As appered in NOVEMBER 2011 | PBEI, Copyright CSC Publishing

www.pbeinternational.com

ASK

AN EXPERT
Positive displacement blower
maintenance
Jack D. Hilbert, Pneumatic Conveying Consultants

We recently installed a new

positive displacement
blower in our pneumatic
conveying system. What type of preventive maintenance do you consider
crucial for its reliable, long-term operation? How frequently must maintenance be done?

Recording operating pressures and

temperatures.

basis, but quarterly inspections would

be reasonable.

The frequency of these inspections

depends on the machines duty service
and the suppliers recommendations.
But the following list is a good overall
preventive maintenance routine:

Q
A

Daily:

A positive displacement
(PD) blower, which operates
at relatively high speeds and
often in harsh environments, needs a
good preventive maintenance program
to keep it running properly. A good program of inspection, maintenance, and
thorough record-keeping will create a
history of operating characteristics,
which you can use to schedule proactive
maintenance rather than react to unscheduled outages.

Check oil case levels through sight

windows.

For a blower to have an optimum

service life, it must be operated within
the performance envelope for which it
was originally specified and selected.
This refers to both operating speeds and
pressure differentials. Both of these parameters can affect the blowers discharge temperature, which has arguably
the greatest impact on blower life and
reliability.

Check for loose piping, fittings, and

connections.

Weekly:
Check intake filters.
Check grease bearings.
Check for hot spots on blower casing.
Monthly:
Check blower drive belts for proper
tension and frays or cracks.

Change gearbox oil.

Notes:

Checking for hot spots.

Checking for increases or changes in
vibration and noise.

Vibration checks are not something you need to do on a frequent

Lubrication.

Hot spots are localized areas

where the exterior blower
casing is significantly hotter
than the rest of the unit. While you can
find hot spots with thermal imagery and
surface temperature detection, you can
also use visual observation. One sign of a
hot spot is paint discoloration. Hot
spots are typically caused by the blower
impellors making contact with the inside of the casing bore. This can be
caused by several factors: improper drive
alignment, excessive temperature or
pressure differentials, material buildup
on the impellors, or bent impellor
shafts. The remedy is to first identify
which of these is causing the hot spot. It
may be a single item or it may be a combination of more than one. Once you determine the cause, you can correct it.

When greasing and performing oil

changes, always follow the suppliers
guidelines for the type of product to use.
Drive motors can usually go for
longer intervals between maintenance,
on the order of 3,000 hours, but check
the manual and instructions that came
with the original equipment.

The four regular maintenance services I recommend are:

What causes hot spots? How

would we detect them, and
whats the remedy?

Jack D. Hilbert, PE,

principal consultant
Pneumatic Conveying Consultants,
Schnecksville, PA USA
+1 610 657 5286,
fax +1 610 760 9852
jack.hilbert@yahoo.com,
www.powderandbulk.com/pcc

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