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Are you looking for a transmission that’s going to give you the power and thunder you’ve been looking for without having to sacrifice any of the gas mileage you’ve come to expect from your car? If you’re restoring or rebuilding your vehicle, take the 700R4 transmission for a test drive.

The 700R4 transmission is a great way to restore your muscle car or truck or convert your old 2-3 speed vehicle. Designed by Chevy, the 700R4 transmission can handle up to 650 horsepower and offers a high performance overdrive that makes it a pleasure to slip behind the wheel.

Even with the worst of this summer’s gas crisis behind us, gas mileage is still an invaluable feature in your vehicle. With the 700R4 transmission drivers have consistently reported a 40% improvement in their gas mileage when compared to a 3 speed automatic, and its ability to offer an overdrive option while still maintaining its incredible gas mileage makes it the perfect option for muscle car restoration.

Gas prices are still uncertain. The last thing you want to do is invest thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of manpower in a muscle car that you’re not going to be able to afford to take out of the garage next summer. The 700R4 transmission can help make sure that doesn’t happen.

If you’re restoring or upgrading a car or truck, the drivetrain is going to be a major concern. (After all, if you’re restoring a car you obviously know your way around under the hood. Why would you settle for any less than the best?) With the 700R4 transmission you’ll not only save money in gas, you’ll have more power and the option of adding the converter lock-up. This unit is second to none when it comes to total performance, and with a 3.05 ratio in first gear(over 20% lower than most Chevy models out there) no other model can compare.

Are you restoring your vehicle with the intention of selling it for a profit when you’re done? If so, then the 700R4 transmission is just what you need. Incredibly popular among professional restoration companies, the 700R4 transmission actually raises the value of your vehicle because of its increased performance capability, making an older car purr like a dream and newer vehicles run more smoothly and with better gas mileage than ever before.

The best part? With the 700R4 transmission you can offer your car the best without having to break the bank. Most transmissions cost hundreds of dollars and never live up to the price tag. The 700R4 transmission was designed to be different in every way. Cost is only one of them.

The 700R4 transmission is a top of the line transmission with a mid-grade price tag-the perfect solution for anyone who’s restoring on a tight budget.

The 700R4 transmission is the best model out there for restoring your old car or truck, and its second to none when it comes to price and performance. Check it out for yourself.

Ray Subs is a public relations specialist working with the team at the Official 700R4 Transmission Parts Website. For more information on the 700R4 transmission, visit www.700R4transmission.com or call 1-800-708-0087 for vital information.

If you cannot keep your vehicle in a garage or other fixed shelter that provides all round protection for your car, truck or boat then you need to consider covering your vehicle to give it the protection it needs.

Bodywork paint is susceptible to a range of environmental factors including the weather with rain causing rust and general discoloration and the sun in particular is a major cause of faded paint work. It is not just the weather that you have to be aware of when you are looking to protect the appearance of your car as there are other factors that contribute to the deterioration of paint and bodywork. Bird droppings are highly acidic and will actually eat away at paint exposing the bodywork so that other agents can create damage, particularly water. Even if no bodywork is exposed, the chemical components will react with each other causing the development of ugly discoloured spots on your car as well as damaging the shine you are able to produce from waxing and cleaning.

Many times you will see a vehicle parked up in the yard or on the drive in front of the garage and a host of kids running around with bicycles and toys; all of these things inevitably result in some form of collision with your car and create scratches, dings and indentations. You need to ensure that your vehicle has enough protection from the elements, from wildlife and animals and simple things like a ball bouncing off the hood as the children are playing.

The best form of outdoor protection for your car is a quality car cover. Modern materials are able to provide a waterproof protective layer which will minimize the impact of rain on your paintwork and the effect of rust which can develop under the paint work and remain unseen until substantial amounts of damage have been caused. You should also ensure that the car cover is made of materials which will prevent the harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun penetrating and causing that faded look you so often see on older cars or indeed, any vehicle that has been left out in the sun too long.

A quality car protection cover will also be sturdy enough to take the impact of minor accidents such as falling branches or a bicycle brushing alongside the bodywork. Obviously we are not going to have armor plated car covers but a robust material will help minimize the impact of an enormous range of everyday occurrences which create so much damage to a car’s bodywork.

