Page 10 - Reciprocating Compressors Operation Maintenance

Preface

One doesn't have to do too much research to establish how old recip-
rocating compressor technology really is. If steam turbines ushered in die
Industrial Revolution over 200 years ago, reciprocating compressors
couldn't have been far behind.
On a visit to an Iowa-based equipment manufacturer in 1989, I was
amazed to see how a 1908-vintage reciprocating compressor satisfied
their around-the-clock plant air requirements dependably and efficiently.
Eighty years with nothing but routine, albeit conscientious, "tender lov-
ing care" maintenance! What an endorsement of the skill of the original
designers, machine builders, and generations of maintenance craftsmen.
It's only fair to say that the old turn-of-the-century compressor was
designed with greater margins of safety, or strength, or capacity to sur-
vive abuse than today's higher rotating speed and higher linear piston
velocity reciprocating machines. Many of today's compressors are likely
to have been designed with the emphasis on reduced weight, less floor
space and, let's face it, least cost. The concepts of maintainability, sur-
veillability, and true life cycle cost are too new to be taught in modem
universities and engineering colleges. The reward system for project
managers, process design contractors, and project engineers is largely
based on capital cost savings and rapid schedules. Regrettably, even the
commitment to maintenance excellence of many of today's managers and
mechanic/technicians is not always as sound, or as rigorous and consis-
tent, as it perhaps was a few decades ago.
Today, everyone speaks of reliability, but many of these well-meaning
folks seem to be "forgetful hearers" instead of "doers." There are pre-
cious few instances where the maintenance or reliability technician is
given either the time or the training to determine the true root causes of
equipment failures. Scores of workers are instructed to find the defective
part, replace it with a new one, and get the machine back in service. But

IX