News Retrofit or Factory A/C? WRITTEN BY RYAN GRAY |
RYAN@STNONLINE.COM
Te last several years have seen an influx of factory- installed air conditioning units from school bus manufacturers as technology has improved performance and, as a result, comfort on board. But districts have other options, don’t they? Not at Katy ISD, near Houston, or we should say they
A Cooling Period
WRITTEN BY SEAN GALLAGHER |
SEAN@STNONLINE.COM Te winter gloom is when the
freeze never seems to thaw and the chill has no foreseeable end. Despite relatively warmer temperatures this winter in many parts of the county, air conditioning might be the farthest from the minds of trans- portation directors and supervisors nationwide. However, the way that the school year flashes by, the broil of the spring and summer months will soon be upon transporters, and protecting students from the heat, especially those with special needs, is paramount. Plus, it’s bid season. Tis transition also signifies another round of fleet maintenance, including fixing, updating or install- ing A/C units. School Transportation News recently examined the topic of air conditioning aboard school buses, surveying 222 transportation directors and supervisors across the country. According to respondents, more than 60 percent have to tackle the issue of A/C upkeep, a share of them disclosing that most of their fleet is installed with this equipment. Yet, a different portion of directors and supervisors revealed the only vehicles with cooling units are only installed on IEP routes, a require- ment in a number of states. As for maintenance, a majority
of responses mentioned they rarely have to worry about their A/C units beyond the typical annual repairs, which were related to filter, hose and compressor issues, as well as blower motor failure, in terms of frequent replacements. Other component obstacles that respondents addressed were fairly standard, like coil prob- lems, Freon and seal leaks, broken belts and condenser snags. Many of these difficulties are dealt with in- house. In some cases, the company supplies the fixes. Of the 90 readers who responded
to product-specific questions, 45 percent answered “other,” indicating they the use multiple brands in their fleet. And nearly a third of those said the A/C units were ordered through the bus manufacturer and installed at the factory. l
Does your fleet currently have A/C units installed?
Yes – 61%
(Of 222 survey responses.) No – 39%
20 School Transportation News • FEBRUARY 2016
don’t want one. Stephen Loveless is the fleet manager at Katy with more than 30 years of experience and remem- bers well air conditioning units that “couldn’t cool your back porch” much less a full-size, 77-passenger school bus. Yesterday’s A/C just couldn’t cut it in Houston’s hot and muggy Dog Days of August, when school starts and drivers and students would dread sticking to vinyl seats. Today, Katy ISD is eyeing a complete fleet turnover with air conditioning for all routes, not just as required for a student’s IEP. Next month the district will receive 77 new Tomas Built Buses with Spheros units to add to another 113 A/C-equipped Tomas buses purchased last year. But in doing so, Loveless said the district learned that
retrofitting legacy buses with new aftermarket units caused many issues. So the district opted to order direct from the factory and reap the benefits or A/C units installed for the particular bus it was ordering. “I strongly suggest someone look into (retrofitting)
carefully before doing it,” he added. He explained that Katy ISD first tried retrofitting five- and six-year old buses, but ran into a host of issues. Te first rooftop mounted compressors worked great, but the added clearance height proved problematic for drivers when driving under certain overpasses. A few units, Loveless added, came clear off. Other rooftop units proved too difficult to reliably receive from overseas, and procuring parts could be an issue. Ten, Loveless said the district tried aftermarket bulk- head evaporators. But desiccant lines in the dryers burst and clogged the units with a Freon goo. So Katy ISD joined dozens of other districts statewide
that have turned to in-factory units made possible by changes to the Texas School Bus Specifications that no longer requires air conditioning to be an aftermarket technology. Te new spec also requires a two-year, bumper- to-bumper warranty that includes A/C coverage. In August, the district began receiving the first of its new buses with the latest A/C technology. Loveless said the district actually secured a three-year warranty on its new A/C, reaping the benefit of not only better technology, but less maintenance and no more headaches in trying to procure parts. “I’d strongly recommend for the sake of the district and the patrons that a district do an aggressive re- tirement, and go ahead and upgrade to newer buses,” Loveless said. l
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