Hurricane Induced Pump/Motor Damage 1

[westcoastr]

I am looking into the damage potential for refinery/chemical pumps and motors that have been:

1) submerged in fresh water for more than a few days

and

2) submerged in salt water(or a salt/fresh mixture) for more than a few days.

Would every pump and/or motor be ruined? Or could some be cleaned off, flushed with new oil, alignment checked and then run with a decent life expectancy?

Could the ruined pumps and motor ones be rebuilt or are they a total loss?

I assume that pumps and motors at US Gulf Coast refineries and chem plants would be spec'ed to be water and salt resistant to a limited extent since you have the salty breeze off the ocean.

Chevron's Pascagoula refinery announced that they will have one crude unit up in mid october and there seems no way they replaced/rebuilt every pump (probably over a thousand).

Thanks, i have zero experience w/ flooded equipment (frozen is another matter....)

 

[rmw]

Motor folks will have to answer the question regarding the effects on the motor, and I think there are threads active right now in some of their fora. You might try a search.

Regarding the pumps, a major consideration apart from asthetic things like rust and water lines, is the bearings and/or their oil reservoirs. These should be inspected and throughly cleaned so that any water and/or sediment and/or contamination is removed.

Regarding the pump itself, if it is deemed necessary, the pump can be opened, inspected, and cleaned. If the process is incompatible with water, and you suspect leakage past the seals, you certainly wouldn't want any entering the process via flood waters. Ditto starting a pump with the potential for it having sediment lying in it.

I think the specific situation would dictate how far you go into the pump, but if in doubt, open it up and take a look.

Mechanical seals with liquid piping should be completely inspected and cleaned if necessary. Ditto barrier fluid reservoirs and piping systems.

The coupling would also need to be inspected and cleaned and regreased as and if needed.

Then, once you have the pump back in 'like new' condition, and the motor folks get your motors back, crank it up.

rmw