In 2008, the Pepsi Bottling Group initiated a North American program to minimize carbon monoxide in our almost 200 production and distribution facilities. We selected Blanke Industries to be our instrument supplier for four reasons:
- Their Fuel Savings Printouts let us know how much propane we were wasting per year,
- Their unit is the CO analyzer being used by those state OSHA agencies doing lift truck emissions enforcement,
- They were able to train over 200 tune-up technicians around America and
- Their CO Series 2500 analyzers are designed and made in America.
As part of this initiative, we also calculated the amount of carbon we will be saving, in case cap and trade becomes reality.
The program was a success in three important areas:
- We saved over $1 million in propane costs in the first year and will continue this saving – an economic concern
- We lowered our CO emissions and now keep them lowered – a health and safety concern, and
- We eliminated over 2 million pounds of carbon emissions in the first year through lower propane consumption – a political concern.
Every lift truck in our fleet will be tested and adjusted twice per year as part of this ongoing program to insure employee safety and increased efficiency of our lift trucks.
Dennis Mroz, Regional Fleet Maintenance Supervisor, Denver, Colorado
“The CO Series 1500 is like a box filled with money. The more we use it, the more money we make. We keep two technicians doing CO testing at $89 per test, year around. Each one does about 50 per month. We pay for the analyzers about 25 times per year, per man.”
Brett Troutman, ProLift Handling, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio
“The Blanke CO Series 2500 with the printer said we could annually save 20,000 gallons of fuel from the 70,000 gallons we were buying per year. We thought that was impossible, so we adjusted our 15 lifts and monitored our fuel usage for the next three months. We had saved about 5,000 gallons of fuel in that 90 days. Over a year, we did save close to 20,000 gallons of propane. I don’t know how they do it, but that Blanke analyzer is sure smart”
Steve Hodge, Quebecor World, Inc., Jonesboro, Arkansas
“We use our CO Series 2500 with our PM technicians. Each time they do a PM, they check CO at idle, governed throttle and full load. If anything is not right, they call in a technician who does the repair and adjusting. This is a great screening program to see who needs more detailed repair work.”
Howard Smith, Arnold Engineering Co., Salt Lake City, Utah
“When I was doing service work for my previous employer, Arnold Machinery, in Boise, I did a fleet test for Seneca Foods. The results from the Blanke Industries CO Series 2500 indicated they could save 17,000 gallons of propane or about $34,000 per year with their fleet. Because we were able to give them real numbers showing gallons and dollars saved, we were able to write a maintenance contract to insure they would achieve this annual amount of fuel savings.”
Brett Hymas, Cornwell-Hymas Tool Company, Boise, ID.
Each time I mail out a mailer offering free CO testing, I bury two technicians for the next two months. We only charge for the visit if an adjustment is needed. We charge flat rate and almost everyone needs an adjustment.”
John Toal, Forklifts of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
“We started by putting them in the hands of the CSS guys. They shared one for two days a week and the service techs used it for the rest of the week. We booked so much repair work in the first month we bought four units with the printers for our CSS people and our service techs. We use the CO Series 2500 and a printer and sell fuel savings.”
Robin Williams, Altorfer Lift Truck, Davenport, IA
“I walk in and I bet the customer I can save him 50 gallons a year in propane for a $50 charge. If I can’t, it’s free. After my first day, I sold $1,250 after testing 25 trucks. After two weeks, I collected $3,500. At the end of a month, I collected $5,500. At the six-month point I had sold about $35,000 at $50 a test. After that, I quit counting. Three out of four trucks need more than an adjustment, so I now have a couple of technicians following me around doing repair work I generate. Also sold over $200,000 in new lifts by getting in the door with my CO Series 2500 with the printer, and I am a CSSR. Mr. Blanke, your Series 2500 is the most powerful moneymaking tool I have ever seen.”
Ed Prall, Frontier Equipment, Nampa, Idaho
“We sell a lot of parts to the big fleets around here. We have sold your analyzers to some of them now and they buy more parts. Now, they can see their carburetors, and vaporizers need replacement. Before that, they never knew. And Blanke came and trained our whole staff. That really made a difference on our parts and service sales.”
