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"Why do compressors fail?"
This summer, we saw and excessive
amount of compressor failures. Most of the compressor failures we were
asked to correct were 'grounded', result from a lack of maintenance or both.
I must also confess that most of the compressors we replaced were from those
customers who provide their own maintenance, uses a service provider other
than S.M. Lawrence company, or do not invest in preventive maintenance.
Instead of getting on my soapbox
about why preventive maintenance is important or in-house maintenance versus
outsourcing, I want to focus on the compressors themselves and why they
fail...I will save the other topics for our next discussion.
The following article was written
by Ramesh Paranjpey. I found his article entitled: 'Why Compressors
Fail' on the net. Enjoy.
In the refrigeration and air
conditioning industry, compressor failure is one of the major causes of
worry. Commonly heard comments are :
Compressors
are not built as they used to be.
Imported
compressors are much better and can withstand more rigorous duty.
Why does
nobody build compressors which are "fit and - forget type".
Why is
compressor design so delicate that they break down even if a little bit of
liquid or moisture enters.
Manufacturers are making the designs more delicate to withstand
competition and in the process sacrificing quality.
Installers and contractors
continue to grumble, that there is no good or absolutely reliable compressor
available in the market, and that every manufacturer, inserts several
clauses about what should be done and what should not be done to protect
himself, in case failure takes place. Also, he very rarely admits that the
compressor is faulty.
It is understandable if newcomers
in the industry, have these perceptions, but even those who claim to be
experienced in handling plants, very rarely look inwards to find out whether
they have done anything wrong that leads to compressor failure.
Having spent more than 36 years in
this industry and been closely associated with compressor manufacturers of
various types, being familiar with system design and installation, I thought
it would be appropriate to share my experiences and knowledge as to why
compressors fail and how to prevent such failures.
All of us know that a compressor
is the only moving component in any refrigeration system and anything going
wrong anywhere in the system will finally reflect on the compressor
performance. It must be understood that related components and system
malfunction initiate the compressor failure. Many times the compressor is
therefore compared with the human heart.
When a person suffers from a heart
attack, it may be due to diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, mental
tension or many other causes, which has finally resulted in heart failure.
If proper diagnosis or preventive steps were taken at the appropriate time,
the attack could have been avoided or at least delayed.
Similar is the problem when a
compressor fails. The end result is the compressor failure, but the causes
could be many, such as liquid entering the compressor, wrong
design/application, incorrect piping, contaminants in the system,
overheating or electrical problems and many more other reasons.
It is, therefore, essential to go
to the root cause if the compressor fails, rather than simply replacing it
with a new compressor, as the replaced compressor will also fail, if the
root cause remains unattended.
We will therefore, get into the
basics of what the refrigeration and air conditioning professional needs to
know, to ensure that the compressor selected for a particular application
gives satisfactory, trouble free and expected performance during its
expected span of life.
It is my personal experience and also
the experience of most of the world-class compressor manufacturers, with whom I
have close interaction that more than 95% of compressor failures are not
attributable to the compressor manufacturer and the problem lies elsewhere. It
would also be incorrect to assume that compressor designers/ manufacturers never
make mistakes, but statistics shows that these are very few, less than 5%.
I have come across the failure of a large number of compressors, utilized in
one of the products manufactured in my previous company, procured from a forty-year-old,
world class reputed supplier who produces these compressors in thousands and
supplies them all over the world. Obviously, it would have been incorrect to
assume that the compressor quality was bad and we had to look inwards as to
what we, as system designers were doing that was wrong and which was leading
to such failures. The reason why compressors were failing was that the lubrication
was suffering. This was due...
To read the rest of this article
please click on the following link:
Welcome to Mechanical Matters®,
an 'E-ZINE'
publication brought to you from Jimmy Veteto, LEED AP and
Business Development Executive with
S.M. Lawrence Company, Inc. Please take a time to read this great
article as it pertains to your building's most important investment,
your mechanical systems. We are building mechanical solutions that
matter every time by design.
ARCHIVES:
VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 3
The Business Value in Tree Hugging
By: Jimmy Veteto | Edited by Jeff Whitlock
| October, 2008
If you had purchased $1,000.00 of Delta Air
Lines stock one year ago you would have
$49.00 left. With Enron, you would have had
$16.50 left of the original $1,000.00. With
WorldCom, you would have had less than $5.00
left. But, if you had purchased $1,000.00
worth of beer one year ago, drank all of the
beer, then turned in the cans for the
aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have
$214.00 cash. This is called the 401-Keg
plan.
Obviously I am not one to give financial
advice. However, if you have been watching
the stock market lately, this ‘joke’ makes
more cents than most stock
brokers and financial advisors on Wall
Street. Now more than ever business owners
and managers are watching their money. They are
squeezing cash tighter than Joan
Rivers' face. Energy costs are rising,
operating budgets are shrinking and for the
first time in American history, the Canadian
dollar is worth more than ours. What are we
to do?
