Northwestern U.S. Forest Products Company uses
MagnaDrive MagnaGuard Economizer to eliminate vibration
Problem: A Forest Products Company located
in the Pacific Northwest was experiencing repeated failures
in their Clean Condensate Pumps due to extremely high levels
of vibration in the system that were the result of thermal
expansion in the system piping and the pump shaft. Vibration
amplitude levels of over 0.4 in/sec (RMS velocity)
were literally shaking the pump apart. According to the Maintenance
Crew, the condensate pump was being replaced between 3 and
4 times every year as a result of the vibration.
Solution: MagnaDrive Corporation
proposed the installation of a MagnaGuard Economizer
(MGE) as a replacement for the existing rigid coupling.
Because this was a 100 Hp motor running at 3600 rpm,
an MGE- 11 coupling was selected. Removal of the original
coupling and installation of the MGE-11 was done without
moving either the pump or the motor and only took
about an hour to complete.
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Result: After successful installation of
the MGE-11 Coupling the customer reports the following results:
- Vibration levels dropped from 0.431 in/sec to 0.116 in/sec
RMS velocity on the inboard side of the pump and from 0.286
in/sec to 0.087 in/sec RMS velocity on the outboard side.
- No maintenance has been required after installation.
- The pump is lasting longer. Instead of replacing the pump
3 - 4 times each year at a cost of $5,000, the plant expects
to not have to replace the pump ever!
4 outages X 2 man-days/outage X $600/man-day
= $4,800 annual labor savings
4 replacements X $5,000/pump = $20,000 annual equipment savings
Total Annual Savings = $24,800
When asked to summarize their experience with
MagnaDrive, the customer expressed complete satisfaction with
both the MGE Coupling and with the service they received from
the MagnaDrive Applications and Sales personnel.
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