Pony Motors

[linemanfrog]

My company is looking into the possibility of installing pony motors on our distribution trucks now. We currently use a 36 volt dc Bohlinger battery pack system to run our boom functions in an attempt to save on fuel costs, and of course promote a little green so to speak. We have used these battery pack systems for at least 15 years and until recently had pretty good service out of the sytem. Altec, at one time, produced their own system to include the battery pack, acumulator, etc. Now they buy the battery pack system from Bohlinger. Needless to say the newer systems do not perform as well, as consistant, as long, or as smoothly as the older Altec systems.

Since we are not getting the usability out of these systems anymore we are entertaining the idea of using a small diesel pony motor to run the boom functions. We have heard there are other companies that are looking into it and/or have already begun to do this. The only company we know for a fact has done this is the City of Tallahassee.

So my questions are these....Does your comany have any trucks in the 50-65 foot range that have a pony motor installed to operate the boom? If so, how well does it work? How/where is the motor mounted and how big is the motor and associated equipment that goes along with it (how much bed space does it take up)? What type of fuel does is run on?

Thanks for any help and/or info you can send my way.

[linemanfrog]

Any help on the above guys would be great. Thanks ahead of time.

[Pootnaigle]

We tried it back in the late 80's. The noise level on the ground made it nearly impossible to communicate with folks in the air. Ours were deisel ponys and took up about a quarter of the bed space.After a few years the ponies start getting cantankerous. If you do start that progam make damn sure that a daily inspection on that Pony is performed. Oil Checked, Battery inspected, Coolant level full etc etc.