No, I am not going to tell you who to vote
for. Personally I don’t think McCain or Obama
has a magic wand strong enough to repair our
economy any time soon. We would be
better off with Harry Potter’s magic wand, or
Joe the Plumber's magic plunger...I wish they
were on the ballot. We could just sit
around, feel sorry for ourselves, and listen
to country music. George Strait has a song
entitled, Ready for the End of the World.
In the song, George prepares for the worldly
end times by buying a case of Jack Daniel's
and box set of Merle Haggard CDs. I
don’t think it’s that bad. And no, I am
not going to suggest drinking heavily, but if
you do - don’t forget to recycle.
With all the government bailouts, home
foreclosures, rising energy costs, war and
company layoffs there is plenty of doom and gloom going around
these days. As an optimist, I generally can
put a positive spin on just about anything.
So here I go again: It’s budget time and 2009
is looking like a make or break year. If you
are a business owner, building owner or
manager, I would make darn sure that every
capital dollar budgeted is invested in
sustainability. For a definition of
sustainability, go to my glossary at
www.jimmyveteto.com/glossary.htm
Here in Memphis, we have already been warned
about the 20% energy cost increase. If this
is news to you, then you're stupid and should
be fired. Was that a bit much? O.K....let me
try again. If you don’t have access to a T.V.,
newspaper or computer, live in a cave, don’t
socialize, BUT you're not stupid - consider
this your final warning: MLGW WILL RAISE YOUR
UTILITY COSTS 20% STARTING IN OCTOBER 2008!
The presidential candidates are encouraging
federally mandated caps on green house gas
emissions and there is much debate talk on energy independence.
While corporate America is slow to adapt, just watch
the continuous rise of energy
costs, and you will see capitalism at
its best. As business owners reach
deeper into their pockets to pay they local
utility company, more will their business
philosophies change with the world around
them. No longer does the green party,
hippies and hemp wearing environmentalist
have the monopoly on 'tree-hugging'.
Some business owners are seeking the 'Business Value
in Tree-hugging'. Take IBM for example.
They have the best commercials on television
right now. Check out the video below:
During tough times, smart businesses and
corporations, like IBM, are in state of
constant awareness and plan for the future in
order to survive during tough economical
times. One of my mentors is Paul 'Bear'
Bryant. He once said, "It's
not the will to win, but the will to
prepare to win that makes the
difference.”
As a building owner, operator or manager, how
are you preparing to win? How are you
planning next year's budget to survive a down
turn economy, rising operating costs and
what is your plan for sustainability?
In 2009, will your operating costs and
capital dollars be invested or digested?
As a building consultant and mechanical
contractor, my job is to help advise my
clients on expensive investments to their
property. Some want to know the ROI on
their investment, however many are still looking
for the cheapest price from three different
contractors. In the movie
Armageddon, Rockhound said, "You
know we're sitting on four million pounds of
fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has
270,000 moving parts built by the lowest
bidder. Makes you feel good, doesn't it?"
Commercial HVAC equipment is not as
complicated as NASA's shuttle program nor is
there the nuclear potential. BUT your
mechanical systems do contribute anywhere
from 60-70% of the overall energy consumption
in commercial buildings. So why go cheap when
your energy costs are your business' largest
controllable cost?
As we hold our breath during another election
year, an unstable economy, rising energy
costs and falling stock market, don't put off
the needs of your building's comfort needs.
There are many ways to invest in the overall
life, reliability and sustainability of your
mechanical equipment...even when operating
budgets are vulnerable. Don't break out the booze and
country music just yet. I have seen
tremendous success with energy efficiency
projects, system replacements and retrofits
that positively affected cash flow.
The mechanical industry is changing at a pace
faster than the Jamaican running team could
keep up with. Every week trade
magazines and news articles fill my
inbox with green products, improved
technology, higher efficieny equipment,
building controls and environmentally
friendly materials. Don't fall victim to
conventional ideals, dated technology and
dated equipment. Don't digest your hard
earned capital and operating
dollars...invest.
Your doctor would tell you the importance of
regular physicals. I would tell you
that the same philosophy applies to your
building. When was the last time you
had a second opinion of your mechanical
systems efficiency? Have you ever
considered an energy audit? What is
value of 'tree hugging' in your business?
These are important questions as you plan for
2009. Just as a doctor could detect a
potential illness at your next physical, so
would your building's comfort needs benefit
from a professional's opinion. Call us,
we can help.
By: Jimmy Veteto | October 20, 2008 |
Interview with John Lyle Shaw
Recently
I bumped into an old high school buddy.
John Lyle Shaw graduated from Ole Miss with
a major in Civil Engineering. At the time
we met, he had just returned from a
turbine farm in North Texas, where John is
a project engineer with Barnhart. At
this particular farm, a total of
172 General Electric 258 MW turbines have
been built.John
agreed to a brief interview for this
article and the use of his pictures he
personally took while in Texas. Below is
(in his own words) John's role at the
turbine farm. Also, make sure you
SCROLL DOWN to enjoy John's
pictures and then read Wikipedia's
description of turbines and their relation
to energy below.
