Rotating Equipment : Equipment Preservation

This inscription is written to be a general guidelines for site engineer to generate preservation procedure routine to avoid some jammed governor, cranky bearing, excessive rust or seeping mech seal.

Some of the most common mistake happened on project site is the lack of care to the equipment well being during the inoperative condition. If the equipment is not well preserved during construction step, don’t be surprised if a lot of problems emerge during the commissioning step. This problems surely will be time consuming, time loss means more expenditure, more expenditure means less project profit, less project profit means less project bonus, I think that will be a sufficient motivation to any rotating equipment engineer to give a little extra attention to preservation precaution.

Preservation Oil

During the transportation of the equipment from the vendor workshop to the project site, it is very common that the bearing housing is emptied. After it is installed on its foundation, it is recommended to fill the oil as soon as possible. The oil will prevent the rusting on the inside of the housing.

Rotate the Equipment Shat

After the lube oil is filled, ensure to rotate the shaft routinely for several rotation, preferably once every week, with the final position shall be 270’ relative to initial position. This routine is necessary to avoid rust and damage on the shaft or bearing caused by prolonged loading on one side of the shaft.

Watertight Caps/Plugs

Before the piping is ready to be connected, ensure all opening (flange, nozzle, drain, vent, oiler, etc) is closed. It will prevent foreign material such as spatter, dust or corrosive agent to enter the inside of equipment. This aforementioned foreign material could cause damage to the mech seal or the internal lining.

Protective Covering

The equipment shall be protected from the surrounding construction activity, the covering is recommended to be designed to allow free air circulation and prevent collection of water. Some of the common protection materials can be used are the equipment packaging material or assemblies of scaffoldings.

Cleanness of the Equipment

As the old proverb said, cleanness is a part of the faith.

Preservative Coating

All kinds of exposed shaft, mounting foot, machined surface, etc shall be protective coatings. Grease, waxed cloth or typed A/B/D preservative is recommended as protective coating