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'A NEW KIND OF GARBAGE TRUCK'

 
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Mr. Linsky
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
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Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 12:00 am    Post subject: 'A NEW KIND OF GARBAGE TRUCK' Reply with quote

WHICH NEW HYBRID HAS 10 WHEELS AND FLIES?

By Ken Belson New York Times 11/27/09

IT sounded like a garbage truck and smelled like one, too. Aside from the giant pastoral scene on its side, it even looked like a standard-issue New York City garbage truck.

But the 36-ton refuse collector that rumbled out of the Department of Sanitation’s Central Repair Shop in Queens earlier this month with a reporter on board was equipped with a diesel-electric powertrain, one of just a handful of hybrid garbage trucks being tested around the country. This one was built by Mack Trucks, which is part of the Volvo Group.

To New Yorkers who saw the big Mack drive by, the truck seemed no different from its all-diesel brethren. But with a 120-kilowatt electric motor supplementing its 6-cylinder diesel engine, the hybrid accelerated with less effort, the driver said. It stopped and idled much like a regular garbage truck; likewise, its hopper was capable of crushing and storing up to 13 tons of trash.

Other than a few extra lights on the dashboard, the interior was the same as the department’s 2,200 other garbage trucks. This was by design: the department did not want to add any complications to the hectic routines of its 6,000 trash collectors.

Under the truck, there are important changes. As in the hybrid systems designed for passenger cars, the truck’s electric motor serves as a generator when slowing down. This regenerative braking feature captures some of the energy expended when accelerating and uses it to charge a 500-pound lithium ion battery. In the Mack’s hybrid system, the electric motor cannot drive the truck by itself — its job is to lower the demand on the diesel engine, which improves fuel economy.

Gas mileage is, of course, what made hybrid cars and utility vehicles popular with drivers, who get the greatest benefit from their efficient operation in city travel. The benefits of a hybrid system are far less worthwhile for owners who cover most of their miles at steady highway speeds.

But hybrid drive systems are ideal for garbage trucks, with their start-and-stop routine. Heavy-duty trucks consume about a third of the nation’s vehicle fuel, so the potential savings is significant; according to I.B.M., a hybrid 18-wheeler can save more fuel than two dozen hybrid cars.

“Without a doubt, hybrid technology dovetails with trucking,” said Sanjay Rishi, vice president of I.B.M.’s global automotive group, which provides systems software to hybrid manufacturers.

Because the power demand of heavy-duty trucks requires larger, more expensive batteries, the development of affordable hybrid heavy-duty trucks is said to be about 10 years behind that of hybrid passenger cars. That has increased the focus on New York City, which is one of the first cities to test hybrid garbage trucks.

“These trucks are unquestionably green,” said Rocco DiRico, a deputy commissioner in the Sanitation Department. “There’s nothing available in 2009 that’s better than ours. We’re pioneers.”

New York City is testing four different hybrid designs. Mack, which makes many of the trash haulers used by the sanitation department, delivered its hybrid in September. Crane Carrier provided the others.

The Mack is a parallel hybrid design in which the electric motor and diesel engine can work together. Crane Carrier built two parallel hybrid trucks; they store energy as a hydraulic fluid under pressure rather than as electricity sent to a battery. One has a diesel engine; the other’s engine uses compressed natural gas as its fuel.

The fourth truck design, also made by Crane Carrier, uses a series hybrid system in which a diesel engine drives only a generator, with no mechanical connection to the wheels. All drive power is provided by an electric motor.

In about a year, the sanitation department will have a better feel for which model saves the most fuel, is easiest to maintain and handles the best, particularly in winter when garbage trucks double as snowplows. Then the city will choose a winner and start buying 300 a year.

The new trucks are expected to reduce fuel consumption by about 30 percent, which means potential savings of millions of dollars once the city adds more hybrids to its fleet. Exhaust emissions are expected to be cut by a similar amount.

Industry experts say that large orders from New York City will spur the production of other heavy-duty hybrid trucks, which could bring their price down substantially. New York City paid about $500,000 for the Mack hybrid, more than twice the $225,000 that a diesel-only model costs. Government grants covered the difference.

Photo courtesy of City of New York Sanitation Department

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY

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timecruncher



Age: 73
Joined: 23 Dec 2008
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Location: Louisville, Kentucky

PostPosted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 3:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very interesting find.

Trouble is, hybrid trucks and buses don't really save much fuel, certainly not enough to justify the cost difference.

Sure, they may come down in price as they become more common, but in the meantime, our tax dollars by and large are being spent to pay for stuff that makes politicians and vehicle manufacturers feel good all over but which makes nary a difference in emissions anywhere.

How wonderful our elected officials are when it is spending our money for things that make them feel good, eh?

timegroucher
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 5:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree!

Maybe we should 'return to the days of yesteryear' (taken from The Lone Ranger) when collecting garbage was much less complicated and far cheaper.

Pictured is a mid thirties GMC Model T-78 Cab Over Engine chassis with a patented 'Roto Pac' body operating for the City of New York Department of Sanitation.

Perhaps one of GMC's most interesting trucks (and they had plenty of them back when) was their first Cab Over Engine (COE) design introduced in 1934 in four sizes with GVW ratings ranging from 15,000 to 30,000 pounds and designated the T 73, 74, 75 or 78 series.

While you might think that the White 3000 tilt up cab made for easier engine repair, it had nothing on these GMC's with engines that rolled out in a matter of minutes for even easier repair and replacement.

Several thousand of the T series chassis were manufactured between 1934 and the introduction of the next generation of COE's in 1937.

The New York City Department of Sanitation was the single largest customer with over 500 T-78's for use in rubbish and garbage collection and as street cleaning tankers.

While the DSNY bodies carried the Gar Wood marque, they were not Gar Wood engineered, but contract built from a patented in-house design.

This was a simple mechanical loader using chain driven conveyor flights to carry refuse up the tailgate and along to top of the body where it would then fall in a pile on the floor below. Gar Wood, along with both The Heil Company and Highway Trailer Co. built many of these bodies for New York between 1937-1940, and possibly even later. Unloading was accomplished by raising the tailgate and tilting the body hydraulically, a method used by most refuse truck builders up until the 1960's.

The city selected the heaviest T series model to accommodate snow plow attachments during the winter season.

Credit for photo within frame.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY

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