A customer’s rental compressor had frequent OEM compressor valve failure with broken springs, valve plates and valve ring failures. Chinook attended the site and completed a Compressor Valve Survey and On-site Assessment.
On inspection, we observed:
- Excessive deposits, indicating the gas stream was dirty.
- A mixture of various configurations of compressor valves in service; some valve seats and guards ported, some drilled.
- Component parts were also dissimilar across the location; different quantities of springs, some with ported plates, some with flat rings. This was evident in the same stage positions and throughout the various stages.
- The variety of springs and lifts suggested that the valve settings were dissimilar from valve to valve.
Chinook’s recommendation was to standardize on the Chinook Radius Style Compressor valve with built-in adjustability for lift and closing rate which can be tailored to site conditions.
- Chinook Radius Style Valves have always been proven to have a better flow and work superior in dirty gas streams.
- Chinook Radius Style valves also offered greater flexibility for lifts and closing spring rates for both current and future gas flow characteristics.
- We adjusted the lift and spring rate for the actual operating conditions of the compressor and gas stream.
The customer installed a full set of Chinook Radius Style Compressor Valves tailored to their site conditions, with the result of one full year of operation without shutdown or valve failure before reconditioning at turnaround time, solving all the previous problems.
Chinook has over 40 years engineering experience in evaluating compressor valve performance and recommending solutions. We offer More Choices. More Solutions. for successful compressor operations.