A Caloris customer requested our help with their evaporator due to issues with turbofan vibrations and vacuum leaks.
Our engineer was joined on-site by members of the customer’s maintenance staff and together they started dismantling the evaporator to take a look. It was immediately apparent that most of the gaskets in the pre-heaters were brittle and severely damaged. They had not been replaced since the evaporator’s installation five years prior.
As the crew began replacing all of the gaskets, a faulty pressure transmitter was identified and a replacement ordered as well.
Given the state of the gaskets in the pre-heaters, a more thorough inspection of the seals elsewhere in the unit began. Many CIP, vent and condensate connections were misaligned and the gaskets were past their prime. The manway O-ring needed to be replaced as well.
The crew next observed the unit under operation to find any additional vacuum leaks. Meanwhile, Caloris had scheduled the turbofan manufacturer to be on-hand to address the vibration issue.
The vibration issues resolved after making adjustments to the balancing bolts on the fan. However, something else was causing a sudden loss of vacuum. The crew worked to resolve several additional vacuum leaks, but this didn’t resolve the vacuum loss.
Meet The Engineers
Alex Blucher
Installation & Design Project Manager
Key Takeaway
A thorough maintenance tear-down, lead by one of our engineers, can identify and resolve tricky problems with minimal down-time.
Finally, they discovered a swollen check ball in the check valve on the feed line. This caused the water in the feed tank to be drawn into the evaporator, and once empty air was drawn into the evaporator, through the feed line. The ball would need to be replaced.
At the end of the site visit, our engineer held a debrief session with the maintenance staff and the turbofan provider. They went over additional items that would need to be addressed as opportunity allowed between product runs. Our engineer recommended specific materials to be used for replacing gaskets in the future and scheduled a future visit to check on the health of the evaporator.
When Did You Last Check Your Gaskets?
If you are experiencing evaporator vacuum leaks, old, brittle gaskets may be the problem. Caloris can guide you through the adjustments that will need to be made, and help with other operational challenges as well. Contact us at 410-822-6900 or problem.solved@caloris.com to arrange for a process assessment at your facility.
