Patriot Coal’s Re-Powering Decision Saves Fuel

Patriot Coal’s re-powering decision yields a big return.

As any accountant knows, there’s one dubious benefit to an economic recession: Companies apply laser-like focus on shrinking their expenses and wringing every dollar of profit out of their operations. Trouble is, the longer the recession drags on, the more elusive those expense savings and profits become. So you can imagine how elated the folks at Patriot Coal (Charleston, WV) are right about now to be saving twenty percent on the diesel fuel consumption of their newly-repowered Komatsu 730E haul truck.

Western Branch Diesel's Curt Bartlett (foreground) is dwarfed by an MTU repowered Komatsu haul truck.

The big Komatsu’s original engine was supplied by a competitor and produced only 2,000 horsepower from its 16 cylinders. When Western Branch Diesel’s Off-Highway sales representative Curt Bartlett pitched repowering the truck with an MTU Series 4000 engine that could deliver about fifty grand a year in fuel savings, achieve EPA Tier 2 emissions standards and pump out 250 more horse- power from four fewer cylinders, Patriot had an easy decision to make.

“Patriot Coal already had successful experience with MTU Series 4000 Tier 1 engines in sixteen of their Komatsu 830 haul trucks,” explains Bartlett. “In addition to having the objectives of lower emissions, longer engine life and better fuel economy, Patriot wanted to standardize its fleet to reduce costs associated with parts and maintenance.”

Bartlett says since the 730E was repowered by Western Branch, it’s on track to save 16,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year. “At three dollars a gallon, the savings can really add up,” he notes.

Repowering this haul truck with an MTU Series 4000 will save Patriot Coal thousands in fuel costs.

Patriot can also expect longer life from their new engine and more time between overhauls since MTU engineers were able to calibrate its power output to meet the needs of the truck’s existing General Electric traction alternator and electronics, which were designed for a 2,000 hp engine.

A haul truck that’s out of service can cost Patriot up to $8,000 a day in lost production, so replacing the Komatsu’s original 16-cylinder engine with the more compact and powerful twelve-cylinder MTU Series 4000 required careful planning. According to Bartlett, the project went smoothly and took just five working days—about the same amount of time it would have taken to replace the old engine with an identical model.

Bartlett anticipates that this successful repowering will lead to more of the same, adding, “There are more than fifty Komatsu haul trucks like this one within our territory, and the experience gained on this project will benefit all of the mining companies that want to switch to cleaner, more efficient and longer-lasting MTU haul truck engines.”