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We project savings in fuel costs of at least $142,000 a year since repowering the General Wishington with Cat 3500s." Normond McAllister Jr., President American General Transportation, Inc. Mobile, Alabama The GENERAL WASHINGTON moves 298-ft tank barges on the inland waterway between Mobile and Tuscaloosa and on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway between New Orleans and Houston. After operating 8,700 hours with Detroit Diesels, Normond McAllister repowered the 75-ft towboat with two Cat 3508 Diesel Engines. At the same time, a fuel management computer system was installed. To get baseline data on the new engines — and information for a direct comparison between old and new engines — McAllister ordered his crew to make no changes in operating the GENERAL WASHINGTON. Here's what he found with his new Cat 3508s. "Turning 1800 rpm like we did with the old engines, we were making much better trip times. When our cargo wasn't time sensitive, we ran them at 1700 rpm . . . and still couldn't tell any difference in trip times. So we backed off another 100 rpm. And our time was as good turning 1600 rpm as with the other engines turning 1800 . . . but we burned only 26gph per engine instead of 40 gph. "That's a savings of 14 gph per engine. Based on running each engine 5,100 hrs/yr—and fuel costing about a dollar a gallon — I project saving at least $ 142,800 a year with the Cat 3 508s." "Our numbers aren't something somebody thinks up. We know within one-half of one percent what our fuel consumption is every day. The savings are there . . . and we have the logs and documentation to prove it." Outstanding fuel economy isn't the only benefit McAllister is reaping with his Cat 3508s. "We calculate our net lube oil savings each year will be more than $3,200." If you run your engines as much as Normond McAllister does, you'll find like he has, Cat 3508s may actually pay for themselves in less than 1 Vi years. To get more specifics on the tremendous money saving potential open to you with Cat 3500 Series Engines from 565-1600 hp (42M194 kW), see your Caterpillar Dealer. Or write Caterpillar Information Services, P.O. Box 3900, Peoria, IL 61614. m CATERPILLAR Caterpillar, Cat and CH are Trademarks of Caterpillar Tractor Co. August 1, 1983 Write 206 on Reader Service Card 5
