2018 Technical Report January-February

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refrigerating engineers & technicians association | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018

Engineer Work During Off Season A presentation to the 1919 NAPRAE Convention by Norman Register, as edited by Matt Hayes (Wagner-Meinert LLC and Vern Sanderson (The Tex Hildebrand Training Center)

Introduction On December 4, 1919 Norman Register, then a director of the NAPRAE Board, presented a paper entitled “Engineering Work during off Season” to the assembled attendees of the National NAPRAE Convention. This article puts forth recommendations for work to be done by operating engineers during down or slow periods. This paper has been edited to utilize more modern English and to remove some references no longer valid. Engineer Work During Off Season Our worthy President (E.P. Fryant) said to me early this year (1919) that he had assigned a subject to me and that I was expected to read a paper at this convention (NAPRAE 1919), and this is the subject he gave me: “How Should an Engineer Spend His Off Season?”

Norman Register, “Father” of the National Association Practical Refrigerating Engineers

All right. If you will bear with me, I will briefly outline my ideas of what an engineer should do, during the off-season. If I were given charge of a plant about the time the plant was supposed to start—as a matter of fact, it would be too late for me to make any extensive repairs or changes, therefore I must make the best of conditions as I find them for the time being. However, the very first thing that I would provide myself with would be a durable memorandum book (A Master Maintenance Log), which I would keep conveniently by me throughout the season; and from the first hour of my taking charge, I would begin taking notes of any faults, repairs or changes that in my opinion could be made for the betterment of conditions—and when I said for the betterment, I mean an expenditure of money that would net my employers a dividend on such expenditure at the end of the season. I would take my memo book, sit down and list all of the items, figure out approximately the

have begun early in the season to think and prepare my remarks. Prepare for Next Season The first thought that entered my mind was that a really good and efficient engineer of an ice or refrigerating plant never has an off season. However, since this answer might fail to get me by, the next thought that came into my mind was that the question was very easily answered, because it is obvious that an engineer during the off season when plant operations are slow, or that part of the season in which his plant is not in operation, should be preparing for the next season’s run, and really this does answer the question briefly. “But,” says someone, “how shall we go about preparing for the next season, and when should we begin preparing?” This reminds me of the old saying by someone whom I have forgotten, who said the time to begin training a child was to start with his grandfather; and the same I think aptly applies to the subject in hand. “But,” says another, “you are still dodging. Get down to cases.”

I take it, gentlemen, it is meant that I should express my opinion as to what an ice refrigerating engineer should do during the cooler months when his plant is not in operation. It had not been my purpose to attempt to discuss at this convention or to prepare a paper to read to you on practical questions; but on the other hand, to sit and listen and learn from others, and I decided to squirm out of it entirely until the last few days, when I received a letter from the President in which he mentioned that he supposed I had my paper ready. So rather than back squarely down and subject myself to criticism at the last moment I began giving the question some thought, and right here is where I made a big mistake. I should “The first thought that enteredmymind was that a really good and efficient engineer of an ice or refrigerating plant never has an off season.”

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headers or steam lines vibrate too much; or perchance it is relining pumps or resetting same, or cleaning your feed water heater, covering steam pipes or many other things about the boiler house. Perhaps in the engine room there has been a slight pound in one of the engines. We should investigate this and remedy it, or there may be a bearing inclined to heat during the peak load. If so, now is the chance to go after this. May be that the machine is loose on the foundation, and you have had to pull down on some of the foundation bolts. Better get after this right now, or you may have a broken frame before the end of another season. May be there is a bad oiling system which causes the use of too much oil, or the oil is allowed to go to waste. If so, I would most certainly remedy this. Some of the biggest surprises I ever ran across were in expansion coils (evaporators). They were thought to be clean, and yet several barrels of oil or sludge were drawn off, and it was wondered where it came from or how it got there. I

