FLOOD-GARD® bearing isolators offer the ultimate sealing solution for aggressive, flooded lubrication environments. With its patent pending IP66 design, FLOOD-GARD® is a revolutionary seal that combines improved safety and overall process efficiency with cost savings through extended equipment and bearing life.
INDUSTRY
Primary Metals
CUSTOMER
A primary metals manufacturer of stainless-steel coil products.
BACKGROUND
A primary metals manufacturer had several gearboxes in their #4 Annealing/Pickling line which leaked oil and required frequent maintenance. They had tried solving the issue by replacing their lip seals with mechanical seals but saw only a marginal improvement.
CHALLENGES FACED
The customer had approximately 22 gearboxes in need of a solution. Most of the gearbox shafts were grooved from prior lip seal use, which would be costly to fix if a new solution couldn’t overcome this challenge. Replacement of either a lip seal or mechanical seal was an expensive and frequent occurrence, happening at least once per quarter. To do so they would enlist an outside contractor to use a crane to remove the mating components, allowing access to the seal location. This cost a minimum of $5,000 per occurrence, excluding downtime.
OPERATING CONDITIONS
Size: 3.000” - 5.000” shaft (75mm - 140mm)
Temperature: 180°F (82°C)
Application: Gearbox
Media: Oil
Pressure: NA
Speed: 1800 RPM
SOLUTION AND BENEFITS
Garlock proposed a FLOOD-GARD® bearing isolator as the best solution. This provides the benefits of a bearing isolator and a lip seal without any of the damage traditionally associated with lip seals. FLOOD-GARD® also overcomes the prior shaft damage thus avoiding the cost of replacing the shaft. FLOOD-GARD® has now been in service for approximately 2 years with no leakage to date. The customer has committed to transitioning to FLOOD-GARD® on all remaining gearboxes and will install as outages are scheduled. The estimated cost savings for the project is $750,000. This also affords the customer the luxury of a predictable and proactive preventative maintenance program which will minimize downtime.
The original case study was written by Garlock and can be found here.
For more information about bearing isolators, or FLOOD-GARD Seals, contact us today.