I often hear from our partners and customers that their lube systems are causing them problems. Issues range from oil stiction of valves – causing them to lose efficiency – to bad gas quality due to oil droplets, caused by over-lubrication. Good lubrication in itself can be challenging to get right, and many people are surprised what problems their lube systems can cause to parts such as valves, rings and packings. That is what drives me to perfect HOERBIGER’s newest innovation and bring it to the market. I want to revolutionize the lubrication of reciprocating compressors, a subject that has gone more or less untouched for decades.
Experience from over 1200 compressor performance audits performed by HOERBIGER tells us that approximately 30% of all lubricated compressors have problems with their lubrication systems. This in turn has potentially dramatic impacts on valves, rings and packings, and even capital parts.
Lubrication problems often cause losses in compressor efficiency and increase maintenance costs. These undesirable effects put your compressors’ availability and reliability at risk. In the long run, they may harm your processes and reduce your production output. I’m always curious to know more, so do please leave a comment below on the challenges you face when it comes to compressor lubrication.
HOERBIGER has developed a new and innovative compressor lubrication system that addresses many of the problems found in legacy systems. Our XperLUBE offers many advantages. Real-time performance monitoring, for instance, enables prompt adjustments of lube rates. This gives you a flexible lubrication system that adapts the lubrication to match the operating conditions. This will help you avoid over- or under-lubrication, increasing your compressor’s efficiency.
But XperLUBE is more than that. It is based on standardized components that are the same for all compressors. This lets you streamline systems engineering as well as supply chain costs – ultimately reducing inventory costs and saving money. The standardized components also include diagnostics that let you identify malfunctioning parts for rapid replacement, so there’s no need to inspect the system to find the problem before starting a repair. This saves valuable time and gets your compressor up and running faster.
My webinar on June 1st – Getting Compressor Cylinder Lubrication Just Right – will discuss this topic in depth. I’ll be offering you insights into the consequences of poor lubrication, as well as what can be done to avoid these problems. Even if your lubrication system is working just fine, I would like to invite you to join the webinar. I’m sure that in every compressor lubrication system there is something that can be optimized. There are efficiency gains to be made, and money to be saved!
Contributed by Matthias Richtig, Global Product Manager XperLUBE, Hoerbiger