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Any body out there ever deal with broken aluminum rods? It looks to me like it failed at the head of the rod bolt on both sides( right from the notch to the bearing on both sides) and then broke in half later when the crank came around and hit it. I don't think it took in liquid because the system is low.
Usually when rods start to get broken it is because of liquid damage. Look at the compressor where the rod broke. Is the broken rod closer to the suction valve or discharge valve? And... was the cylinder where the rod broke operating unloaded or loaded?
A Vilter with Aluminum Rods?
I have never seen those.
You know, I did not pay any attention to that. I just saw connecting rods and ran with it.:o
Aluminium/alloy rods and breaking sounds like a Hall Vee bloc, if this is the case, definitly liquid. hate them with a passion. Make good anchors for a yaught.
magoo
I have only seen aluminium rods on 430 series vilter ***** comps , which were also broken ?
It's a Vilter 350 ES 8 cyl. compressor, broken rods one loaded cylinder and one with unloader, both on discharge end of compressor. It looks to me like they broke first in two places, at the head of the rod bolts, angling straight towards center of the journal, then snapped off, along with liner and piston when crank came around to hit it. I got a bucket of shrapnel out of bottom end. It was still running, but low on pressure. Plant personell reported no unusual noise
Is there any possibility of liquid condensing in the cylinder heads?
I suppose vapors could condense after shutdown on a cold nite. Enough to cause broken rod? I don't know. Unit also has a big spring on discharge valve-safety head it's called.
Leaking discharge NRV and broken discharge valve rings!
Are we working on NH3 compressor with more than one compressor.
Has compressor got cylinder head cooling?
Once had a problem with a mycom compressor, it also broke a connecting rod. It had glycol cooling heads, glycol had its own separate coil in condenser to reject heat, glycol pump contactor was energized through relay built onto softstarter board. So hence when compressor was started through softstart board relay would close thus bringing on glycol pump. The relay on board stuck in closed position thus glycol kept circulating through heads of compressor even after compressor cycled off ,kept running on a cold winter night and in combination with a leaking discharge check valve condensed large amount of liquid in head of compressor causing it to smash after compressor started next morning.
Thats a drag about a stuck relay! This is an R-22, dual compressor system, 22 years old, runs all the time. Discharge check valves hold amazingly well. No cooling in heads. I really think it's a case of metal fatigue.
Oh, and the new rods look much improved over the old ones now in service. Better fit and finish, as they say. Old one looked like a high school sand casting project, new ones look drop forged and very smooth- remember your old triumph motorcycle? aluminum rod polished to avoid stress riser!
I take it you have compressor operational again!
Any service history on overhauls, seeing as comps 22 years plus?
Pirate parts?
It is now running great, overall system also doing better than I have seen it yet. Very stable suction pressure(60 psi) discharge varies w/ cooling water temp(180 to 220 psi) Not much history. 1 guy was in charge, wouldn't let anybody else touch it, now retired.
Don't you hate those types of guys!!! They think if they do not share the knowledge they are not replaceable, I have worked with a few of these guys and its usually a case of there own insecurity's with their selves.Quote:
Originally Posted by squidward
Well, I'm getting the knowledge now does that make me irreplaceable? Just had the hottest day for a while, system ran great, good temps and no oil loss/foaming. I'm getting a pretty long list of things I've found wrong and fixed.
No, it simply means you are willing to put forth the effort. Look at it like this... you may leave your present job, but the knowledge you gained goes with you. If you happen to share it with others, it helps them also.Quote:
Originally Posted by squidward
For a very long time this industry has been closed. Those that knew sometimes did a very poor job of sharing.
This is why I think we have the accidents we have today, although the bean counters/accountant types do share some of the blame also.:D
Thanks Iceman, I am still new to this industry. I try and show the plant guys what I have learned about their system so at least we can communicate effectively. I'm happy to report that my chillers are now running well. And my plant operators know what to look for in a good running system.( it seems for a long time nobody knew how bad they were)
That is a fairly normal situation. Once you are around a system for a long time it is easy to fall into the trap of accepting what occurs as normal and expected.Quote:
Originally Posted by squidward
The difficult task is trying to explain why it is not normal, while trying to assist them in finding a solution. It is a teaching moment...;)
Back when I was working on motorcycles, more than once a guy would bring his bike in for service. I would look it over and notice bent handlebars and forks misaligned- It had been like that for so long he got used to it!