It is a waste of time to blindly pursue unspeakable improvements to solve all the pump maintenance problems and to try to save a lot of money. In this article, US expert Heinz P Bloch reveals some common misconceptions and outlines three simple, low-cost upgrade scenarios that not only save money, cut down on downtime, but also awe-inspiring maintenance issues. Figure 1. Many such non-constant pressure constant pressure oil lubricators are still in use, even though they have many hazards and may shorten the life of the bearing. (Photo courtesy of Trico Mfg. Co.) I've been thinking of some realistic pump innovations lately, wondering why some plants will adopt such solutions at such a low speed. Some innovations are simple upgrades and have been well proven in a large number of applications. They themselves, though simple, can save a lot of money by adopting one or two seemingly simple innovations and upgrades. Why are some organizations in no hurry to make these changes? There are several reasons, the four listed below are always appear again and again in the maintenance efficiency review process. 1. Pump experts believe the performance of the equipment (and the maintenance cycle) will always be relevant to the original design. This assumption is inherently erroneous and has denied some of the findings, which have shown that upgrades to individual components often require little or no cost. These upgrades generally extend the overall mechanical life by more than 1%. 2. These institutions place undue reliance on benchmarks and do not take the initiative to improve their methods. Benchmarks are necessary to understand the competitive environment in which you operate, but you must implement specific actions and component upgrades to reduce maintenance frequency and downtime. There may be a huge gap between the baseline and the conscious search for viable remediation strategies. The root cause is ignored. The reason behind the downtime of the equipment must be found and addressed by means of precise hardware, work procedures or procedural steps. Unless these root causes are the same, these agencies find themselves trapped in avoidable maintenance and repetitive repair cycles. Figure 2. Constant pressure constant pressure lubricator. This type of lubricator is complete and more expensive than the lubricator in Figure 1, but it allows for more accurate indication of oil level and fewer bearing failures. (Credit: Trico Mfg. Co.) 4. Understanding of basic theory is getting worse. (At least this is the consensus of knowledgeable reliability specialists.) Few experts seem aware that machinery and components follow basic physical laws. The cost of the consequences for increased maintenance costs, unused assets, security breaches and escalating high litigation costs is very high. To illustrate these issues with examples, three of the many ways in which pump usage and stability can be improved are discussed here. These three upgrade programs are very common, but surprisingly, they are rarely used. Many factories could have saved a lot of money, as long as they looked at the underlying facts and the principles outlined here and then followed the recommended method. Pressure Balance Many pump bearing housings are still using unbalanced constant pressure level lubricators, although their application advantages are not obvious here (Figure 1). Moreover, the unbalanced constant oil level lubricator will shorten the service life of the bearing as well: ◆ The oil level in the lubricator adjusting chamber is connected with the external environment. In industrial environments, the atmosphere contains dust and water vapor. ◆ Seal Adjacent to the oil bottle seal material life is limited. After years of thermal cycling in an outdoor industrial environment, these seals crack and infiltrate the rainwater. ◆ They have inconsistent oil levels. According to Bernoulli's principle, when the pressure in the bearing housing is higher than atmospheric pressure, the oil level in the adjustment chamber will be different from the oil level in the bearing housing. Increasing the diameter of the exhaust port on the bearing housing helps keep the pressure in the bearing housing at atmospheric pressure, but more contaminants can enter. Figure 3. A new oil pan replaces rings that are easy to wear and unstable. (Photo courtesy of Trico Mfg. Co.) Figure 2 shows a more suitable constant pressure, constant-pressure oil lubricator that is available from a wide range of sources and is often supplied by manufacturers that make older lubricators. Pressure equalizers are more expensive, but typically only $ 30 more than the corresponding unbalance lubricators, the oil level indication is more accurate and the risk of bearing failure is lower. Oil rings (rings) may have been ubiquitous since the Industrial Revolution, but they often put rotating machinery at risk of: • Operating conditions deteriorate unless the entire shaft assembly is truly horizontal. ◆ contact with the internal bearing housing, the speed decreased. Lubricants with abrasive debris and other contaminants (wear rings). The shaft runs at too high a surface speed, which means that the speed has caused the instability and runout of the rings. Rings may not meet concentric tolerances, and hole roughness does not meet the requirements. & nbsp;