Cummins Inc. has announced doubling the oil change interval from 500 hours to 1,000 hours for its ComfortGuard auxiliary power unit (APU). According to the company, the move will improve uptime for fleet owners while cutting maintenance costs in half.

The new oil change interval recommendation was the result of an extensive testing program by Cummins and Kubota to ensure that no long-term damage to the engine would result from the recommendation. Shawn Wasson, auxiliary power unit business leader, Cummins Inc., noted that APU engines run at a fairly constant load and RPM, which puts less strain on the engine than if it were used in an application where the load and speed varied widely. This constant load and speed results in less wear and oil contamination, the two companies determined.

“On average, an APU runs about 2,500 hours per year to save fuel and reduce idling time on a truck’s propulsion engine,” said Wasson. “With oil and filter changes every 500 hours on the APU, the annual cost can exceed $350 for oil, filters and labor. With this new interval of 1,000 hours, costs will average only about $150 per year for an annual savings of about $200 per truck. By making the maintenance intervals for the APU engine and the truck’s main engine the same, downtime is reduced for further savings.”