You should also ensure that the cover fits your vehicle as snugly as possible and can be secured in place so it will not be simply blown loose in a storm or high wind. There is no point in securing protection for your car only for part of the covering to come loose when you may not discover this for several weeks or months and allow the elements to damage your vehicle.

The best covers will fit easily and securely around your car as well as being made of durable and modern materials which will stand the test of time and the impact of the environment. Once they are no longer needed, they will also easily and quickly be stored and will not lose their protective qualities as a result of being stored such as cracking or rotting.

Using a car cover is the safest, easiest and cheapest form of car preservation you can invest in to protect your investment and enjoy your vehicle to the fullest.

Ryan Draving is the president of Empire Covers, a leading provider of car covers, truck covers, and other vehicle covers. They can be found online at: http://www.empirecovers.com .

No matter where you live your car is going to experience the weather and that means several major contributors to the deterioration of the look of your automobile’s bodywork can get to work; the sun and the rain are the two major ones but there are also instances of frost damage too.

Obviously, the best place to house a car when it isn’t being used is inside a garage or fixed shelter but that is not always possible and in fact most cars and vehicles are kept outside in the elements often for months at a time. This is not good news for your bodywork or the car generally so at least make an effort to get the vehicle under cover which means you need a car cover that is both rain and sun resistant.

There are many car covers available on the market both readymade in pre-defined sizes and custom covers made specifically for that make and model of vehicle; whichever you choose you need to make sure they protect your pride and joy. Just because you have purchased a rubberized cover does not mean it will prevent the harmful UV rays of the sun. Just as UV rays harm your skin and can do so even through clothing, so the sun’s harmful impact can be felt through an otherwise waterproof covering. You must have protection from both elements so it must be waterproof and able to block the sun’s rays.

Making sure the car cover fits your vehicle is also an issue to ensure the most effective protection you can provide. Remember, your car may be left for weeks or months (and in some sad cases, even years) and making sure that the covering is going to stay in place owes a lot to how well the cover fits and is secured. The material must be durable and able to continue providing protection for years despite being exposed to the elements itself. There is no point in using a car protection cover which ends up becoming semi-detached from the car because the wind has blown it loose and exposed parts of your car to the ravages of sun and water!

A good fitting, quality car protection cover will not just protect your car from the impact of weather conditions; a good car cover will be robust enough to provide protection from physical knocks and scratching caused by people, especially children as well as household pets and wildlife. Bird droppings for instance, will quickly cause deterioration in modern car bodywork paint and quickly provide weak areas for water to work on producing rust spots and worse.

When you are ready to use your car you need to be able to easily stow the car protection cover away for use next time and this is when a protection cover made from durable, flexible modern materials come into their own and allow for easy handling and storage. The protection cover must not crack along the creases caused by folding and being kept for lengthy periods of time when not in use so the protection provided is maintained when you come to use it again.

Leaving your vehicle out in the open without any protection is simply going to accelerate the depreciation in value of the vehicle while using a car protection cover will only cost you a fraction of the value you will lose. Take the time to ensure that you buy a quality car protection cover which will stand the test of time and provide protection for your vehicle and you will be able to enjoy your car looking its best for that much longer.

Ryan Draving is the president of Empire Covers, a leading provider of car covers, truck covers, and other vehicle covers. They can be found online at: http://www.empirecovers.com .

If you cannot get your vehicle under cover in a garage then your options are fairly limited when it comes to protecting the look of your vehicle. Paintwork is especially vulnerable to the elements and needs protection from rain, sun, animals and people so it makes sense to look at a car protection cover to provide a robust layer of all round protection for your pride and joy.

Modern car protection covers are made from durable and flexible materials which perform a variety of protective functions. They will be waterproof and so keep your bodywork from coming into contact with water which will cause discoloration of your paint job and if left unchecked, rust which will ravage the look of your car very quickly and cost dearly to put right. They will also be able to block out the harmful effects of the sun’s ultraviolet or UV radiation; the same rays which cause sunburn in people also cause damage to your paint job and the sun is the major cause of a faded paint job which always looks unsightly and there is nothing you can do to remedy it once it has happened.

Prevention is definitely better than cure in this instance!

