In the world of best-in-class custom radiators for heavy-duty equipment, nuances run wild. To answer your most common questions, L&M Sales Representative Steve Smith is imparting his wisdom from more than 35+ years in the industry and more than 16 years at L&M Radiator.
At L&M Radiator, our team prides itself on strong, lasting customer relationships – almost as durable as a Mesabi radiator.
“One of the things that I thrive on is being able to help our customers,” said Steve Smith, L&M Rocky Mountain Sales Representative. “Mining customers trust my judgment and my knowledge of heavy equipment. They have some pretty strong demands, and I’ve lived up to them every time.”
When it comes to questions about radiators, Smith has heard them all. He’s heard everything from “How much does this cost?” to “Can you make a Mesabi radiator for a Chevy pickup?” to “We have a non-Mesabi radiator in a truck that just broke down in the middle of the road. How fast can you help us?”.
“Gaining a customer’s trust is an ongoing process,” said Smith. “At L&M, we want to be the people that take care of them.”
To ease your worries and help you maximize uptime, Smith is answering the most common questions that ring his line, starting with the most important one:
Why should I dress my fleet with Mesabi radiators?
Put simply: Mesabi radiators are the best of the best. You won’t find any other radiator on the market with the durability, longevity, or ease of use and service of a Mesabi radiator. It’s why so many OEMs have Mesabi come standard on so many of their haul trucks, dozers, road graders, and more. Customers demand it.
“We have the best cooling products out there in the market right now. There are hundreds of reasons why it outshines a conventional style radiator,” said Smith. “Customers don’t have to replace our radiators as often, they’re rebuildable back to 100% cooling capability, they outlast the life of the engine, they’re easy to clean, they’re easy to repair in the field, and more. You can’t beat that.”
In fact, some Mesabi radiators around the world have been in use for more than 30 years.
Do you have a radiator on hand for a _?
“Sometimes I’ll get a phone call asking, ‘Steve, we got a radiator down in a haul truck, do you have one on hand?’” said Smith. “The answer is: It depends. Sometimes, a customer asks for a radiator that happens to be already in production. In that case, we can tag another radiator onto that order and have it completed much faster.”
How soon can you get me a radiator for a _?
Because the Mesabi radiator is so widespread, it’s more likely than not that L&M has already created a radiator for any given heavy-duty machine. If that’s the case, it’ll take much less time to turn around a radiator for those machines.
“If it’s something that we’ve built and we have the drawings for it, all the buyout parts, sometimes we can do that in a minimum time of two to six weeks,” said Smith.
That being said, groundbreaking, complicated, or large orders can take several months to complete. The best way to find out is to call L&M Radiator customer service and provide them with the machine’s make and model. No matter the outcome, they’ll be able to get you the radiator you need and provide you with a more precise timeline catered to your project.
How much does a Mesabi radiator cost?
Unfortunately, the answer to this question isn’t so cut and dry. It will depend on many factors, such as the machine model, size, engine model, quantity, and more.
L&M Customer Service Representatives are here to help. Click here to request a quote today.
Can you reverse-engineer radiators?
Yes. “We often have customers send a radiator to our corporate headquarters in Hibbing, where engineering, research and development (R&D), and drafting use it to build a Mesabi radiator for the same machine,” said Smith. “It happens quite frequently that we reverse engineer an existing system and build a cooler.”
L&M can – and does all the time – retrofit machines with Mesabi cooling packages.
Read more about custom Mesabi radiators here.
Something is wrong with my Mesabi radiator, but I don’t know what it is. What do I do?
“The majority of the time, the problem is plugging inside the radiator or debris on the outside of the radiator,” said Smith.
First, clean the radiator with high-pressure water or air up to 1,200 PSI. The hose should be kept one to three inches from the core. Click here for more expert tips on how to keep your Mesabi radiator clean.
If cleaning it doesn’t work, check your temperature gauge by using a different sensor. “A faulty temperature gauge happens more often than you’d think,” said Smith.
Can I put a Mesabi radiator in my Ford truck?
“We’re probably one of the few radiator companies that will go out of our way to build a one-of-one product,” said Smith.
While it’s not the most common, L&M has had customers request radiators for highway vehicles such as a Ford F-350 pickup. After all, Mesabis are the Cadillacs of radiators. So, if you want the best, L&M is the place to go. That being said, it will be more expensive than your conventional car radiator.
Read more about Mesabi radiators in hot rods.
What applications are best for a Mesabi radiator?
Everyone knows you can find Mesabi radiators in mines and drill rigs across the world. But, did you know that you can also find Mesabi heat exchangers diligently at work on construction sites, feedlots, city buses, remote generator sets, locomotives, highway semi-trucks, fracking fields, and even helping to move rockets for NASA?
For every machine that requires heavy-duty cooling, you can bet that a Mesabi radiator will maximize its uptime – if it hasn’t already.
My non-Mesabi radiator is overheating. What do I do?
If your conventional-style radiator is overheating, experiencing frequent clogging, or any other issues, it’s time to replace it with a Mesabi.
“Mesabis are the most durable heat exchanger on the market,” said Smith. “I had one customer at a mine in Montana who was fighting some pretty intense overheating issues. They kept resisting replacing their conventional radiators with Mesabis, but, finally, the issue escalated to the point that they needed to do something.”
“So, I sold them three of our radiators. Once they started running it, the operating temperature instantly dropped by 12 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit on the machine,” said Smith. “I have so many stories similar to that one.”
Experience the Mesabi Difference
Have more questions? Click here to get in touch with the L&M sales representative for your region of the world.
To read stories similar to this one, visit the Mesabi Exchange on www.Mesabi.com.