HDU 27/27 Fine Filter

PTU3 4x 27/108 Filter Separator

Clean Oil & Reliability in Hydro

Applications:

● Governors
● Oil Tanks
● Station Service Units
● Generator Bearings
● Gearboxes
● Hydraulic Power Units
● Tap Changers

HDU 27/54 Fine Filter

Hydro turbine governors

● Digital governors often have varnish and

sludge build up on proportional valves.

● Resins and gummy build up are especially

prevalent with group II oils

● Continuous offline filtration removes varnish,

particles, and moisture from the system

HDU 27/54 Fine Filter

Gavins Point Dam, South Dakota
Gavins Point Dam, South Dakota

● The governor system’s inline filters clogged

with oil degradation products

● It was decided to install an offline “kidney

loop” filter to clean up the system

Inline filter clogged with sludge

Gavins Point Dam, South Dakota

● After one month of operation the inline filter

was removed for inspection

● The inline filter is clean because the offline

filter removed the sludge
Gavins Point Dam, South Dakota

● The concentration of oil degradation products was reduced dramatically

Chief Joseph Dam, Washington State
Chief Joseph Dam, Washington State

Field Test, 2001

Personnel observed operational problems:
● Sticking of governor proportional valves
● Plugging of inline filters
● Foaming in governor oil sumps
● Air entrainment

Offline filters are installed on 2 governor oil

sumps for 1 month.
Chief Joseph Dam, Washington State

● ISO 23/18/14 down to ISO 15/12/9

● Governor pilot in-line filters clean
● Zero operational problems
Chief Joseph Dam, Washington State

Conclusion:
The Corps recommends making a one-time investment at its hydro plants to
upgrade equipment and contamination control practices, including:

● Adding to each governor sump a dedicated off-line, low-flow, depth-type

absorbent-type filter

● Adding properly sized similar type of off-line filter to the main oil storage
tanks

Reference:
Micetic, John, "Operating Hydro Turbines with New Generation Turbine Oils,"
Lower Granite Dam, Washington State
Lower Granite Dam, Washington State

An offline filter is installed on the governor oil

system to continually remove:

● Particles
● Varnish
● Sludge
● Moisture
Lower Granite Dam, Washington State
The Dalles Dam, Oregon
The Dalles Dam, Oregon

An offline filter is
installed to maintain
clean oil in the
governor system
The Dalles Dam, Oregon

Filter elements are black

with particulate and
varnish from the governor
oil system
The Dalles Dam, Oregon

Each element retains

12-15 lbs of dirt
The Dalles Dam, Oregon

New & Used Filter Elements

The Dalles Dam, Oregon

● Dedicated offline oil filter for the

station service unit
The Dworshak Dam, Idaho
The Dworshak Dam, Idaho

● Offline filter installed for main oil

storage room
The Dworshak Dam, Idaho

“ ISO code came back 13/11/8.

That’s the cleanest our oil has
been in years! ”

~ Jess Godfrey
Mechanical Engineer
US Army Corps of Engineers
Bonneville Dam, Oregon

A dedicated filter
unit is installed on
a tainter valve
Bonneville Dam, Oregon

Tainter valve oil is continually filtered and kept clean. ISO 13/11/7
 Contamination by Oxidation

Wear Particles
Depletion
of Additives Oxidation by products
Water = ● Resins
● Sludge
● Varnish

Air Heat

Base Oil Oxidation

Left unchecked oil contamination will increase exponentially and cause
damage to critical components

Bearing damage caused by micro particles

Are inline filters sufficient?

● Cannot remove varnish and soft contaminants

● Low dirt holding capacity

● Low water holding capacity

● Expensive to frequently replace

● Cannot keep up with oil contamination

Inline vs. Offline
Inline vs. Offline
Inline + Offline =
Total Protection
HDU Fine Filter: Main Components
Increased component reliability & availability

Full control of governor system, no sticking components

No turbine trips due to oil contamination

Increased life of inline filters

No need for tank cleaning and system flushing

Increased lifetime of oil and system components

References:

● OPG, Seymour Station ● Lookout Point Project

● Alberni Falls Dam ● Rogue River Basin Project
● Big Bend Project ● Ozark Project
● The Dalles Dam ● Hills Creek Project
● Gavins Point Dam ● Boundary Dam
● Lower Granite Dam ● Chief Joseph Dam
● Garrison Project ● Boott Project
● J. Strohm Thurmond Dam ● Sheldon Springs Project
● Little Goose Project ● Box Canyon Dam
● Sam Rayburn Project ● Pine Flat Power Facility
● Detroit Project ● Wanapum Dam
● Cougar Project ● Snoqualmie Falls
● Gardiner Hydro Project ● Jackson Hydroelectric Project
Klassen Specialty Hydraulics Inc.
Canadian distributor for
C.C.Jensen Offline Filtration Systems
Tel: (604) 794-7755

9465 Ford Rd.

Rosedale, BC V0X 1X0

www.klassenhydraulics.com