It is not just the weather that you need to deal with; there are a host of other things that can damage the look and body of your car such as children playing near the car; the cat deciding the hood is a great place to sunbathe; or a tree shedding leaves under which you have parked the car. All of these and many others will contribute to your car becoming scratched, discoloured, dented and acquiring the odd ding or two depending on how much in harm’s way you have parked the vehicle.

Make sure the car cover is therefore strong and robust enough to deal with minor scrapes and hits from animals, trees and people.

One factor is frequently underestimated and that is bird droppings. Bird droppings are highly acidic and should never be allowed to remain in contact with your car’s paint job. They will react chemically with your paintwork and damage the coating as well as the paint itself causing the formation of discoloured spots, dulled paintwork and if left untreated create opportunities for water to get to the underlying bodywork and cause very serious rust damage.

You need to be able to rely on the protective abilities of the car cover you choose but it needs to be able to fit the vehicle easily and be secured so that it can be left unattended for several weeks or even months. More than this, once it is not in use it must be capable of being stored for long periods of time without losing these qualities – older materials for instance, have a tendency to crack along fold creases and this allows the elements to gain access to your vehicle underneath.

The issue is not so much, where is the best place to store your car outside of the garage but what else is there that you can effectively store your car in. A durable, quality car protection cover will cocoon your car, truck or boat and provide an added layer of protection so it continues to look good and is kept damage free for as long as you own it.

Ryan Draving is the president of Empire Covers, a leading provider of car covers, truck covers, and other vehicle covers. They can be found online at: http://www.empirecovers.com .

Excerpt – It surely is that time of the year when it is snowing around vociferously in your town. If that’s the case, you surely need to do something to ensure your car is kept out of harm’s way.

Snow is the biggest enemy for your vehicles. It does not get worse than exposing your sedan to its worst enemy like a sitting duck. Take up the cudgels and think of doing something for your car or vehicle so that it withstands the extreme winter, which will be hitting your city in some months to come.

In doing so, you would help yourselves. Of course, you would not have to pay a visit to the repair shop to get your car fixed after all the beating it has taken during the winter months. Secondly, you would also be able to allow your car to run a year longer, possibly more.

Here is how you should prepare a vehicle to withstand the hazards of wintry conditions.

• Park the vehicle indoors – Here indoors does not mean in your home. Park the car in your garage or a place that is not exposed to the snow outdoors. This should be the simplest way you could prepare your car for the grind ahead.

• Ignite the engines almost daily – There could be some days when you may not use your vehicle at all, especially when it is snowing outside. On all such days, be sure to spend 5 minutes in the morning in starting your car. You may still not go out anywhere. But at least by starting the engines, you are ensuring they are warm in spite of the cold outside.

• Finish off all the long drives before winter sets in – If you have any long drives pending on your agenda, you should get done with them much before winter sets in. Driving your car for a long time in the cold can only be damaging for the engines of your car.

• Never do any carburetor related activity during winter seasons – Remember, it is cold outside. Opening up the chassis and checking the carburetor in the cold may not be the best idea after all. Even before you could say “Car Maintenance”, the engine could catch cold.

• Charge your batteries – This is that time of the year when you battery could keep losing its charge off and then. A good idea would be charge the battery so it could last longer. Alternatively, you could also charge the battery once in two weeks to keep it in fine fettle.

Keeping your car in fine fettle during winters has got a lot to do with what you do before the winters and during the time it snows. Treat your car like a baby at all times, but do that especially during winter seasons. It is this time of the year that your car would need extra care. The extra minute you spend with your car can only be beneficial for you, as chances of your car breaking down mid-highway after the winters are pretty remote.

Clearly there is a need to prepare your car for winter. Accidents can occur if you have not made the neccessary preparations. If you have had an accident recently, visit BGRB (BGR Bloomer Solicitors). BGRB are a one of the UK’s leading personal injury specialists, with vast experience in road accident claims.

There has more than likely been one time or another when you have experienced a scratch on the paint job of your vehicle. Did you know that there are ways that this can be repaired without the costly trip to the dealership or auto body shop? The truth is, sooner or later – every car is going to get a scratch, so – use these tips to get rid of the unsightly marks.

