucks, buses, ships and aircraft.

At one time, up to 20 Auckland Regional Authority buses a day were breaking down because of contamination by the micro-organism, Cladosporium resinae.

Four months of tests with Jackwat Agencies’ new device, known as the hydromag, on two A.R.A. buses show it may have solved the problem. A consulting engineer, Mr Colin Wickham, suggested adapting the device for diesel installations to Jackwat’s manag-ing-director, Mr Murray Jackson, and said “the results are very, very encouraging.” Mr Jackson is not saying how the hydromag works«- nobody knows — but slicing a hydromag into a diesel fuel line sets

up a magnetic field which kills off the micro-organ-ism before it can reproduce. Filters on the two buses fitted with hydromags were still clean after 10,000 km, yet other buses had filters one-third full of sludge after 5000 km. The A.R.A. had already started using fuel additives to combat the problem. It still has one bus a day breaking down with fuel system problems. Mr Peter Young, sales engineer for BP Oil, said the device rated a lot of attention. “It is the first time anyone has come up with a way of treating this problem without having to put chemicals into fuel tanks.” Hydromags are used in the dairy and horticultural industries to clean coliform and bacteria from water supplies but Mr Jackson says the potential with diesel is even greater.

The modified diesel units cost $4OO each and should last at least 10 years. Replacing filters every fortnight costs a time.