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	Cory Hall, Operations and General Manager, Mainline Tankers.       The range of Diesel Guard products.

It is estimated that as much as 14% of commercially used diesel goes unaccounted for and that this is largely due to theft. Overcoming this problem has proved to be relatively simple for two operators who have installed diesel 'security products' on their trucks to stop thieves siphoning from tanks and cutting fuel hoses. Paul Collings gets their story.

"Talk to anyone in the trucking business whether they have one truck or 100 and almost without fail they will have a story to tell about the theft of diesel from their vehicles. It is nothing new and it is getting worse by the day," says Wes Carpenter, Marketing Director of Diesel Guard. "The maintenance free Diesel Guard device is manufactured from grade 304 stainless steel and fits snugly into the existing diesel tank filler neck. Fitting is quick and easy and once fitted it cannot easily be removed."
 

Wes Carpenter (left) at Auto Africa 2006 and Hennie Lamprecht, designer and developer of the Diesel guard.

Gridlocked
The Diesel Guard system is designed and developed by Hennie Lamprecht who has overcome the problem of earlier mechanical anti-theft devices by moving the grid from the bottom to the top of the tank filler. He has also introduced a sliding sleeve to prevent spillage and has changed the design of the holes in the grid to make a foolproof system, says Carpenter.

"The air displaced by the diesel escapes through separate holes and does not interfere with the incoming fuel allowing for high volume filling," adds Carpenter. "The diesel guard has been successfully tested up to 145 litres per minute."

Says Cory Hall, General and Operations Manager for Mainline Tankers," Our rigs are running locally and across borders into Africa and we were losing plenty of diesel. We suspected some of our drivers were involved as well as theft taking place at border posts while the drivers were otherwise occupied. Since fitting the Diesel Guard we are typically saving between 150 and 200 litres per round trip to Zambia, which means that the unit paid for itself in one trip. We have asked Hennie to supply their long range connecting hoses and automatic discharge units and it will be interesting to see what impact this will have on our economy figures."

Zero defect
Similar in function to Diesel Guard is the range of diesel security products from EFA Engineering. Securing filler necks and supplying steel-core hoses has helped Gauteng long distance haulier, Rollex, save thousands of litres of diesel per year. Owned by Paul Derobillard, Rollex runs a fleet of 13 MAN TGA's and five Freightliner Argosy's carrying general cargo cross-border as far as Tanzania. Eleven reefers carry fresh produce on the return trip. "Our trucks run through Zimbabwe and diesel up there fetches as much as R12 a litre," says Abie Rademeyer, Transport Co-ordinator at Rollex. "We were losing hundreds of litres every month until we fitted EFA Engineering's anti-theft products. Every truck in the fleet has its tanks fitted with secure necks and steel long-range hoses. The reefer cooling unit's tank is also secured. The results have been fantastic. We've not lost a single drop of diesel to theft." 

EFA Engineering seals the left side tank and runs steel-core hoses from long range tank to right side tank.