Question (Jimmy):
"What
was your role was during the time you took
the pictures of the turbines?"
Answer
(John):
"Well,
I went to the wind turbine site for the
main purpose of furthering my knowledge and
experience in the crane and rigging area.
Prior to being hired by Barnhart I had
very little knowledge of how cranes worked
and what it took to run them safely as well
as efficiently. So they came up with a plan
to place me within the wind group for about
six months. Life on a wind site consist of
controlled chaos, in my opinion. The
hours are extremely long for the men and
some women that erect these turbines,
usually whenever the wind is not blowing
the crews are working. It does not matter
if it’s 2:00 in the morning the guys will
come in and work all night, get off at 5 or
6 and then come in the next morning at six
in the am and pull a another 12-16 hour
shifts. This may be the only job in
America, one can work all different shift
in one week. Very rough job! My role
started out helping out with the unloading
of components as they came to the site.
Each piece has to specifically be laid out
in order for the crane to pick it up
within the safety limits of the crane
radius. As, time went on I was eventually
allowed to run one of the off load crews.
The off load crews consisted of six men, 2
of which were crane operators and one
forklift operator and then the three
riggers. The day was spent chasing trucks
around sixty miles of dirt roads and
strategically placing them so all the
components of the turbines matched up. Then
we had to safely pick the pieces off the
truck and support them while they sat on
the ground."
Question (Jimmy):
"How
many turbine projects have you been on?"
Answer
(John):
"Only
two but this particular site was 172
General Electric 258 mw turbines."
Question (Jimmy):
"How long does it typically take to
construct one?"
Answer
(John):
"This
is a tricky question because if we were
only given one turbine it could take
anywhere from 5 to 10 days and I say this
because the grout has to cure. Another
words the crane can only set the base and
sometimes the mid then the civil crew will
come in and grout the base of the turbine.
Once the grout has reached a breaking
strength of 3500-6000 psi then the top,
nacelle and rotor can be flown up and
placed on top."
Question (Jimmy):
"Do
you plan on building more?"
Answer
(John):
"Barnhart
is currently involved in three farms that I
know of right off hand."
Question (Jimmy):
"On
average, how many homes can be powered by
one turbine?"
Answer
(John):
"These
particular turbines were said to be capable
of producing enough power to supply 1800
homes with electricity for a year. Now,
whether or not this is true depends a lot
on all sorts of miscellaneous factors."
To see a larger
view of the pictures below, click on the
picture and then 'back' on your browser
when finished.
Wind Turbine
This is a completed wind turbine in Texas. My friend John Shaw, an operator and constructor with Barnhardt Cranes, recently traveled to Texas to build these wonders.
Shaft pieces.
The shaft is very large in diameter. In retrospect to the pick-up truck, you can appreciate just how large these turbines are.
Setting the tower.
The overall height of these turbines are 256 feet tall.
Picking a rotar.
The rotar is made of 3 blades and the generator. Some blades can be up to 130 feet long.
Working at night.
There is plenty of work to be done to build a turbine farm. Work continues around the clock.
Arial view - Flying a Rotar.
Once the rotar and blades are set on the tower, the generator will be fixed to the rear a-top the tower.
Gerator Case.
Notice the opening on the bottom right side of the case. This opening will connect to the top of the tower or as some call the shaft.
Generator.
Inside the case is the generator. As the turbine blades turn with the wind, the generator is powered and energy is created.
Tall Climb.
My friend John Shaw, had to make this climb more times than he wanted.
Electrical Cables.
Shown are the electrical cables that run from the generator to the ground down the tower shaft.
John Lyle Shaw.
Here is a picture of John, civil energineer graduate at Ole Miss.
Turbine Farm.
Set picture of several finished products.
A wind
turbine is a rotating machine which
converts the kinetic energy in wind into
mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy
is used directly by machinery, such as a
pump or grinding stones, the machine is
usually called a windmill. If the
mechanical energy is then converted to
electricity, the machine is called a
wind generator, wind turbine,
wind power unit (WPU), wind energy
converter (WEC), or aerogenerator.
This article
discusses electric power generation
machinery. Windmill discusses machines used
for grain-grinding, water pumping, etc. The
article on wind power describes turbine
placement, economics and public concerns.
The wind energy section of that article
describes the distribution of wind energy
over time, and how that affects
wind-turbine design. See environmental
concerns with electricity generation for
discussion of environmental problems with
wind-energy production.
Thank you for reading Mechanical Matters®! A
publication brought to from Jimmy Veteto. To
sign up a friend, click on the
contact
page and fill out the form. In the comment box type "Mech Matters"
and the name/email addresses of your friends.
Recently
I bumped into an old high school buddy.
John Lyle Shaw graduated from Ole Miss with
a major in Civil Engineering. At the time
we met, he had just returned from a
turbine farm in North Texas, where John is
a project engineer with Barnhart. At
this particular farm, a total of
