It’s a common problem across a number of industries using Double Diaphragm Pumps to experience vibration on both the intake side and the discharge side of a pump.
These vibrations often result in damage to piping systems and the pumps themselves. Sadly in many industries vibrations and inconsistent flow are often tolerated because of an unwillingness to look for an easily found solution or because of ‘false economics.’
When clients of Pye-Barker look at the price for installing pressure dampeners to prevent vibration in a pumping system or create a desired even output, and then make any sort of comment about price – I often remind them it is really cheap.
Compared to replacing the pump or having to replace your piping system. And really cheap compared to a way to undo mounting fatigue.
Here are four common industries that can drastically reduce waste and maintenance costs as well as, increase productivity by using pulsation dampening, or pulsation dampening equipment like a pulsation dampener diaphragm pump, in their pumping systems:
Chemical Companies: When pumping products such as surfactants or even volatile chemicals, these substances can aerate leading to foaming or excess vaporization (waste). This can create problems for both storage (requiring longer settling time) and for filling the final containers efficiently (causing overspray, wasted material and rejected product).
Installing the right pulsation dampening system can in many cases eliminate the problem of aeration.
Paper Production: Unloading pumps can experience vibrations and pulsation so strong that it can cause pipe stress, mounting fatigue and even rip the pump from its foundations. Which will obviously lead to unacceptably long downtimes and create a health and safety risk.
Simply installing the correct pulsation dampener on the discharge side of the pumps will reduce mounting fatigue and pipe damage.
Steel Processing: Using plunger pumps in the descaling process can result in erratic flow of the raw material which causes de-scaling to be erratic. For the best results in de-scaling, steel processors need a steady flow of raw material through the de-scaling processor.
Installing the right pulsation dampener on the discharge side of the pump as well as an inlet stabiliser will reduce the vibrations to allow uniform descaling of their raw materials. It also means the entire pumping system no longer violently vibrates. Saving on maintenance and repairs.
Waste Water Processing: When using reciprocating pumps to move waste water – many water treatment operations experience pulsation in on the discharge sides of their pumps. This can cause pipe joints to break and crack discharge pipes.
Pipe damage like this can lead to leaks and easily preventable downtime, which can be prevented with a pulsation dampener solution.
Regardless of what industry you are in and what you are pumping, if your pumping systems are experiencing vibration or water hammer which is damaging pipes, causing downtime or disrupting your operational efficiency; Pye-Barker can supply and install the pump dampening solution for your problems.
Give us a call on 404-363-6000 or drop us a line at sales@pyebarker.com, we’ll take care if the rest.
While the ‘too much’ point for water in a compressed air system varies according to its application, we all know the effects of that water in the system. It can collect in your pipes and equipment where it can cause rust and require premature replacement of the various system components. Additional leaks increase running costs (A single leak may cost you $2,000 per year). Finally water in air means water in your tools damaging them or you end up with air that doesn’t meet compliance standards.
Humidity – The bane of air compressors and compressed air systems.
We all know air has water in it – they tell us how much on the news every night when they report humidity. In Atlanta we see an average relative humidity of 82% in the morning and 52% in the afternoon. {https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Georgia/humidity-annual.php}
Thank goodness for air conditioning, right? The point is there is a lot of water in the air.
When your compressor is running that means that water in the air is going to be sucked into the compressor along with the air and the particulates. When we compress air it gets hot, basic physics. PV=nRT. While the air is hot it can hold all that atmospheric water. However, as the temperature starts to decrease it can hold less of that water as a vapor, so it condenses.
The water in your compressed air condenses the same way. Then you have water in your pipes, in your tools. Exactly where you don’t it want to be.
Remember, there are also other forms of impurities in compressed air including oils (from the compressor, if you haven’t switched to an oil-less) and other particulates. You need to be very clear about the end quality/qualities of air you require for your systems and processes. The more pure/higher the quality you need the more capital investment and running cost you’ll incur.
Once you know your requirements it’s very easy for us to recommend a solution. For air at the lower end of the purity spectrum, it might be enough just to have a good filtration system. For higher quality air, a dryer might be the best course of action. However with the high relative humidity in Georgia, it make sense to install a dryer to reduce maintenance costs.
For industrial applications, installing a Non-Cycling Air Dryer would be the best alternative. It’s easy to install, its energy efficient and will provide air quality that is suitable for those purposes. Gardner Denver’s RNC Series of Non-cycling air dryers are designed to be energy efficient and provide a low pressure drop in the system while they operate.
For food/medical/pharmaceutical grade air, Gardner Denver’s RNC Series can be customized to meet the relevant standards while still being easy to install and energy efficient.
