The Best way to cut diesel engine operating costs:
Centri ® Air Precleaners
CENTRI® VS. DUST BOWL
DUST BOWL COSTS UP TO $500.00+ MORE!

Article published in The BEST-EX PRESS , Summer 1999
Has a customer ever told you that they prefer using the dust bowl type precleaner because it is "less expensive than the CENTRI® Air Precleaner."? Sure they have. The next time you hear this reason, tell the customer that the dust bowl may be less expensive up front. But, they can use the CENTRI® Precleaner, and the CENTRI® will pay for itself in six months or less.

How? In reduced maintenance costs alone. Since CENTRI® is maintenance free, it will not have to be serviced, unlike the dust bowl must be. In many cases dust bowls must be emptied and serviced on a daily basis for optimum efficiency. In FIGURE 1 we detail what the typical maintenance costs would be for a dust bowl used in a high contaminant environment. Their numbers are based on input from equipment managers interviewed about their own costs of servicing the dust bowls, before they switched to CENTRI®. As you will see, it costs up to $500.00 per year or more to service dust bowls on a daily basis.
FIGURE 1
MAINTENANCE FORMULA

TIME NEEDED TO SERVICE DUSTBOWL
FREOUENCY OF SERVICE
NUMBER OF DAYS PER WORK WEEK
TOTAL TIME FOR SERVICE PER WEEK
LABOR COST PER HOUR
TOTAL COST FOR SERVICE PER WEEK
TOTAL COST PER YEAR @ 52 WEEKS 		DUST BOWL

AVG. 6 MINUTES
DAILY
5 (FIVE)
30 MINUTES! 1/2 HOUR
$20.00/HR.
$10.00/WEEK
$520.00/YEAR 		CENTRI®

NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
$0.00
$0.00
In FIGURE 2 we compare the initial costs for each unit, CENTRI® and dust bowl, combined with the maintenance expense. If an engine would have an intake requirement of 850 CFM it would require a 6 inch I.D. dust bowl, or a CENTRI® Model EX-60 Precleaner. The total cost in the first year for the dust bowl would be $605.00 vs. just $267.00 for the CENTRI® unit.
FIGURE 2
COST COMPARISON
If both were replaced very year!

COST PER UNIT
MAINTENANCE COST PER YEAR
TOTAL COST PER YEAR
SAVINGS PER YEAR W/CENTRI® ($605.00 - $267.00) 		DUST BOWL


$ 85.00
$520.00
$605.00
 		CENTRI®


$267.00
$0.00
$267.00
$338.00
Based on the $338.00 savings, the CENTRI® Air Precleaner will pay for itself in less than six months. These savings don't even include the additional 50%+ savings in filter costs due to CENTRI®'s higher efficiency. And keep in mind your customer would still have to spend $500.00+ every year to maintain a part, which costs less than $100.00. When you look at it in black & white, there should be no question; the CENTRI® Precleaner is an overall better value!