Cover Story | Winter road maintenance liquids These are three primary liquid products that road departments typically use to help ensure safe driving conditions during winter storms. • Anti-icing: Application of liquids to the roadway before, or at the onset to, a winter storm. These prevent a hard bond of ice, reduce snow buildup and speed snow and ice breakup after the storm. • De-icing: Application of liquids after snow and ice has already accumulated on the road. • Pre-wetting: Application of a liquid to traditional sanding material to help jump start the melting process by causing the sand to better stick to snow and ice. cut overall maintenance costs. SKF recommends the following preventative maintenance steps: • Soak the vehicle down with a detergent, then power wash it thoroughly to help reduce the ability of chemicals and other debris to draw moisture in and accelerate corrosion. • Remove de-icing agents using Krown Salt Eliminator so that they dissolve quickly and prevent further corrosion. • On electrical system problem areas, apply a corrosion inhibitor with high dielectric strength. Such areas include, but are not limited to plugs, the ECU, wiring harnesses, battery terminals and exposed wiring. These lubricants can be used to protect the body, chassis, dump beds, salt spreaders or moving parts. GO SOLVENT-FREE To prevent corrosion most effectively, experts recommend using a solventfree rust inhibitor. That’s because solvents can damage paint, plastic and rubber, leaving surfaces brittle and even more susceptible to corrosion damage. Exposure to solvents is harmful for users and the environment. Unfortunately, 95 percent all rust inhibitors on the market contain such solvents, so fl eet operators and maintenance teams should choose only the highest performing, solventfree rust inhibitor. Doing so will help reduce downtime, maintenance costs and, of course, corrosion damage. John Heffernen, is the national fleets sales manager for SKF’s vehicle service market. SKF (www.skf.com) is a leading global supplier of bearings, seals, mechatronics, lubrication systems and services. Tractor service Environmental conditions like dust control chemicals, sea air, industrial pollution, high humidity, moisture and severe temperatures also play a role in accelerating the rate of corrosion on vehicle parts, especially those parts that are not well ventilated to permit quick drying. NEW CHEMICALS Corrosion on vehicles has become an even greater concern because of new formulations of more aggressive anti-icing chemicals that have been introduced over the years. Th ese include salt brines, agricultural-based liquid products and potassium acetate. Two of the more popular ones are magnesium chloride- and calcium chloride-based products. In addition to their ease and speed of application, and being more eff ective at low temperatures, they tend to be less expensive, less corrosive to concrete and less harmful to the environment. However, magnesium chloride- and calcium chloride-based products have become a serious maintenance problem for vehicle owners and operators, says the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC). Th e use of these products by certain states has resulted in increased corrosion Continued Page 12 VehicleServicePros.com ❚ AUGUST 2016 ❚ FLEET MAINTENANCE 11
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