October 2019 | Vol. 10
5 Things You Need To Know
Bringing You The Latest Industry News
FEATURED THIS MONTH
- To Repair or Replace
- Plant Winterization Protocol
- Event Registration – LAST CALL!
- October Training Spotlight
- Mechanical Equipment Room Monitoring
Welcome To Our Monthly Newsletter!
In this month’s issue of “5 Things You Need to Know” we take a look at the considerations in deciding to repair or replace valves in a process or power plant and also discuss the importance of plant winterization. This is your last chance to register for the events we are hosting early this month! Check out some of our training courses offered throughout the month and dive a little deeper into the importance of gas and refrigerant detection in mechanical rooms!
To Repair or Replace
Many factors influence the decision to repair or replace a valve but some factors may take precedence over others.
All types of valves become subject to repair or replacement over the course of their life.Understanding the total cost of ownership of your valves is an important part in the decision making in the upkeep of your valves and process efficiency.
As with anything else, some variables can affect your total cost of ownership, such as the age of the valve, environmental requirements, repair costs and expertise, and type of valve, to name a few. Valves are typically a capital expense so maximizing every valve dollar spent is critical.
The line between repairing a valve economically or deciding to replace a valve has risen because some professionals will not consider repairing certain valves sizes of certain materials and with more specialized materials and conditions the threshold continues to rise for go/no-go repair decision. Some valves are more critical than others and require a higher level of maintenance and repair, meaning more expertise, time and technology, equaling a higher cost.
Price, quality, and delivery are all important factors in valve evaluation for repair or replacement.According to Valve Magazine, the most important criterion is quality, followed by delivery, and price rounding out the group.
Valve upkeep is necessary for an efficient process but taking the necessary steps to understand your valve’s health can also help make more cost-effective decisions. Valve diagnostics are nothing new but the adoption of them before a shutdown period is still catching on. Periodically monitoring the health of process valves will ultimately help you plan more effectively for shutdowns and keep costs down for future repairs.
Interested in understanding the health of your valves and becoming more cost effective? Connect with Eastern Controls today!
There are many variables to take into account when evaluating your valves
Page 2
Plant Winterization Protocol
Winterization is an important part of plant preparation for the cold months of the year. Read on to learn more!
To keep plant personnel safe and daily operations running smoothly, it is absolutely necessary to winterize your plant properly.
Without proper protection of industrial processes, you run the risk of:
- frozen equipment and blocked pipes
- product loss
- damage needed unforeseen repair work
There are many ways you can prepare, before it’s too late. Heat tracing of production lines is one of them and can be steam or electric. Heat tracing is appealing because it is safe and durable, not to mention it’s a great preventative to emergency and costly repairs. Often times this aspect of plant engineering, design, and installation can slip to the bottom of the priority list.
Heat tracing is just one aspect to consider when winterizing a plant. We should also consider the measurements and controls and the elements they are also exposed to.
Insulated enclosures play a critical role in production capability because they winterize process instruments and protects them from corrosion and mechanical abuse.
For more information on winterization and specific products that can optimize your efforts you can check out some other articles we have available. To read on about heat tracing with O’Brien’s TRACEPAK®, click HERE!
For more information on instrument enclosures and the capabilities and piece of mind they provide, click HERE. We dive deeper into the O’Brien VIPAK®, a simple solution for single or multiple instruments and a variety of protection configurations.
Insulated tubing and enclosures could save you millions!
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Event Registration – Last Call!
Don’t miss your chance to sign up for an Eastern Controls event near you!
Valve & Automation Summit
WHEN: October 3, 2019
WHERE:
Eastern Controls, Inc.
10437 Leadbetter Road
Ashland, VA 23005
WHAT: Full day of educational and hands-on seminars and demonstrations or industry leading measurement and control equipment.
TOPICS: Valves and positioners and ease of maintenance, live-streamed flame detection demonstration, Actuation in the industry, and safety in storage tanks.
Walker Event hosted by Eastern Controls
WHEN: October 10, 2019
WHERE:
Confetti’s Event Center
802 Gleneagles Court
Towson, MD 21286
WHAT:Â 40th celebration of PR Walker Event, hosted by Eastern Controls. Join us for an afternoon of industry leading products for a range of applications. Covering instrumentation and IIoT and talking shop with industry experts!
TOPICS: Solids level measurement, offerings for developing your workforce, and industrial wiring in hazardous areas.
Your last chance to register for our events on October 3rd & 10th
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October ECI Training Spotlight
Don’t miss out, see what ECI Training is all about!
September was a busy month for the Eastern Controls Training department. Our Fundamental Instrumentation School 101 had every seat filled and we had a group from a previous training course return for our Control Valve 101 course!
Check out the courses we are highlighting this month!
Maintenance of pH, Conductivity & DO
Understanding and mastering the measurement of process liquid quality is critical to a process and the output of said process. This 8-hour course covers:
- Theory of operation for pH, Conductivity, and Dissolved Oxygen
- Analytical technologies, applications, and communications
- Troubleshooting
- Equipment Handling
- Maintenance
- Cleaning
- Calibrations
- Diagnostics
Pressure & Temperature School 101
A 16-hour combination classroom and hands-on training course. At the end of the course attendees will be able to:
- Recognize various pressure technologies;
- Understand the strengths and limitations of a range of products;
- Specify the best type of P+T technologies for a variety of applications;
- Set up and commission P+T devices;
- Use communication tools to set up and verify instrument health and signals
- Diagnose and correct problems with pressure and temperature products
To register for these or any other courses on our Fall calendar, visit our Training Page!
Fall is a busy time of year, we’re here to help you stay prepared!
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Mechanical Equipment Room Monitoring
Evaluating mechanical equipment rooms and the equipment inside should be monitored to keep the operators safe.
Mechanical equipment and boiler rooms are the hubs that keep campuses running, and running efficiently. Summer time usually means maintenance for many colleges in these areas, but there is constant evaluation that goes on throughout the rest of the year as well.
Mechanical equipment rooms are the hub of a buildings heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. The equipment within these rooms has the potential to leak harmful combustible or toxic gases, as well as costly and environmentally harmful refrigerant gases.
Refrigerant gas is considered toxic because at high concentrations they can displace oxygen and this deficiency can cause serious injury or death to workers. For economic reasons refrigerant leak detection is encouraged due to the high costs associated with a refrigerant leak. Not only do refrigerants need to be monitored but so do spaces with a
supply of combustion air, such as a boiler room.
A mechanical room’s boiler equipment should also be monitored to ensure an adequate supply of combustion air and also to reduce the build-up of a flammable gas concentration. When installing or locating these gas sensors, it’s important to keep in mind that natural gas is lighter than air; therefore any gas sensors should be located over potential leak areas.
Have more questions about best practices for refrigerant or gas detection? Get in touch with Eastern Controls today, we’re always ready to help!