THE PROBLEM: A sugar mill in Central America experienced a crushed float (see below) when bringing their unit back online during an annual outage. The unit's operating pressure is 1300 PSI (90 bar). During start-up, the customer had opened the lower isolation valve both first in the sequence and too quickly, sending a liquid slug into the chamber at full system pressure of 1300 PSI (90 bar) that crushed the float.
THE SOLUTION: Our local technical expert worked together with the customer on identifying the root cause, assisted with a new float, and provided educational instructions on proper installation, operation, and maintenance. Our best practice recommendation when commissioning any level device is to first open the valve on the upper connection, thus allowing the pressure in the level column to equalize with system pressure. Once equalized, slowly open the lower valve.
Don’t guess when it comes to the proper care of your level instrumentation. Following the proper installation, operation, and maintenance instructions can help save time, money, and plant personnel.
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