If you need to get water out of your compressed air system, then give the team at Pye-Barker a call on 404-363-6000 or drop us a line at sales@pyebarker.com. We can come and inspect your compressed air system and see how we can help you to meet your air quality standards and reduce your operating and maintenance costs.
Historically our clients have been very diligent about installing monitoring solutions for their mission critical pumps. Due to the cost of installing the system and the cost of ongoing maintenance of the system, condition monitoring solutions for all pumps on site has been typically unrealistic.
Manual monitoring of the remaining pumps or a policy of ‘run until breakdown’ is normal which in light of today’s technology can prove to be MORE expensive and unnecessary.
Older monitoring systems meant wiring the sensors into the control center; it was expensive, time consuming and created a lot of infrastructure to maintain.
It meant a limited roll out of electronic condition monitoring to pumps with either a high risk of maintenance issues or a high impact when a maintenance issue does occur. For example – pumps that have repeat failures, pumps without spares or pumps where failure could cause an environmental incident.
With the advances of wireless technology the same monitoring systems can be installed without the time or expense of maintaining a complicated infrastructure. It has now become affordable to install a higher quality monitoring system across more of your pumping process system.
These three monitoring applications can help a plant implement predictive maintenance systems which can reduce maintenance costs, unexpected failures, repair and overhaul time – and at the same time increase uptime by up to 30% and increase MTBF.
Affordable Monitoring Application #1: Cavitation
While many cases of cavitation occur when a pump is operated outside of their design specifications, there are still times when a pump operating within its specifications can still experience cavitation.
A simple discharge pressure monitoring system (consisting of vibration monitoring and discharge pressure) can give your central monitoring system an alert when a pump is likely ‘pre-cavitation.’ Depending on the frequency of manual rounds this might mean the prevention of damage and downtime compared to discovering cavitation in progress.
For high-head multi-stage pumps – the risk of damage with even brief periods of cavitation means that pressure differential across the pump should be continuously monitored.
Affordable Monitoring Application #2: Vibration
Vibration monitoring systems can give you indicators on running condition as well as faults and failures. Vibration transmitters can give you a series of vibration frequencies which can in turn be used to diagnose the cause of the vibrations in a given pump.
Affordable Monitoring Application #3: Pump Seal Monitoring
For pumps that have auxiliary seal flush system, API 682 recommends moving from switches to continuous level management.
With recent advances in technology, rather than having to wire the monitoring system into the network it can be installed wirelessly and then connected to the central monitoring system.
I’ll admit it may take some retrofitting of technology to get the seal flush reservoirs installed so they can be remotely monitored. But continuous monitoring will give far more lead time to address maintenance issues compared to intermittent manual maintenance inspections of pump seals.
If it is time to increase the reliability of your pumping systems then the team here at Pye-Barker can help you select and install pump monitoring systems for your plant. Drop us a line at sales@pyebarker.com or call 404-363-6000 for help with all your pumping system needs.
When we talk about saving energy we are really talking about saving money – that power isn’t free now is it?
Up to 70% of the total cost of ownership on an air compressor is buying the electricity – it can be less if you buy smart… But it’s a good indication of the lifetime cost of power.
The aim of the game is to use as little power as possible in order to achieve your goals.
Here are some ways to cut your compressed air power bills.
Use the Off Switch
Unless you are a 24/7/365 operation, you don’t need compressed air 24/7/365. Turn your compressor(s) off when you aren’t working. Depending on when you are open you might only need air for 60-100 hours a week rather than the full 168 hours there are in a week.
Turning the thing off when you are shut down could see a 20% reduction in your power consumption.
‘Free’ Heat Source
To me, one of the highest art forms in industry is taking waste product and turning into a useful input for another process.
Compressing air gives of heat – quite a lot of it. Turning that from a waste product into a useful input could cut down your power bills somewhere else – you could use it to augment or replace a conventional hot water unit for example or you could pump that warmth into a work space keeping your employees warm.
Don’t Use it if you don’t have to…
Are you using compressed air for applications where it would be more efficient to use something else?
I thought so…
Compressed air is frequently used for cooling or applications where a lower air pressure could be used. In many situations it would pay off to change from using compressed air to using a more efficient and economical air source.
Bonus Tip: Use a more efficient compressor. Gardner Denver and Quantima make excellent energy efficient air compressors that can reduce the total cost of ownership compared to many traditional models.
If you are looking to reduce the energy costs of your compressed air system then the best investment you can make is in an efficient air compressor. Contact Pye-Barker on 404-363-6000 or email us at sales@pyebarker.com to see just how much you can save on your energy bills.