Ken Sharboneau, Yale-Green Bay, Green Bay, Wisconsin
“Some of my guys like to fiddle with the mixture screws to get more power from the lifts. When we are not looking they have short drag races on the second and third shifts. We now test and record each operator’s CO level. We figure we will save about 30% of our fuel next year with trucks running three shifts. And, we show them how much fuel is wasted by their messing around. It works out to over a $50,000 savings this year for a $2,200 CO Series 2500, printer and calibration equipment. That is a great investment.”
Wally Pollack, Northwest Pallet Supply Co., Belvedere, IL
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“A Blanke Industries Series 2500 helps two ways – saving time by knowing immediately if the engine is rich or lean and you can jet more accurately.
The 2500 can be taken to the road for on the fly tests where specific rpm/load jetting problems occur. Recording CO levels is as easy as pushing a button.Road load, idle and no load mid-rpm readings deliver an accurate picture of air/fuel delivery across the rev range. If you are serious, this is an excellent way to tune.”
Mark Hoyer, Cycle World Magazine, Newport Beach, California
“I am able to double my charge for a dyno run using the CO Series 2500 and printer. I hit the push button when I open the throttle from a steady 30 mph. The CO level before the roll on is saved and gives a starting point as the pilot and main jet turn on. I show the graph of the 30 to 80 roll on before a tune-up and after the tune-up. I can show an increase in power of about 8% time after time by getting the jetting or the mapping right.
I cut my diagnosing time by about 60% to 70% because I now know which way to go and how far to go every time. For road tests I do a standard six mode test and save the results. This tells me where the fueling problems are and I repair them. I have eliminated half my repair time because I go the right direction with rich or lean every time.
The Blanke is the best tool available for the high performance tuner who does not have a laboratory at his disposal. It’s an amazing device.”
Sean Weeden, Monroe Honda, Monroe, Wisconsin
“The Blanke CO Series 2500 and printer was so helpful for making fuel system adjustments at our Pataskala branch, we bought one for our Columbus Branch.”
Gregg Blank, Centennial Park Harley-Davidson, Pataskala, Ohio
“The Blanke lets my students see the effects of good air/fuel mixtures through all operating conditions, on and off the road. With its portability and the tank bag, we can take a ride, do six tests and then map the carburetor or fuel injection system in a few minutes. There is nothing available that even comes close to the Blanke with the printer at that price. It’s a great tool and a tremendous training aid for the young guys.”
Ken Sodergren, Sacrament City College, Sacramento, California
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| “We bought the CO Series 2500 and printers because showing how much fuel is wasted makes our job easier. When OSHA comes in and shows a factory they can save money by lowering their CO on the factory floor, they listen. CO in parts per million is only a number to them, but saving thousands of dollars per year by keeping their trucks maintained helps keep them in Michigan where we hope they stay.”
Connie O’Neal, Director, Consulting, Education and Training Department, Michigan OSHA, Lansing, Michigan.
“Before we bought the Blanke CO Series 2500s, our Industrial Hygienists would have to stand behind a lift truck for minutes and breathe the exhaust with the old color change sniffers. Then they would discover they had been behind a truck blowing 7% to 10% carbon monoxide. Now they can stand beside a running truck and see the results in 20 seconds. Minnesota OSHA now has a much safer and faster way to enforce maintenance procedures with the Blanke instruments.
Alden Hoffman, Director, Minnesota OSHA, Minneapolis, Minnesota
“We did not realize a tune up for the fork lift industry does not include a CO test unless it is specifically requested. We had factories we cited for high CO and we looked at the lift truck emissions, which were high. The factory would then get a tune-up and the trucks would be higher. The technicians doing the tuning were adjusting for the smoothest running engine, and setting them by ear. We now specify a factory with a problem to ask for a low emission tune up using a CO meter. This insures the trucks are maintained and are operating properly.”
Dave Banas, Federal OSHA, Calumet City, Illinois
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