If the car has been painted with enamel paint, than the vehicle repair may need professional attention, if not – than you can go ahead with these simple tips to repair a scratch on the surface of the vehicle.

When repairing a scratch, it is important to lightly wash the surface of any material that would affect the bonding of the paint that is going to be applied to fix the scratch. Sometimes, when vehicles have been waxed, it decreases the ability for the paint to create a bond with the metal, creating an obvious paint line. A mild dish detergent or even a mild laundry detergent can be used to take off any wax, protecting or seal that is on the vehicle and could interrupt the scratch repair process.

Next, you will need to lightly sand the area where the vehicle is scratched with fine grained sand paper. When completing this step, it is most effective to do this by hand. This will ensure that the vehicle will not be over-sanded and damage the body of the vehicle, or even further damage the paint job of the vehicle. Never use an electric sander to repair a small scratch on the body or door of the vehicle; this will lead to unsightly marks being left after the scratch has been repaired. When sanding, go with the direction on the scratch, as this will not make it worse.

If there is rust near the scratch, than it can be easily removed with rust-cleaner and sandpaper treatment. When sanding, only be sure to grind down the area that is closest to the scratch.

Before painting, tape-off the area of the scratch using newspaper, allowing a small cutout for the scratch. This will ensure that only the area required is painted. After all, the paint is more than likely not going to be the exact same tone, unless the vehicle is new and the exact paint is chosen.

How do you choose paint for your vehicle that is being repaired? Often, there is color swatches available from the dealership that the vehicle was purchased from, if not, than at the local auto body supply store there should be a sufficient color. Remember, these colors may not go on completely flush with the current color. The more a vehicle has been exposed to the elements, the more the color fades – making it hard to determine the replacement color.

Next, the area should be sprayed with touch up paint, avoid brushing as it could cause unsightly marks to occur within the paint. Next, remove the paper and let the vehicle dry overnight to ensure it is not going to be effected by the elements.

Car Transport Raleigh Car Transport

Tires are one of the most misunderstood and under-appreciated parts of a vehicle. Although assumed by many just to be a cushion to keep your wheel rim from getting damaged, in reality your tires are only point of contact between a high-speed moving vehicle and the road. Consequently, how much control you have over your car depends greatly on your tires. This article will explain what tires do for your car, the consequences of poorly maintaining your tires, and what you can do to make sure your tries are reliable and safe.

Every aspect of a tire is carefully designed to provide the greatest amount of control over your car. The type of tire rubber is carefully chosen to be soft enough to provide a good grip on the road, but tough enough not to wear down too quickly. As the rubber of the tire rolls over the pavement, it transmits force between the tire and the road via friction to generate traction. This is made possible by friction, which can be described as the stickiness between any 2 surfaces. Friction is what allows traction (the ability of the tire to grip the road), allowing you to speed up, slow down, and steer the vehicle, thus keeping control over your car.

Consequently, it is in your best interest to keep the contact area between your tire and the pavement as broad as possible. Here, tire pressure is important. Over-inflating a tire can cause it to lift too high off the ground, so that only the center of the tire is in contact with the road. This causes less traction (and thus less control over a moving vehicle), and uneven wear in the middle of the tire tread. Under-inflated tires let the tire ride to low, causing excessive wear to the outer ribs of the tire tread, and increasing the chances of a blowout. To maintain proper tire pressure, check your car owner’s manual (or look up the tire specification on the internet) to find the correct tire pressure. Check you tire pressure frequently (once a week or so) to make sure they maintain to correct pressure.

Uneven wear on your tire treads can also slowly decrease the contact area with the pavement over time. Unfortunately, even the position of the four tires on the car and cause uneven wear over time. To avoid this, rotate the tires to different wheel positions around the car periodically (in the USA, every 10,000 miles or so). Not only is the safer, it will make your tires last longer and save you money over time.

Keeping your tires properly balanced is also important. Your wheels should be perfectly perpendicular to the road to provide the greatest contact surface area with the pavement, and thus the best traction and control over your car. If your wheels are at an angle, even a very slight one, it decreases the contact area with the pavement, reduction traction and control, and crates uneven wearing on your tires, increasing the chance of a blowout. A good way to maintain proper balance is to have the balance checked whenever you have your tires rotated.

