Simple solutions can provide remarkable results

Australian Mining Companies are genuinely concerned about workshop hygiene and personnel exposure to dusts. Ironically, some practices that have been introduced to help minimise dust are often counterproductive and result in the need for additional primary filter services.

Today’s modern diesel engines can consume up to 20,000 litres of heavily contaminated air for each litre of diesel fuel burned, mining air intake systems can be overwhelmed by the volume of dust threatening high performing diesel engines.

In the laboratory, a dual SSG Radial Seal™ housing will separate and filter out more than 200kg of test dust prior to reaching the maximum allowable intake restriction common to modern engines. It’s a reasonable assumption that the filter housings on your heavy mining equipment will have protected your engines from similar weights of dust between every primary filter change out.

While laboratory data is a valuable tool to make theoretical comparisons between competitor products, it does not always reflect real world challenges.

SSG housings incorporate two-stage filtration to protect engines from vast amounts of dust. The first stage of inertial pre-cleaning separates a high percentage of the heavy dust dropping it down to the three lower dust cups for evacuation through the actuator valves when the engine returns to idle or shuts down.

The dust evacuation process is highly effective in the laboratory however, can experience challenges in the real world. Static and moisture can make some dusts stick or cling preventing them from readily leaving the housing.

Many sites have experimented with various approaches to address these challenges, but with limited or no success. These methods include installing earth straps, wiring in scavenge fans, installing reverse pulse units, replacing Donaclone tubes with centrifugal pre-cleaners, and even removing the vac valves.

To minimise personnel dust exposure, various pre-cleaner maintenance practices have also been trialled. Some sites open the quick release dust cups prior to the vehicle entering the wash pad. Water cannons blast the lower bodies to remove built-up dust, occasionally damaging the pre-cleaning tubes and always saturating the tubes with water.
Other sites will open the dust cups on the apron and utilise a high-pressure hose to wash out the lower bodies, others take the risk of removing the filters and flush from the top down.

In the modern world of increased vehicle availability demands and pit stop servicing, pre-cleaning tubes don’t have adequate time to dry before the vehicle returns to service. Water and fine dusts will make mud and set hard like concrete, preventing dust evacuation shortly after the vehicle returns to work.

With reduced pre-cleaning and no ability to evacuate dust, usable element life and service intervals are unacceptably shortened, resulting in additional labour-intensive air intake maintenance events.

Donaldson Australia listened to the voice of our customers and initiated trials on a range of alternate dust evacuation systems. The final concept is simple, replace the OEM dust cups with a fixed cup that does not include the quick release lower cup, additional gasket and 3” vacuator valve fitting.

The Trickle Valve assembly features a tapered cup with an integrated 6” trickle valve port, eliminating the need for an additional gasket that was previously critical.
The 6” Injection Moulded EPDM Trickle Valve underwent rigorous testing in our Minnesota Air Laboratories and was extensively trialled at several Australian Mine Sites. The successful field trials confirm the laboratory findings.

Donaldson’s Trickle Valve eliminates unnecessary mine vehicle maintenance and can remain in position and function effectively without labour input for more than 6000 hours. This innovation transforms what was once routine maintenance to an annual task. The soft, pliable Trickle Valve prevents water ingress during vehicle wash downs, preventing dust cup caking and preserves the integrity of essential pre-cleaner tubes.

Dust is not dust and it is rare that two sites will achieve identical results. You can anticipate that combined with best practice maintenance procedures, the Trickle Valve will prolong element life, reduce high restriction events, minimise dust caking, eliminate service steps, and reduce workshop personnel’s exposure to nuisance dusts.

Leave your dust where it belongs; on the haul road and not in the workshop.

Click here to discover how our solutions can elevate your operational efficiency and minimise downtime.