Power & Heat Systems, LLC
10005 Whitesel Road Ashland, VA 23005
Tel: 804-798-1318 Fax: 804-752-7631
Call Toll Free: 800-552-6661
10005 Whitesel Road Ashland, VA 23005
Tel: 804-798-1318 Fax: 804-752-7631
Call Toll Free: 800-552-6661
Power & Heat Systems: Case Studies
Problem Solving Beyond Your Boiler Room
Posted: 31. January 2008
Power & Heat can help you solve problems with many heat and control issues beyond the boiler room. A prime example is that of a large equipment manufacturer in Virginia that was suffering from a serious case of paint booth system downtime.
Their finished product required a very large paint booth that received all of its air from a Dravo make up air (MUA) unit. After many years of service, the system was showing its age with a dramatic drop in reliability leading to excessive downtime and high
maintenance costs.
The paint booth is located in the center of a very large, high-ceiling, bay-type, manufacturing building, with the Dravo MUA unit located on the building roof directly above the paint booth.
The systems problems were the result of:
Repairs routinely required two and three trips to the roof, first to try and diagnose the problem, then after getting necessary parts to repair the problem, and too often to return and correct problems not diagnosed on the first trip.
The production load at this plant was growing and now the paint system was becoming a choke point. This was unacceptable for a company known for delivering a high quality product with an on time delivery.
Power & Heat was called in to review the system and make recommendations. Our knowledge of the overall system and past experience with similar processes allowed us to win the redesign and rebuild contract. As is true with many projects, time was of the essence once the decision was made to move forward on the rebuild.
Power & Heat immediately started the redesign engineering portion of the project while we were also selecting the electrical contractor to handle the field rewiring required for the paint booth – MUA system.
Our customer had already developed a wish list for the operation of the rebuilt system.
With the electrical contractor selected and the redesign engineering approved, a new challenge arose making the need for the repair all the more urgent. A surge in business was being threatened by the system problems. A compressed schedule for the field wiring necessary to accommodate the new equipment and system design changes was set with only three days at the end of that schedule for the paint booth down time for final conversion, start up, and operator training.
While the electrical contractor was roughing in the extensive new field wiring, Power & Heat was ordering the new control equipment and building the new control panel. During the final three days of the conversion Power & Heat technicians partnered with the electrical contractor for the installation of the new equipment, its wiring, and start up.
Professional project management ensured that the coordination of activities between Power & Heat and the electrical contractor
was flawless. On the first day of downtime all the old controls were removed and some of the new wiring was connected. The second day saw the completion of the field wiring and installation of all the new equipment. Our final day, downtime involved checking
motor rotations, starting the control system, and checking all safety items. By early afternoon of the final day the complete system was up and running, having passed all operating tests. Training of the customer’s personnel was conducted and the
reengineered Paint Both – MUA system was returned to the customer’s control.
The final project included the following:
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Problem Solving Beyond Your Boiler Room
Posted: 31. January 2008
Power & Heat can help you solve problems with many heat and control issues beyond the boiler room. A prime example is that of a large equipment manufacturer in Virginia that was suffering from a serious case of paint booth system downtime.
 |
Large Paint Booth |
The paint booth is located in the center of a very large, high-ceiling, bay-type, manufacturing building, with the Dravo MUA unit located on the building roof directly above the paint booth.
The systems problems were the result of:
 |
Original Control Panel No wiring diagram and many of the controls did not work. |
- Several obsolete controls;
- Several new controls that had not been properly integrated into the system;
- No central control panel to operate the system;
- Control stations where haphazard wiring had grown to resemble a rat's nest; and
- No literature or wiring diagrams for the system.
 |
Roof Top Control Panel Obsolete controls with no easy access to roof for service. |
The production load at this plant was growing and now the paint system was becoming a choke point. This was unacceptable for a company known for delivering a high quality product with an on time delivery.
Power & Heat was called in to review the system and make recommendations. Our knowledge of the overall system and past experience with similar processes allowed us to win the redesign and rebuild contract. As is true with many projects, time was of the essence once the decision was made to move forward on the rebuild.
Power & Heat immediately started the redesign engineering portion of the project while we were also selecting the electrical contractor to handle the field rewiring required for the paint booth – MUA system.
Our customer had already developed a wish list for the operation of the rebuilt system.
- Move all controls to a new central control panel to be located on the production floor at the paint booth.
- Provide a single power disconnect to allow for easy and safe servicing of the system.
- Up grade the control system to meet all current NEC, UL, FM and CSD-1 safety requirements.
- Provide panel front indication that would allow their service technicians to handle future service with only one trip to the rooftop or any part of the system to solve a problem.
- Provide a more flexible and user-friendly panel front temperature control system.
- Add a humidity control system. High humidity levels on some summer days was limiting their ability to produce a high quality finished painted product. This too was adding to production delays caused by the paint booth system.
 |
New Panel Front All necessary information at a glance. |
While the electrical contractor was roughing in the extensive new field wiring, Power & Heat was ordering the new control equipment and building the new control panel. During the final three days of the conversion Power & Heat technicians partnered with the electrical contractor for the installation of the new equipment, its wiring, and start up.
 |
New Panel Interior All controls in one location with a detailed wiring diagram |
The final project included the following:
 |
Complete Operating Manual Paper and Electronic |
- A new NEMA-12 control panel with 100 Amp disconnect located at the oven on the production floor;
- A Fireye burner management system with a Fireye first out annuciator and panel front display with simple English descriptions of any fault condition;
- A set of panel front lights (push to test type) to provide quick visual indication of operating conditions;
- A panel alarm bell with push button silence switch to warn of a system failure
- Pull on and tap off start/stop buttons;
- New motor starters with build-in individual circuit breakers for full NEC compliance;
- Panel front main temperature control with digital display for:
- Actual make up air temperature
- Set point temperature
- Easy operator setting of desired temperature; and
- Panel front humidity control with digital display for:
- Actual relative humidity level
- Set point relative humidity level, and
- Easy operator setting of desired relative humidity level.
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