When your tread wears down, several bad things can happen. First of all, it generates less friction between the tire and the road, providing less grip on the pavement and thus less control over a moving vehicle.

Second, tire treads are specifically designed, when your tires roll through standing water or heavy rain, to channel water up and away for the road and provide a drier surface for your tires to grip the road. When tires treads wear down, these water channels shrink, creating a smaller channel to lift and push water away for the pavement. This increases the chances of losing control of your car when driving through water or heavy rain, especially at high speeds.

Finally, the older and more worn the tires are, the greater the chance that one of them will burst while the car is moving. Although merely an annoyance at low speeds, the danger caused by a blowout increases dramatically at higher speeds, and at highway speeds can be lethal. In extreme cases, the tire tread can separate from the tire wall and wrap around the axle, causing you to lose all steering control, collide with another car, go off the road, or even roll over.

Proper tire maintenance is an enormously broad topic, and this short article has provided just the very basics of maintenance and safety. If you think you have any questions about whether or not you need to have your tires rotated or replaced, take your car to an auto mechanic or garage.

Ed Terran is the pen name for the editor of a auto parts directory USA auto salvage UK auto salvage

Reducing diesel soot emissions by 80%:

Changes to new car emissions legislation scheduled for 2009; the ‘Euro 5′ standards, will make particulate filters as commonplace in diesel car exhausts as catalytic converters are on petrol cars.

The goal is an 80% reduction in diesel particulate (soot) emissions, but the technology’s not without problems; roadside assistance patrols are already being called to cars with the particulate filter warning light illuminated, which normally indicates a partial blockage of the DPF filter.

Clearly, changes to driving styles may be required for maximum benefit from these emission-reducing systems.

How do the filters work?:

Diesel Particulate filters (DPF) or ‘traps’ do just that, they catch bits of soot in the exhaust.

As with any filter (think of the bag in your vacuum cleaner) they have to be emptied regularly to maintain performance. For a DPF this process is called ‘regeneration’; the accumulated soot is burnt off at high temperature to leave only a tiny ash residue. Regeneration may be either passive or active.

Passive regeneration

Passive regeneration takes place automatically on motorway-type runs when the exhaust temperature is high. Many cars don’t get this sort of use though so manufacturers have to design-in ‘active’ regeneration where the engine management computer (ECU) takes control of the process.

Active regeneration

When the soot loading in the filter reaches a set limit (about 45%) the ECU can make small adjustments to the fuel injection timing to increase the exhaust temperature and initiate regeneration. If the journey’s a bit stop/start the regeneration may not complete and the warning light will illuminate to show that the DPF is partially blocked.

It should be possible to start a complete regeneration and clear the warning light simply by driving for 10 minutes or so at speeds greater than 40mph.

If you ignore the light and keep driving in a relatively slow, stop/start pattern soot loading will continue to build up until around 75% when you can expect to see other dashboard warning lights illuminate too. At this point driving at speed alone will not be sufficient and the car will have to go to a dealer for regeneration.

Expensive repairs:

If warnings are still ignored and soot loading continues to increase then the most likely outcome will be a new DPF costing around £1000.

Mainly town based driving:

If your own car use or lease car use is mainly town-based, stop/start driving it would be wise to choose petrol rather than risk the hassle of incomplete DPF regeneration.

DPF additives:

The most common type of DPF features an integrated oxidising catalytic converter and is located very close to the engine where exhaust gases will still be relatively hot so that passive regeneration is possible.

There’s not always space close to the engine though so some manufacturers use a different type of DPF which relies on a fuel additive to lower the ignition temperature of the soot particles so that the DPF can be located further from the engine.

The additive is stored in a separate tank and is automatically mixed with the fuel whenever you fill up. Tiny quantities are required though so a litre of additive should treat around 2800 litres of fuel, enough to cover 25,000 miles at 40mpg.

With this type of DPF regeneration will be initiated by the ECU every 300 miles or so depending on vehicle use and will take 5 to 10 minutes to complete. You shouldn’t notice anything other than perhaps a puff of white smoke from the exhaust when the process is completed.

