Owners of model-year 2003 reefer units that run in California can get more legal use out of them for less cost, thanks to a regulations amendment by the state's Air Resources Board.

In its Nov. 18 meeting, CARB's directors approved the installation of Low-Emission (LE) aftertreatment equipment to '03 reefer diesels, which would put them in compliance with CARB exhaust-emissions rules until the end of 2017.

Prior to the amendment, users had only the option of upgrading engine exhaust systems to more costly Ultra Low Emission (ULE) standards. Both upgrades usually involve the addition of diesel particulate filters, with an LE-type filter removing at least 50 percent of particulate matter, or soot, and the ULE filter taking out 85 percent.

Users may still choose the more stringent ULE upgrades, which put the '03 transportation refrigeration units, as CARB calls them, into compliance indefinitely, explained Tom Birchard, aftermarket product manager for Thermo King.

Installing LE filters would require further upgrading by the end of 2017, or taking the unit out of service in California. But for efficiency reasons, many users retire older reefer units far sooner.
Users of '03 units could also choose to install a cleaner-burning engine, which in the case of TK units would mean an '11-model Tier 4 Interim diesel. The company sells engines for upgrades but not particulate filters, he said.

The upgrading must be done by Dec. 31, CARB said in an announcement, so users should order the aftertreatment equipment or engines now so they can meet the deadline.