Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable

Education to the national gas industry

Eastern Gas
Compression Roundtable

Technical Tuesday

Technical Tuesday: Centrifugal Oil Filters

Technical Tuesday

“You spin me right round, baby, right round.” What a nice little ear worm to start off your Technical Tuesday. Centrifugal oil filters work by creating a spinning vortex of oil inside the can which slings contaminants out of the oil stream and are a great add-on filter to your lube system. They are exceptionally effective on 4 stroke units, but all engines can benefit from properly designed add on filtration. Want to know more? Join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on May 3-5, 2022 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA.

Centriful Oil Filters

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Technical Tuesday: Tin Pest

Technical Tuesday

Tin Pest — no, it’s not a Pontiac, and the bug man can’t kill it. Tin Pest is a chemical reaction that causes utter destruction of tin when exposed to low temperatures. How does this apply to us? Many of our components (such as power piston skirts) have a tin coating. So how low is “low temperature?” 56°F is where the tin begins to have issues. Check out this video to see an example:

Where do you store your spare parts? Learn more at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on May 3-5, 2022 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA.

Technical Tuesday 45 Tin Pest

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Technical Tuesday: Blown Oil Filter

A blown oil filter is the thing that can send a deep shudder into the soul of even the most seasoned mechanics… But what is the proper way to prevent a differential pressure related oil filter failure? Is it a relief valve upstream of the filter pot? Are there risks in that design? What about controls to prevent excessive DP? Want to learn more? Join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on May 3-5, 2022 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

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Technical Tuesday: Church Windows

What do these 3 images have in common? They are all called “church windows.” We have stained glass in our compressor buildings, but not like that. “Church window” is used to describe anchor bolt recesses and power cylinder liner ports that have eroded over time. And pretty much anything else that is that general shape. Want to learn more? Join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on September 14-16, 2021 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

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Technical Tuesday: Blower Speed

That blows… This is a picture of a blower on a Cooper Bessemer GMWA-8 and it’s driven by a chain drive from the crankshaft so the blower speed is determined by the engine speed. But how do you control air manifold pressure if the blower speed is pre-determined? You do it by controlling the supply of air to the blower. See the bright green valve actuator? It opens and closes to increase or limit air supply to the blower. Want to learn more? Join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable, September 14-16, 2021 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

 

Image of a blower

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Technical Tuesday: Grounded Ignition Systems

Through life, we go from the fear of being grounded to hoping for it… Having a good ground is essential for our ignition systems and the other electrical systems on our equipment. If you are struggling with intermittent issues, grounding should be one of your first checks. Want to learn more? Join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on September 14-16, 2021 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

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Technical Tuesday: Pipeliners, We Pass Gas for a Living

Pipeline quality gas is a standard that quantifies gas to provide an apple-to-apple comparison for customers. It’s similar to the gasoline label at the pump that shows 5-6 grades of gasoline — hopefully, you choose one that your engine is tuned for. Does pipeline gas vary like the grades of gasoline? You bet! This chart shows the day-to-day variation that an engine might see as supply changes from shale, to conventional on shore, and off shore supply. How often should you look at the chromatograph readings to check your fuel quality and update your engine control logic? Learn more at the EGCR. Meet operational experts, vendors and manufacturers. Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable, September 14-16, 2021 in Pittsburgh, PA.

Fuel quality chart

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Technical Tuesday: Cooler Efficiency

Just not as cool as it used to be? As coolers age, they lose efficiency due to internal and external contamination, loss of air flow from leaks, etc. Another huge player is operational changes over the years. The coolant may have been changed say from methanol to glycol, or temperature set points may have changed due to upgrades. There are many ways to respond to this. You can rework the cooler bundle to add additional capability or add a standalone additional cooler, etc. Want to learn more? Join us at the Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable on September 14-16, 2021 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA.

EGCR: Cooler image

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Technical Tuesday: Rod Reversal

Rod reversal sounds like a catastrophic failure that would take a metal stitch guy a year to fix. It’s not… It’s actually a good thing that is required for the health and longevity of crosshead pins and bushings in a double acting compressor cylinder. The term rod reversal can describe a time period or the action of the crosshead pin movement from touching the inboard side of the crosshead bushing to the outboard side of the bushing, and then back. When describing a time period, it is expressed in degrees of crankshaft rotation. Different OEMs have different requirements for rod reversal so what you learn on a slow speed integral doesn’t translate to a high speed separable. Rod reversal failures can often be caused by compressor valve failures.

Have we piqued your interest? Plan to attend the Eastern Gas Compression Roudtable to learn more from operational experts, vendors, and manufacturers. September 14-16, 2021 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

Compressor cylinder

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