AA experience:

The AA has seen evidence of DPF systems failing to regenerate - even on cars - that are used mainly on motorways. Their conclusion is that on cars with a very high sixth gear engine revs are too low to generate sufficient exhaust temperature, but occasional harder driving in lower gears should be sufficient to bum off the soot in such cases.

Check the handbook:

If you buy or lease a car with a DPF fitted it’s important to read the relevant section of the vehicle handbook so that you understand exactly what actions to take if the warning light illuminates and how, if at all, your driving style may need to be adjusted to ensure maximum DPF efficiency and life.

As experts in the field of UK car leasing and UK van leasing, RTS-Vehicles have over 30 years experience in the purchase and supply of cars and vans to business and private users alike.

Businesses can now assess the carbon footprint of their goods and services and play a greater part in fighting climate change thanks to a new standard launched jointly by BSI British Standards (the UK’s National Standards Body), the Carbon Trust and Defra (the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

The publicly available standard – called PAS 2050 – provides a consistent way to evaluate the greenhouse gas emissions embedded in goods and services throughout their entire life cycle, from sourcing raw materials through to manufacture, distribution, use and disposal.

BSI says the aim of the new standard is to help businesses move beyond managing the emissions their own processes create and to look at the opportunities for reducing emissions in the design, making and supplying of products. This will then help businesses make goods or services that are less carbon intensive and, ultimately, develop new products with lower carbon footprints.

The Carbon Trust has already piloted PAS 2050 with 75 product ranges across a wide range of companies including: PepsiCo, Boots, Innocent, Marshalls, Tesco, Cadbury, Halifax, Coca Cola, Kimberly Clark, The Co-operative Group, Scottish & Newcastle, Coors Brewers, Muller, British Sugar, ABAgri, Sainsbury’s, Danone, Continental Clothing Company, Colors Fruit, Morphy Richards, Mey Selections and Aggregate Industries.

As an example of the results obtained, Boots, for its Botanics shampoo, has redesigned its logistics network so that products could be delivered direct to stores, thereby reducing road miles and packaging. This has reduced the carbon footprint of making the shampoo by 10 per cent. In another example, Innocent worked with one of its suppliers to identify an opportunity for the supplier to set up a group of employees to look at how they could increase the amount of waste materials being recycled throughout the factory. In the first month, waste to landfill was reduced by 15 per cent, and within six months the reduction reached 54 per cent.

Defra has also carried out research testing of the PAS on up to 100 food products through their production, manufacture and distribution and is studying the greenhouse gas impacts of food preparation and consumption in the home. Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said: “Companies have said they want to be able to count their carbon emissions in a better way, so we have responded. By looking at where the emissions are being created and reducing them, businesses can also save themselves money.

“You cannot see or count emissions when you buy a product. But consumers want to know that emissions are being cut by businesses and this standard will help businesses to do that.

“In addition to measuring and reducing the carbon footprint of their products, from clothing to cosmetics and cottage pies, businesses will be able to offer advice to the public about the most environmentally friendly ways to choose, use and dispose of their products.”

Carbon Trust Chief Executive Tom Delay added: “For the first time, businesses have a robust, consistent standard for measuring the carbon footprint of their goods and services. This exciting development will help businesses to really understand the carbon impact of their products and to follow this up with tangible ways to cut carbon emissions across the supply chain.

“The Carbon Trust has been part of this work from the outset and we are delighted that PAS 2050 is now publicly available for any company to use.”

Mike Low, director of BSI British Standards, said: “PAS 2050 has been developed using BSI’s rigorous consultation process, involving almost a thousand industry experts from within the UK and internationally. The result is a robust framework within which businesses and public sector bodies will be able to assess the greenhouse gas emissions of their goods and services in a consistent manner.

“Our hope is that it will be used widely by organisations of all sizes and sectors. PAS 2050 is the latest addition to BSI’s rapidly expanding stable of standards and tools in the area of sustainability and the environment, which enable organizations to manage their operations in a more sustainable manner.”

PAS 2050 will pave the way for business to provide transparent and reliable information on the carbon content of their products. It can be downloaded free of charge, plus there is a downloadable guide to implementing PAS 2050.

Engineer Live brings you all the latest processs engineer news and updates from around the globe.

In the drive to boost performance and reduce downtime, high-tech imaging solutions are helping to solve maintenance issues.

