Rocket Rentals aims high with FuelActive

Gloucestershire plant and tool hire business Rocket Rentals has installed FuelActive’s clean diesel pick-up system across its self-drive plant fleet. The company, which operates a growing selection of crawler excavators, site dumpers, compaction equipment and telescopic handlers throughout the South West, has been so impressed by the performance and increased productivity of its equipment since fitting FuelActive, that it has also installed the clean diesel system across its HGV delivery trucks.“We’ve always had problems with fuel contamination and we’ve tried many ways to prevent it and combat it, but with little success,” said managing director Simon Tomblin.

“We’ve tried all sorts, additional filters, additives for the fuel, but fuel on site is a challenge. Customers handle it in so many different ways, from larger bowsers to smaller cans, it’s a challenge to control.

“With FuelActive, it gives us control. Ultimately, it all comes down to looking after the customer and giving them less downtime in the process.”

With the rapidly rising cost of diesel, contractors and rental companies are keen to ensure that every drop is used to the full and that equipment offers maximum uptime and performance. Having machinery standing, while filters are changed, is costly and unproductive.

Rocket Rentals first encountered the FuelActive system when it was delivered pre-installed on a Genquip welfare unit. Having seen how effective the system is, with a floating fuel pick-up that ensures that only the cleanest diesel in the tank is passed to the engine, the company enquired whether it could be used with larger plant and equipment.

Based in Cardiff, South Wales, FuelActive’s floating fuel pick-up system has been developed to work with all types of static and mobile equipment. Installed in around an hour, usually without any requirement to remove the fuel tank, the system ensures that only the cleanest diesel, from the upper layer of fuel, is delivered to the machine’s engine.

The system requires no regular maintenance, with any contamination and water being drained from the bottom of the tank in the normal way during regular machine inspections and servicing. The system is offered with a five-year warranty and has been tested on a wide range of equipment, with fuel flow rates of up to 4,000 litres per hour.

“Basically, it was right for us,” said Tomblin. “It’s so simple, but so effective. We’ve installed it across the fleet, on all of our excavators, site dumpers, compaction equipment and telehandlers. We’ve even installed FuelActive on our HGV fleet. We can’t afford to have any of our lorries off the roads.

“Every new item of equipment that we can have it fitted to in the future, we will have it fitted. It works for us, it’s just so simple, so straightforward. We all know what diesel costs at the pumps these days and if we can save our customers any issues, then that has to be the way forward.”