I recently had a local customer request our support on a gas turbine Service Project. In addition to standard scheduled maintenance, there was a requirement to flush the turbine lube oil piping and oil cooler.
The turbine, manufactured by Solar Turbines, was installed as a back-up generator at a local hospital. When preparing and for this service we were required to achieve a set of specifications engineered by the manufacturer.
Criteria to be met included the following:
- Minimum oil flow rates (to achieve a true “high velocity” flush)
- Minimum oil temperature
- Target oil cleanliness
- Visual inspection of a 25µm bag filter
Before the flushing aspect began we were tasked with evacuation of the old oil (approximately 180 gallons), and the manual cleaning of the oil reservoir. Once completed, new oil filtered to an ISO 4406 code of 16/14/12 was transferred into the flushing loop to prepare for the flushing sequence.
Equipment utilized to achieve the manufacturer’s specifications included the following:
- 400 GPM variable speed pump
- Oil heater
- Particulate filter housing (6 µm microglass filter elements)
- Bag filter housing (25 µm bag filter)
- Flow meter
- In-line digital particle counter
Once the target flow rate and temperature were achieved, the particle counter was utilized to monitor oil quality. Oil quality was monitored over a period of time until the target ISO 4406 code of (16/14/12) was recorded. The final task was to flow the oil through the 25 μm filter bag for a minimum of 1 hour before inspection. The bag was inspected several times before (2) consecutive bags passed the visual inspection.
Do you have any questions or comments about lube oil filtration or about our industrial filter rentals?
Give us a call and ask to speak to me directly, or send us an RFQ and mention my name.
— Todd, Technical Sales