A high-tech videoscope hired from Ashtead Technology Rentals helped an environmental services company to significantly reduce downtime during health and safety checks.

Veolia Environmental Services used an Olympus IPLEX MX Videoscope to survey packing material in a cooling tower at its Ellesmere Port hazardous waste incinerator and in doing so the company was able to ensure that the operation was completed as quickly as possible, with minimal disruption to the plant.

Cooling towers must be well maintained and kept clean to prevent the build up of potentially hazardous bacteria including legionella. Slime, scale and algae can also affect the performance and physical obstructions can often be found during checks.

In the past, it has been common practice to remove the cooling pack for the purposes of the inspection and cleaning (regardless of whether the tower needed to be cleaned or not).

However, depending on the size of the unit, this can take anything from a few hours to two days to complete. During this time the cooling system would be shut down resulting, in many applications, in the closure of the entire facility. However, endoscopic inspection can be undertaken in a few hours and full colour digital images can be obtained.

The UK Health & Safety Executive (HSE) now explicitly accepts the use of endoscopes to obtain images of the packing material condition. These images can be used to assess the cleanliness of packing material in cooling towers and by inference the effectiveness of the cleaning regime.

Dave Smith, technical manager with incinerator operator Veolia, explained: “We operate the site around-the-clock and had a short shutdown planned when we had an opportunity to inspect the cooling tower. This was the first time we had used this kind of equipment and we were able to carry out the check with minimum disruption. When we have carried out checks in the past without a videoscope the inspection would take a lot longer but with this equipment the process is quicker, more efficient and with full colour digital images of the packing material.”

The IPLEX MX is a lightweight, ultra compact videoscope system that uses an internal battery resulting in new levels of portability for the process industries and others.

In another development, Ashtead is also reporting a boom in demand, despite the current economic climate and gloomy forecasts.

Ashtead rents instruments for environmental monitoring, for health and safety checking, for testing materials in construction and manufacture, and for remote visual inspection in a wide variety of industries.

One might suspect that worries with the economy might force businesses to cut back on all expenditure, but as the company’s general manager James Carlyle says: “Nervousness and uncertainty certainly causes companies to reduce or delay capital expenditure. However, testing, monitoring and inspection work is vital for a number of reasons including regulatory compliance, quality control, health and safety, and environmental protection.”

Health and safety at work regulations require employers and self-employed people to carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks for all work activities for the purpose of deciding what measures are necessary for safety. For example, in confined spaces the HSE advises, “It may be necessary to check that air is free from both toxic and flammable vapours and that it is fit to breathe. Testing should be carried out by a competent person using a suitable gas detector which is correctly calibrated.”

Ashtead has risen to this challenge with a fleet of instruments from leading manufacturers for health and safety assessments include toxic gas detectors, particulate monitors, HVAC monitors, and instruments for the measurement of noise and vibration.

Companies with emissions to the environment have to comply with a raft of regulations that relate to the management of waste and emissions to air, land and water. Compliance inevitably involves monitoring with the most appropriate technology; this may involve the purchase of on-line monitors, but frequently necessitates an initial assessment followed by regular spot checks, so renting provides an opportunity to do so without investment in expensive instrumentation. It also enables process operators to deploy the best available technology whenever they need it, says the company.

In January of this year, Raytek launched the new MP150 high-speed infrared (IR) Linescanner. This new product operates with a complete suite of application software to provide what the company describes as the fastest and most complete non-contact temperature measurement solution on the market today.

The MP150 features the latest electronics, optics, communications and mirror mechanisms. This technology facilitates a scan speed up to 150Hz, three times faster than its predecessor, allowing the MP150 to gather complete data from even the fastest manufacturing processes (Fig. 1). Now, however, the product is now being relaunched with expanded data collection capability.

The MP150 can now measure up to 1024 data points per scan, up from the previous 512, to provide the user to see even smaller temperature anomalies. Also new is a fibre optic communication system that permits connection to existing fibre networks or directly to a PC. Fibre optic infrastructure avoids potential interference from strong EMI fields generated by heavy equipment as well as protecting the instrumentation from sudden power surges generated by lightning strikes.

Engineer Live brings you all the latest engineering news and updates from around the globe.