merous policies to protect the air its citizens breathe, beginning with the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955. The Clean Air Act of 1963, the Air Quality Act of 1967, the Clean Air Act Extension of 1970 and the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 and 1990 followed this first effort.
More recently, Tier I-IV engine standards have come into play and this is where Superior Diesel, founded in 1980 and headquartered in Rhinelander, Wis., is taking steps to put its customers ahead of the curve when meeting the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) engine compliance schedule.
Scott Dall, dealer engine sales coordinator, explained that, “There were no emission regulations prior to 1998. All the engines we sold into new OEM applications in 1998 had to meet Tier I standards. Then there were several different stages we went through depending on the horsepower ranges of the engines. But by 2008 everything had to be Tier III compliant, starting in 2011 every engine over 173 HP must meet interim Tier III standards and by 2015 every engine must meet final Tier IV standards. This is a very simplified timeline of the EPA emission schedule.”
The EPA expects the Tier IV standards to reduce emissions from construction, industrial and agricultural diesel-powered equipment by more than 90 percent. It will also eliminate 99 percent of the sulfur in diesel fuel by next year, which will reduce the amount of particulate matter from diesel engines. In 2008, these standards began to be phased in, starting with engines under 25 hp. By 2014 all engines except for those over 750 hp are expected to meet the standards. Off-road engines over 750 hp have been given an extra year to comply.
Superior Diesel has worked hard to develop ways to make meeting the standards easier and more affordable. “We call them tier-up repowers, which means we take a noncompliant engine out of the equipment and replace it with one of higher compliance.We are not limited to John Deere equipment. For example, with most types of equipment such as pavers, air compressors, forklifts, generators or water pumps, regardless of whether the original engine from the OEM was Deere or not, the units may be able to be repowered with one of our engines or power units,” Dall said.
“We can’t bring existing engines from one tier level up to meet another,” Dall continued, “but sometimes a bid or proposal will require aftermarket or retrofit devises such as a diesel particulate filter. There is also funding available for idle reduction devices and retrofit devices such as exhaust scrubbers and diesel particulate fitters. Superior can help source those products also.”
The idea of replacing an entire fleet of older equipment with new, Tier IV compliant equipment is something that is not easily done for most fleet owners. Superior Diesel’s tier-up repowers, offer a less-costly option for meeting the standards.
“There are many factors that the customer would have to weigh before making their determination on which route to take. In some cases, however, it is as obvious as whether to spend $200,000 or more on a new machine or spend $15,000 on a new engine package. If, for example, the equipment is fairly new, the engine package is more often than not the way to go. Not all contractors are affected by the changes yet. California is leading the march, but it is coming. More states and local governments are adopting the federal regulations. We want to help our customers keep up, even get ahead of, the standards as easily as possible,” Dall said.
Funding is available to help contractors with fleet upgrading. State web sites offer assistance in determining eligibility. Wisconsin’s link is http://dnr.wi.gov/air/mobile/CleanDieselGP.htm.
