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Fuel consumption has always been a matter of worry amongst almost every construction companies. They have to spend more on fuel than perhaps on the maintenance of the machine. It is believed that the overall operating cost of a construction project involves a good portion of money spent in the fuel consumption of the machine. The construction companies try hard to get the figures down but they can only do that when the fuel rate in the global market is down. This means that they suffer a lot as the machines they owe do not consume anything less than gallons of fuel for a couple of days work. Well it is not that there is no solution to it but it can be expensive. Heavy equipment companies have recently come up with many such machines that are low on fuel consumption. However, their prices are pretty high as compared to the conventional machines. This is why construction companies are reluctant to invest on heavy equipment that consume less fuel.

There is one more way by which you can make your construction equipment fuel efficient and that is through regular servicing the machine. It is important to keep the engine and other important components of the heavy equipment clean so that when it functions it functions without any hindrances. So when you have an excavator working for you with a diesel engine it consumes anything between 0,21 to 0,26 kg/(kWh). Other than that the fuel consumption also depends to a larger extent on the type of engine installed in the machine. Better the quality of the engine less will be the fuel consumption. The size of the engine also matters a lot when it comes to fuel consumption and its efficiency.

There are few people who in order to increase the fuel efficiency changes the engine to a much better one. They believe in upgrading the machine without having to change it completely. So you got to just call your mechanic and talk to him about the kind of engine that can be installed to achieve higher fuel efficiency. They mostly do all the work for you. This is what many small construction companies and contractors have been doing. They see this to be a wise move where they do not have to spend a bomb in buying new construction equipment and can still have a fuel efficient machine.

Different heavy equipment react differently to the work conditions. For a CAT excavator, it consumes anything between 2.1 to 2.6 GPH (Gallons Per Hour) under low load factor. Under medium load factor, its consumption increases to around 2.6 to 3.1 GPH and when the load is to its maximum, the fuel consumption is 3.1 to 3.8 GPH. One can’t give a clear answer on the fuel consumption per hour of a particular machine as it depends upon a lot of factors. However, what can be done to know the machine’s fuel efficiency is fill the tank in full and make a note of the meter reading. Use it the whole day and take the reading. You can also take the reading on an hourly basis giving you a much better picture of the fuel consumption.

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