cost of such changes or repairs,

one will find to jot down in his memo book during the busy season, to be taken up after the run is over, would possibly be: Repainting smoke stacks, relining boiler furnaces, resetting boilers, or changing the furnace to suit a change of fuel, to secure a better CO2 reading and thus economize on fuel cost. Or perhaps it may be leaky tube ends or rivet heads, or slight leaks at the seams of the boilers. These are most important matters that should not be allowed to go any longer than it is possible to help. Or possibly there is a drip from various flanges in your steam line or headers, which is a warning that new gaskets are needed, or that your steam is the most avoided. Avoided because it is always on the list of things to do, but never at the top. Clean, Paint, Insulate and Seal.” “Perhaps the most important maintenance

the saving or gain to be derived by making such changes, giving my reasons fully for doing so. Then I should immediately seek a conference with the manager and lay before him all of these things and insist that I be authorized to go ahead and buy the material and do the work immediately after I had finished the season’s run, not waiting until the first of the year. If the manager agreed with me and said that he would do these things, but wanted me to wait until the first of January or a little later on, I would tell him, “All right; we will wait for a while, but not too long.” And when this time is up, I would again go to him and insist on getting down to business. Should he indicate that he did not mean to have the work done, but was stalling around, and I felt that the repairs and changes were important enough to handicap me during the next season, I would then look for another position. Outline of Winter work Some of the many things that

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paint job is so bad that it offends your manager, he’ll probably assign painting to someone else. If he has to replace a few hundred feet of pipe, he’ll probably find a new operator. Poor insulation robs efficiency, but more importantly poor insulation hides and encourages corrosion. Many times, I’ve been told that “we’re waiting until we can get an insulator in.” Don’t wait. If you have to tear off insulation to make a repair don’t wait for an insulator to fix it. If you can coordinate it great. But if you can’t, get something on it. I always ask that they try to save the insulation when they make a repair. I know it will be broken and the vapor barrier will not be intact. Put the pieces back together, spray foam the holes and seams, wrap the whole thing in saran wrap, then cover it with duct tape. Will it look horrible? Absolutely, but it will protect the rest of the insulation and keep out moisture until the insulator can get there. Don’t fall into the trap of waiting until you have a full weeks work for the insulator. Most insulators are good with a one day job. If you can do a good enough job of sealing the insulation, then you can wait. If not make the call. Seal, silicone is your friend. If you have holes in insulation seal it. More importantly, where insulation meets pipe, make sure that is sealed and air tight. Every operator has a list of things to do “when I have time”. Give up all hope of having that magical day with nothing to do. Schedule the activity now. Even if you schedule it out 6 months, it will ensure it gets done at some point.

would not overlook my expansion valves to see that they would hold. Here, again, surprises have occurred by finding the opening obstructed. Don’t forget your shut-off valves on your ammonia lines, both discharge and suction, as on this may not only depend a great loss of ammonia, but possibly something more valuable—a human life. And I would by no means overlook the agitators and circulating system. Modern operators refer to this as a valve cycling program or a critical valve cycling program. These are some of the things that I would suggest an engineer should do during the time he is supposed to have nothing on hand. Perhaps the most important maintenance is the most avoided. Avoided because it is always on the list of things to do, but never at the top. Clean, Paint, Insulate and Seal. There is always equipment to be cleaned. Dirty evaporator coils cause loss of efficiency. Anything that moves and has excess grease will result in increased wear because of the dirt that gathers on open grease. If a system looks as if it isn’t maintained, eventually it won’t be. Rust is not a color to be seen in a refrigeration system. Paint it. I’ve heard all of the excuses, “I don’t have the right paint” or “I’m not a painter it looks bad.” I don’t care, get paint on it. Use a paint glove if you need too. I would rather have a bad looking paint job than have to replace the pipe because it’s developed pits. If your

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The Technical Report is an official publication of the Refrigerating Engineers & Technicians Association (RETA). RETA is an international not-for-profit association whose mission is to enhance the professional development of industrial refrigeration operating and technical engineers. Don Chason Executive Editor Jim Barron Executive Director technical report the

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The information in this publication is based on the collective experience of industry engineers and technicians. Although the information is intended to be comprehensive and thorough, it is subject to change based on particular applications, field experience, and technological developments. The Refrigerating Engineers & Technicians Association expressly disclaims any warranty of fitness for aparticular application, as well as all claims for compensatory, consequential, or other damages arising out of or related to the uses

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