I used to 'know' that one did not use an 1800 RPM (or higher) engine for continuous duty generation.
I have an offshore facility that now has TWO dead 750 kw natural gas fueled generators. Both are forty years old 'big iron' 750 RPM units rated at 750 KW for when this was a major compressor...
Was sitting in on a conference call today and one of the participants said that the recent installation of a high resistance grounding system resulted in an increase in arc-flash hazard. I've installed and worked around dozens of HRG systems in 480-volt systems and have done a few analyses of...
https://blog.metrolinx.com/2019/11/13/time-in-a-box-union-station-prepares-to-retire-a-vast-interlocking-system-thats-guided-every-train-in-and-out-of-toronto-for-almost-90-years/
old field guy
Close to home - this is in southeast Texas. I've worked there:
https://kfdm.com/news/local/breaking-plant-explosion-in-jefferson-county-rocks-homes-for-miles
old field guy
Just about the time that I relax about arc-flash labelling, somebody pops up another question.
I have a facility that has an outdoor switchyard - 115 kV in, a couple of nice transformers that drop it to 4160, a few outdoor vacuum circuit breakers (5 kV) to feed underground cables to the...
Assuming a modern outdoor SF6 circuit breaker, what's the thought on routine testing of the gas?
Breaker has been installed and in normal service for a varying number of years, has had no leaks, never been opened to the atmosphere, has not interrupted faults near its rated capacity.
I...
Our measurement group (natural gas pipeline) is looking at purchasing a videoscope (borescope) for use in inspecting the internals of various parts of their equipment.
Their candidate is shown to be "MIL-STD-810G, METHOD 511.6, Procedure I (operation in an explosive atmosphere test)".
I'm the...
The question has arisen at my workplace as to what we expect out of these things. I have devices installed in excess of twenty years ago.
What do I tell our managers about their life expectancy? We're starting to see sporadic failures on devices.
That is not to mention that software...
Anybody want to comment?
A little history. Original transformer was installed in 2006. It failed catastrophically in 2010. The manufacturer said the cause was an external fire, although I pointed out this discoloration on that transformer's case, away from the obvious fire damage.
We...
I have a s****ns CGP 9000 HP 1800 RPM 4160-volt motor in service driving a centrifugal natural gas compressor through a step-up gearbox. The motor is fed by a s****ns VFD.
Last year the motor was taken off-line due to high vibration.
Investigation revealed that the cooling fan, internally...
I was posed the question by a manager this morning as to whether there were other, not water-activated, sealing compounds that could be used in the place of 'chico' water-mixed compound in sealing fittings for use in classified areas.
I seem to remember some discussion of these some years ago...
I am fighting a proposal by our 'management' to require the utility company to provide us with an ungrounded 13.8 kV supply for a couple of large motors and station auxiliaries.
I work on the US Gulf Coast. I have NEVER seen one of my former clients use an ungrounded 13.8 system. The common...
I have a bit of experience in the southern US with industrial and utility power systems, but of late I have had a recurring conversation concerning the employment of dual trip coils on 5-15 kV circuit breakers in industrial environments.
My experience is that they are relatively rare in heavy...
I'm putting together a presentation for introducing some of our station personnel to the wonderful world of medium voltage switchgear.
Naturally, pictures of their new switchgear are easy. All I have to do is walk in the building and take what I want.
However, I want to show some slides of...
I've been in electrical power since 1977, 480-500,000 volts. I've designed, commissioned, maintained, etc. Hands-on and as supervisor and manager.
for the past three years I've worked for an interstate natural gas pipeline where 480 volts was "high voltage" and 1000 kVA was a "big...
Didn't find anything definitive in a search here, and I Googled the web, too.
One of my minor stations took a pretty good lightning hit during a recent storm and blew a bunch of I/O cards, all RTD and thermocouple inputs.
Not really in my purview as a power guy, but is there a particular...
As is often the case, we had a little problem and I got asked a question.
We had a low voltage circuit catch fire and burn at one of my sites. The wiring in question was in conduit, installed in a Class I Div. I area and was contained except for some smoke which unfortunately triggered smoke...
We have three, two 9000 horsepower, one 7000 horsepower. the 7000 went in service three years ago. It has had two failures, each requiring three weeks outage between bringing in the expertise to diagnose and then to get parts to repair major damage to bus.
One of my 9000 horsepower units is...
