
Orange Telecoms relies On UD Filtration for optimum diesel generator operation
French telecommunications giant “ORANGE” relies on diesel gen sets to supply emergency electrical power to its communication network in the event of a break in supply of this utility by ESKOM. The engineers were concerned that, because of the extended time that the diesel remains in the tank, fuel deterioration and sludge formation would cause operation mishaps with the diesel engine.
Faultless operation of these gen sets is required to ensure uninterrupted supply of power when power failures occur. They decided to install UDF by-pass filter systems on both the fuel and oil systems of the engine. This installation was completed in 2012.
Two weeks after the initial installation the fuel filters were changed as the fuel had cleaned up to almost new condition. The changed filters are shown below. When these filters were changed the diesel in the tank had returned to its natural golden colour and the oil was also shown by oil analysis to be free of black sludge.
As a result ORANGE has made the decision to Fit UDF oil and fuel by-pass systems on all their stand-by diesel gen sets.
The image below illustrates oil cleanliness before and after: