August 2005 - Library

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performance of actual lubricants. The implementation of advanced monitoring tools coupled to an expected 10%
reduction in the quantity of used lubricant will achieve an estimated 30% decrease in overall maintenance costs.
E c o l o g i c a l l y, the proposed biolubricants will contribute to the preservation of natural resources by using renewable
raw materials. Equally, non-toxic lubricants will pose a significantly reduced pollution threat to the environment
than conventional mineral and synthetic oils.
The project consortium is headed by leading German lubricant manufacturer ROWE and also includes the Spanish
Tribological Institute TEKNIKER, Portuguese Technology Transfer Centre INEGI, Spanish rolling-bearing
manufacturer FERSA, Portuguese gears manufacturer BRITO, and Spanish ball-screws manufacturer SHUTON.
Regular BIOMON progress reports will be featured at Monition’s website: www.monition.com
Refrigeration System Sealant Averts Costly Repair at Ford Engine Factory.
Lost production time is avoided when an undetectable refrigerant leak in a chiller is sealed with Super Seal 3
Phase by Cliplight.
A leaking chiller forced an automotive manufacturing plant HVAC/R engineer to decide between a costly production
shutdown and using a $60 can of refrigeration system sealant to eliminate the leak.
Shutting down the chiller system, which cools 10,400 gallons of honing oil used in the engine block cutting process
at Ford Motor Company’s mammoth Essex Engine Plant, Canada, would run up costs in service and parts including
a reduction in plant productivity. The best case repair scenario for the V-6 engine production plant was a projected
five-day disassembly of the 24-ton chiller with hopes that necessary replacement parts were readily available once
the leaking component was found. The worse case scenario was waiting one or two weeks for parts and subsequently
renting expensive mobile chillers.
Gerry Miller, the plant’s compression equipment engineer, hadn’t heard of refrigeration leak sealants prior to the
incident, but he was wary of putting any foreign substance in the system. “I like only refrigerant and oil in my
systems, and that’s all,” said Miller, “but I had run out of alternatives.”
Previous leak detection efforts with electronic leak detection and liquid soaping connections didn’t reveal the leak
location, but did confirm two realities: 1) the leak was most likely inside the chiller’s evaporator in an enclosed
tank; and 2) repairing the leak wasn’t going to be easy.
To maintain Ford’s stringent environmental policies on refrigerant leaks, Miller was preparing a fast-track plan to
tear apart the system until Paul Appler, a first class power engineer and director of research and development for
the HVAC/R division of Cliplight Manufacturing Corp., Toronto, suggested using a sealant made especially for
refrigeration system leaks.
The relatively new chiller is a 48-ton model with two 25-hp., 24-ton semi-hermetic reciprocating Carlyle compressors
and utilizes Sporlan, St. Louis, Mo., filter driers and expansion valves. Before the repair, the chiller was operating
with a 1) discharge pressure--195-psig; 2) discharge temperature--219.2ºF; 3) shell temperature--212ºF; 4) suction
pressure--40-psig; 5) suction temperature--77ºF; and 6) superheat-60 degrees.
With no other choice than system tear-down or using a sealant, Miller invited consultation from Cliplight Cliplight
H VAC/R sealants were still relatively new at the time and Miller wanted to exercise a controlled methodical approach
to its use at the plant. After a thorough analysis by the Cliplight team to ensure a clean system, Miller gave the
green light. A trial dose of three ounces of Cliplight’s industrial strength sealant, Super Seal 3 Phase, which
is designed for five-ton and larger systems, was administered by Service Technician, Dave Dunn owner of Thermo-
Dynamics Ltd, Windsor.
Since the trial dose stopped 80 percent of the leak without any adverse effects to the refrigeration system
components, Miller opted to inject an additional three-ounce dose of sealant. The second injection completely
halted the leak, based on system operation statistics of: 1) discharge pressure-208-psig; 2) discharge temperature-
103ºF; 3) shell temperature-162ºF; 4) suction pressure-68-psig; 5) suction temperature-53ºF; 6) superheat-13
degrees.
Miller had waited for over one year to declare whether the sealant has completely remedied the problem. A recent oil
analysis and acid testing revealed a “crystal clear” oil and acid-free sample, according to Miller. “If there’s going to be
a problem, it would have surfaced by now, I’m a believer in refrigeration sealants now,” Miller said. h va c r @ c l i p l i g h t . c o m
POWER INDUSTRY MAKES STRONG SHOWING IN ENHANCED
ASSET MANAGEMENT AWARDS
Power companies from three states took out gold,s i l ver and bronze at the recent Australian Maintenance Engineering Excellence
Awa rds organised by the Maintenance Engineering Society of Australia (MESA).
Victoriaís Powercor took gold while silver went to Energy Australia from NSW and bronze to Aurora Energy in Ta s m a n i a ,h o s t
state for this yearís awa rd s.
Newcastle steel manufacturer One Steel was also recognised with a silver awa rd while the Royal Australian Navy secured a
bronze in the expanded annual awa rd event which was first held in 1996.
The 2005 awa rds were made against seven criteria to organisations ach i eving defined standards in asset management and
maintenance engineering, as judged by MESA, a Te chnical Society of Engineers Australia (EA).