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in accommodation.
For use in the sewage plant for conducting aerobic sewage breakdowns.
For use in fog horns and ships whistles.
For use in pneumatic tools like pneumatic grinder, pneumatic chisels, pneumatic
The routine maintenance of compressors, the daily routines, the 250 hours routines, the
500 hours routines.
onto the piston and cause extensive damages, thus for this reason the valve maintenance is of
vital importance.
3. Change crankcase oil at 500 running hours. Lubricating oil can lose its property over a period of
time due to the onerous operating conditions. However the synthetic lubricating oils can be used
for a longer period.
4. Check drive belts at 250 running hours. A v-belt is generally used to drive the cooling water
pump. The tightness of the belt should be checked and adjusted to the correct value at proper
intervals. In addition a belt dressing spray would protect the belts as well as increase the
transmission of the power and reduce the slippage.
5. Check unloader operation at 250 running hours. At a regular interval the operation of the
unloaders should be checked and if not satisfactory should be investigated and corrected.
The above is an example of the routine maintenance of the air compressors. In addition to the
above at routine intervals the piston would have to be pulled out and the piston rings changed,
bumping clearances checked, bearings changed. All this would be done on the basis of the planned
maintenance program based on the manufacturers advice.
The automatic suction, discharge, first stage and second stage valves overhaul procedure
and the method of testing if the valve is fit for service.
8. After the assembly of the valve the operation of the valve should be checked by a soft wooden
stick.
After the overhaul the valves have to be checked for leakage. The space above the valve plate
should be filled up with water or light oil like kerosene. If after a few minutes no drop in level or
leakage is there then the valve is satisfactory for the use. While installing care should be taken to
avoid the interchange of the suction and the discharge valves, as it could lead to an explosion due
to over pressurization of the compression chamber.
The above is just a brief exposure to the problems encountered onboard and how it must be
investigated. An experienced marine engineer keeps an eye on the parameters and knows when
maintenance is expected.
Conclusion
A compressed air system used onboard is very important to the marine engineer and without any
air the ship would soon become a dead ship. The various parts of the compressed air system, be it
the compressors, the pipe lines, or the air bottles have to be maintained in good condition. In this
article a brief guideline has been given about the compressors used onboard, use of compressed
air onboard, the safety devices fitted, the importance of unloading during starting, the operating
procedure, the basic maintenance, the valves overhaul procedure and the trouble shooting have all
been discussed.
It is hoped it would guide junior engineers and marine engineers about the various facets of marine
compressors.