Everyone knows Mesabi® radiators are the toughest radiator out there, but did you know that they can be 90,000+ hours kind of tough?

Kainuu, Finland – There are thirteen machines at Terrafame’s Talvivaara Mine in Finland with Mesabi radiators that have been in use for more than 90,000 hours.

No, the extra zeros aren’t typos.

Thirteen of the mine’s Hitachi EH3500 MTU Mining Trucks were recently discovered to have original Mesabi radiators from 2007 – 18 years ago. The radiators are somewhat of a historical artifact, as they were made in L&M Radiator’s now-closed Independence, Iowa plant.

L&M sales representative Aron Alberts made the discovery on a site visit to the mine in the summer of 2024. Alberts was walking around the mine – which produces nickel, copper, and cobalt – after performing maintenance on a copper M-Core radiator for a Hitachi EH3500 stage five MTU Mining Truck when the mechanic casually pointed to another Mesabi radiator on site and said, “This radiator has 90,000 hours on it.”

“I thought, there’s no way it’s the original radiator, so I asked, ‘When did you overhaul it?’” said Alberts. “He didn’t understand the question. He just said, ‘We replaced the engine three times, and did some maintenance.’”

Still flabbergasted, Alberts pressed on. “Where did you send it for maintenance?” he asked. Apparently, there weren’t any maintenance shops in the area that specialized in Mesabi radiators.

The mine representative remained casual. “It’s a Mesabi, man,” he shrugged.

That’s when Alberts started checking the rest of the mine’s fleet. The marks on each radiator confirmed their suspicions – thirteen Hitachi Mine Trucks had an original Mesabi radiator from 2007. While the mine overhauled the engines on each truck three times over, the radiator stayed put.

“The mine didn’t need to do anything except clean it. They never even had to replace a tube or seal,” said Alberts. “On each radiator, the frame was original with no cracks. All the fins were still in place.”

In fact, the radiators were so old, that they were made before Hitachi completely absorbed Euclid. “The company was still called Hitachi-Euclid when this radiator was first made for the OEM,” said L&M Applications Engineer Kenta Noma. “The truck model that this radiator was made for was called the Euclid 3500 truck.”

While the news of the 90,000+ hour radiators in Finland was joyful, it wasn’t the only case of its kind. After all, there are some Mesabi radiators on Australian locomotives that have more than 30 years of service and counting. Click here to read more about 30+ year Mesabi radiators on Australian locomotives.

There’s no other radiator on the market that can accomplish this. So, what’s the secret?

It all comes down to experience and rock-solid engineering.

Engineers and designers at L&M Radiator have spent the past 60 years perfecting heavy-duty cooling solutions under the most extreme conditions. In fact, the Mesabi radiator first came into the limelight during World War II. Under the name Withnell, the removable-tube radiator design rose to fame because of its ability to keep working even after being punctured by a bullet.

That legacy lives on today. While designs have changed over the years, the recipe stays the same:

1 – Removable tubes allow the Mesabi radiator to be repaired in the field and keep operating even if tubes are damaged or altogether knocked out.

2 – Where a conventional radiator would break, Mesabi’s flexible solder seam allows the radiator to flex and bend amid thermal expansion or high-vibration.

3 – Mesabi tubes are built tough to withstand up to 1,200 PSI high-pressure air or water. When it comes time to clean the radiator, the process is fast and thorough, so you can be back to work in no time.

4 – The design of a genuine Mesabi radiator allows dirt and debris to flow through the tubes to reduce – or even altogether eliminate – clogging and overheating.

And that’s just the beginning. Contact L&M Radiator’s sales representatives today to see how Mesabi Radiators can improve your fleet.

Discover the Mesabi Difference

To read more stories like this one, visit The Mesabi Exchange on www.Mesabi.com.

Is your heavy-duty equipment clogging or overheating? Our team is ready to help you out. Click here to get a quote today.