Centrifugal Pump Alignment

Proper alignment of the pump shaft with the driver can reduce vibration and significantly improve reliability. For appropriate applications, the time, expertise and instruments needed to achieve precision alignment (tolerances of less than 0.005 in) will prevent seal leakage and extend bearing life. Depending on such factors as operating speed and coupling type, not all pumps will require such precise alignment. When assessing a plant’s alignment needs, it helps to understand basic shaft alignment concepts and procedures, as well as application-specific factors that dictate the required tolerances. Read the rest of this entry »

Electric Motors Cost Lot More Than One Would Expect

The pump industry is the largest purchaser of electric motors in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), electric motors consume more 50 percent of all electrical energy in the United States and more than 85 percent of industrial production electrical energy. Electric motors account for roughly $85 out of every $100 of a manufacturing/process plant’s electrical bill. Read the rest of this entry »

Three-phase Pump and Motor Protection

Why do pump motors fail? In 1987, the publishers of the Electric Motor Manual studied 9,000 motor failures and categorized the failures into seven types – overload, single-phasing, old age, bearing failures, rotor failures, contaminants and miscellaneous. The interesting thing about this study is that all of these failed motors were protected by fuses or circuit breakers for shorts, and by overload heaters for overload, unbalance and single-phase faults. So, why didn’t the fuses and overloads in the three-phase pump control panel protect the motors? Read the rest of this entry »

Three phase Pump Control Panel

NEMA vs. IEC

There are two commonly used component standards for pump control panels – NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) and IEC (International Electro-technical Commission). What commonly are called IEC panels in this country actually are UL panels using IEC-style components. For discussion purposes, we will refer to them as IEC panels.

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Centrifugal Pump System Optimization

High energy prices are pushing plant operating costs through the roof. This increase is due to record U.S. electricity use. New power plant construction and ever-increasing fuel costs will further increase the price of electricity.

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GE DELIVERS ENERGY EFFICIENT SOLUTIONS TO POWER-HUNGRY IT INDUSTRY

Lombard, IL – March 23, 2009 – GE Digital Energy, a business of GE Enterprise Solutions (NYSE: GE), today announced that its 750kVA SG Series Digital Energy UPS system has been certified as an ecomagination product after completing GE’s rigorous ecomagination Product Review (EPR) process. At a typical 50 percent load, GE’s 750kVA UPS system achieves efficiency of more than 94 percent, delivering uninterruptible power to the booming global data center industry at higher efficiency than competitors’ systems.

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FRANKLIN FUELING SYSTEMS PROVIDES CALIFORNIA GAS STATION OWNERS WITH ENHANCED VAPOR RECOVERY (EVR) SOLUTION

Madison, Wisconsin – April 3, 2009 – According to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approximately 11,800 gasoline dispensing facilities in the State of California were required to upgrade their station’s equipment to comply with Phase II Enhanced Vapor Recovery (EVR) upgrade standards by April 1, 2009. The upgrade standards require gas stations to install the proper equipment to capture gasoline vapor escaping from a car’s gasoline tank during the refueling. “Vapor Recovery Systems in California reduce hydrocarbon emissions by 372 tons per day, save 120,000 gallons of gasoline each day and save station owners and consumers $360,000 each day,” states the California Air Resources Board (CARB) EVR website. In addition, CSP Daily News reports that CARB states, “The (upgrade) would reduce emissions by the equivalent of taking 450,000 cars off the road every day.”

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EMERSON MOTOR TECHNOLOGIES JOINS NEMA TO ENDORSE FEDERAL REBATES FOR PREMIUM-EFFICIENT MOTORS

Rebate legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) calls for incentives to replace old motors with premium electric motor technology ST. LOUIS – April 2, 2009 – Emerson Motor Technologies, a global leader in the design and manufacture of electrical motors, today joined the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) to support legislation creating a premium efficient electric motor rebate program within the U.S. Department of Energy to drive use of the most efficient motor technology available.

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IMS Research Predicts ac Induction Motor Market Growth to Triple by 2011

Market research firm IMS Research says a government-led movement toward higher efficiency motors will affect the worldwide ac induction motor market over the next few years. According to the firm, governments have introduced legislation, or encouraged voluntary industry agreements, that will shift the market away from EPAct and EFF2 motors to higher efficiency motors. The U.S. government has been a leader with the passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, according to the firm.

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Ingersoll Rand electric motor technology

Ingersoll Rand motor technology for diaphragm pumps combats three confounding pump motor issues: freezing, stalling and poor energy efficiency. Freezing is a chronic issue that causes a motor to seize up and fail in many applications. Freezing occurs as compressed air expands and creates a severe decrease in pressure. As the air returns to atmospheric pressure, it becomes extremely cold, freezing any moisture in the air supply.

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