OMAHA, NE – Midlands Carrier Transicold, an authorized Carrier Transicold dealer specializing in truck trailer, container, transport air conditioning, and auxiliary power equipment, has signed an agreement to sell, install, and service the Idle Free electric APU, manufactured by Idle Free Systems. Midlands Carrier Transicold is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska and also operates parts and service centers in Grand Island, Neb.; Dodge City and Wichita, Kansas.

According to Idle Free, its electric APU differs from other idle-elimination solutions because it meets all driver needs -- heat, air conditioning and electricity needs -- without jeopardizing the productivity of the truck. The Idle Free APU runs on alternating current.

According to Idle Free, electric APUs that run on direct current suffer from lower efficiency, which translates to shorter APU battery life, less run time, and, most problematic, the risk that the APU could jeopardize the truck’s ability to start. D/C-based systems, due to their higher amperage draw for the air conditioner, rely on the truck’s starter batteries as an additional power source to run the APU. Operating the APU risks draining the truck’s starter batteries and therefore not being able to start the truck, thus negatively impacting productivity. Idle Free’s A/C-based electric APU, on the other hand, is a more efficient system, resulting in longer APU battery life and completely eliminating any need to use the truck’s starter batteries to power the APU. The A/C-based system means the truck’s batteries will never be drained by the APU.

The Reefer Link technology is a patented version of the Idle Free APU system that helps make energy from the reefer unit available to drivers for unlimited run-time of the Idle Free APU.

The refrigeration units on the trailers used to transport perishable loads are powered by 50 hp diesel engines that are mounted to the front of the trailer. These reefer units have their own 12 volt electrical systems that are separate from the truck’s electrical system. When a truck is equipped with an Idle Free electric APU that includes the patented Reefer Link technology, it can be connected to the reefer unit’s electrical system to take advantage of the excess electric energy being created.