A few days ago, Swedbank's chief economist Nerijus Mačiulis shared on his Facebook account with estimates of how much fuel would cost in Lithuania if the price of oil reached $ 60, $ 30 or $ 1 a barrel. According to him, even if oil prices fall to unimaginable lows ($ 1 per barrel), gas stations would still have to pay about 80 cents per liter because the retail price is inflated by taxes.

But this time about other things that are practically unaffected by the price of "black gold". No matter how much you ask for diesel, „long-fingered" people will never be tempted to steal an empty tank and not pay a penny. This is because conventional truck fuel tank locks are a bit more complicated than barn door latches. Secondly, the tanks usually carry up to 1,500 liters of diesel, even after a full day's work on the road. Thirdly, with the necessary equipment, this amount can be quietly pumped to other containers and can disappear in a few minutes without the dog slipping. If the "operation" succeeds smoothly, the profit has never been equal to two average Lithuanian statistical monthly salaries.

To be fair, it must also be acknowledged that sometimes it is the drivers themselves who are to blame for fuel theft, but the drivers themselves, who sell 'firewood' and then create sad stories from the 'I just fell asleep' moment. In such cases, even additional tank protection does not help, as none of them can withstand the breaker and hammer.

The original answer to the question of the owners of transport companies "What to do?" Was provided by electronics expert Kęstas Simanavičius. Founded with a colleague, "Du Ponai" developed an original fuel tank alarm about a year and a half ago, and has recently improved the system so that it can now be called "smart" without even thickening the color tank cap.

The first version of our product acted as a classic alarm - when the tank unlocking was scratched, the security system was activated, made a noise, the truck started flashing lights and paid attention to a possible attack by thieves," says K. Simanavičius. - Now we have significantly improved our product. Both alarm sensors and wires are protected from external influences or attempts to disconnect the battery. The most important innovation is that the system allows company managers to monitor what is happening with the fuel tank, when and where, how often it is open and the alarm is turned off. The sensors can be connected to any fleet management system and all the above information is automatically transmitted to the programmed addresses at the same time. This essentially eliminates opportunities for both thieves and rogue drivers to go unnoticed. ”

Electronics specialists admit that they are not strong in marketing - advertising, so the news about the original and effective fuel tank protection system travels in an antique way: carriers who have tried it share their impressions with colleagues, they share their experience with others, etc. t. As a result, production and installation volumes are not yet high. On the other hand, this is good news for potential customers: a system that costs around € 200 can be installed in a couple of hours.

K. Simanavičius points out that the intelligent tank protection can be easily transferred from one vehicle to another. However, it is not possible to disconnect the sensors by shortening or cutting the wires, thus neutralizing the alarm: the system constantly monitors the signal level of the sensors. If it changes even for a short time, the alarm goes off.

Author: Vadim Volovoj

Original article (LT): https://www.cargonews.lt/technikos-naujienos/ismanusis-kamstelis/

Original article (RU): https://www.cargonews.lt/novosti-texniki/smart-kryshka-toplivnovo-baka