Case Example: Cogentrix

Dave Shelton points to a picture of an oil samples on the wall in his office. The picture sits above a "wall chart spread sheet" that Shelton implemented to monitor equipment drain intervals as they relate to oil analysis results. Amsoil and Cogentrix teamed up to design an oil analysis program tailor made to meet their needs.

The Richmond power generating facility utilizes four standardized 60-megawatt stoker coal-fired modules to provide 240-megawatts of generating capacity. It provides 200 megawatts of capacity to Virginia Electric and Power Company while delivering an average of 420,000 pounds of steam to the nearby Du Pont manufacturing facility. Construction began in February 1991 with completion, start-up and commercial operation declared in two phases; Phase 1 in May 1992 and Phase 2 in August 1992.

History:
The maintenance supervisor at Cogentrix was interested in reducing maintenance cost and minimizing the amount of waste oil the plant produced. With that goal in mind, the decision was made to experiment with Amsoil synthetic lubricants in the plant's cooling tower gearboxes in 1995. A synthetic lubricant was chosen because they last longer and can be changed less often. The decision was also made to utilize oil analysis as a proactive maintenance tool. This enabled them to closely monitor the condition of the equipment and the oil while the drain intervals were extended. The combination of Amsoil synthetic lubricants and oil analysis significantly reduced the costs associated with oil changes and waste oil disposal. Ultimately, the decision to extend drain intervals has significantly reduced operating costs at the plant. In addition, the decision is in complete alignment with Cogentrix's ongoing commitment to environmental excellence.

Cooling Towers:
We began experimenting with Amsoil synthetic gear oil in our cooling tower gear boxes in 1995. These gearboxes have a fifteen-gallon capacity and were routinely changed at 6-month intervals when we were using petroleum gear oil. Five of the cooling towers run continuously (24 hours a day) while the other 5 units run on average twelve hours per day. When these gearboxes were switched over to Amsoil, maintenance practices changed drastically. Instead of changing the oil at 6-month intervals, samples were taken to monitor the condition of the lubricant. The results were surprising! The analysis reports showed that the oil was good for continued use. Currently, these gearboxes are averaging 24 months between oil changes.

Bucket Elevators:
The bucket elevator gearbox is located at the top of this silo (photo right). We used to change the petroleum gear oil every six months. Changing gear oil out of these units is a labor-intensive endeavor because of the climb. Extending the drain intervals in this application significantly reduced labor costs.The gear oil looks brand new even after four years.