Posted on October 18th, 2016

One of our customers had a pair of compressors from an industrial plant that required overhaul. The equipment owners wanted the compressors pre-run and load test prior to installation in the plant. Our customer negotiated to use our test bench to test the compressors.

Each compressor was run for an hour without load and then an hour under load. Oil pressure and temperature were monitored. One of the compressors failed shortly after loading due to low oil pressure. Since it was on the test bench and easily accessible, diagnosis of the problem was relatively easy. The low oil pressure was due to unusual wear on the spring of a relief valve. After the relief valve was replaced (an easy task with the compressor on the test bench) the compressor worked according to specification.

This is another example of how some forethought and planning can save time, effort and money in the field.