Results from projects led by the Fan-Div team, in the customers' own words.
Jump to: Cooling and airflow · Noise and inlet bells · Field support
High efficiency fan upgrade on engine coolers, sped up to 340 rpm, plus E-Bell™ inlet bells. Their testing also showed the old V-belts were slipping, with one fan at 214 rpm against a 260 rpm design.
“Benefits are as high as a 9 degree C difference in cooling.”
The first of four new AFI fans. Installed by Camtech Construction.
“Fans are great to work on… Easy to pitch. Operations noted that the amp draw on the motor was an immediate improvement.”
Hudson K-6 fan upgrade on a cooling tower, replacing the original fan: 50 A against 80 A for the same cooling, and at 66 Hz it exceeds the original fan's cooling capacity. The new fan weighs 348 lb against over 1,000 lb for the original hub and seal disc. Fan-Div's estimate, not the customer's: about 168,000 kWh and roughly $10,000 a year saved per fan at $0.06/kWh.
“Now are achieving equal cooling with the Hudson K-6 but with 30A less… (24HP saved/fan).”
Cofimco fan blade upgrade. Shell expected the gains would let them drop plans to replace the coolers.
“In the 35 C weather yesterday, looks like the upgraded unit was the only one Ops could keep running… I am guessing that the improvements are going to be enough that we can rule out future plans to replace our units.”
Five fans across two trains converted from Moore to Cofimco, with inlet bells, tip seals and new longer fan rings.
“Our run time in hot weather is much better.”
Belt drive upgrade, installed by our field crew.
“We have seen an outlet gas temp reduction of somewhere between 20-24 C lower than it was previous to this upgrade work being conducted.”
16 fans converted from low efficiency Moore to high efficiency Cofimco-Hudson, tip speed raised from 8,000 to 10,000 fpm, timing belts, inlet bells and DG-II Anti-Rotation Devices®. About 50% more airflow projected from the existing horsepower, backed by HTRI runs. Before the upgrade the plant cut production at 30 to 31°C.
“We did not have to cut production as the fans did their job this time.”
New fans plus internal and external bundle cleaning, on a cooler designed for 5.2 MMBtu/h.
“Now with the new fans and the cleanings both internally and externally, we were getting around 7 in the warmer fall weather!! Big improvement.”
Air cooler fan upgrade. Discharge temperature rose only 5°C through a 10°C rise in ambient.
“Our approach temp is down 5deg from prior to the upgrade, and our final discharge temp is up only 5deg in the last month, despite the 10deg increase in ambient.”
After only 4 of 22 fans were upgraded, operations reported enough added cooling capacity to lock out more than one fan at a time for the rest of the rebuild.
Fan capacity upgrade on the SM column coolers, backed by Nick's airflow testing. Value measured May to mid August 2016.
“Believe the numbers below are, if anything, understating the value… Excellent work, thank Nick Agius for me please.”
Bundle cleaning, higher fan speed, a blade tip change and a tip seal.
“Yes it is +19% cooling duty. A real home run for this cooler.”
Two new fans for process and engine cooling, with a 3 to 4 degree improvement.
“We saw a significant change (3-4 degree change) with the new fans. These new fans allowed our operations team to run our units a full capacity in the heat of the summer.”
New Cofimco and Hudson fans, inlet bells, tip seals, poly chain belt drives, upsized shafts and bearings, anti-rotation devices and structural repairs.
“Overall the work was much needed and I am certain we are realizing benefits.”
68% more airflow after bundle cleaning, fan re-pitching and a higher tip speed. Cleaning alone gave 38%. The fans had been in stall with a fouled bundle, found through site visits, performance data and fan modelling, and a cleaning specialist was brought in.
“We implemented solutions to improve our fan performance and increase production resulting in an economic profit of $2-4 million/year.”
Manual pitch adjustment devices repaired, air side bundle cleaning, pitch adjustment and fan replacement, and the tower adjusted to its new operating pressure. Later, poly chain belts and a fixed hub upgrade.
“All the changes contributed to a flare reduction estimated at $270K/year.”
Hudson B blades upgraded to the Hudson HC series: 6°C better on 12 fans and 4°C on two more.
“This translates into a $250,000 more throughput for Scotford on our CCR each and every summer from this point forward.”
A millwright's report of a retrofit to Nick Agius's MOC package. The shaft, sheaves, belts and motor were reused; only the fan changed and a tip seal was added. Airflow was up to 50% higher than the original Moore fan.
Low noise and ultra low noise fans
E-Bell™ inlet bell installation. Installed by Camtech Construction.
“I was pretty surprised by how much air it moves… When I stood inside the new E-Bell with the fan running, the difference in airflow was really noticeable.”
Inlet bells on cooler 5E18.
“The inlet bells we installed fit up really well and we have noticed an improvement on cooling. We would like to install these on two other fans in our plant.”
Howden ultra low noise fan upgrade on a 1960s cooler. On one bay the old 12" fan ring was cut out and a 24" ring welded in so a 10 ft fan could replace the 9 ft. Also inlet bells, timing belts and DG-II Anti-Rotation Devices®.
“On a positive note, the resident nearest the plant noticed a huge difference in noise once we fired back up last September after the turnaround… Nice to know it's having a positive effect on the people in the surrounding area.”
Noise reduction on the E7 fan bank.
“Initially, you could barely carry on a conversation and now you don't even need hearing protection. The transition from before and after is absolutely amazing!!”
New fans, inlet bells and tip sealing.
“Our trending indicates we got between 2C and 4C improvement on our approach temperatures in summer. So this was a win for us.”
New low noise Cofimco engine cooler fans on two compressor units. PennWest became Obsidian Energy in 2017, and the same planner brought us back for a cooling upgrade in 2018.
“Both units are running great, noise reduction is night and day difference.”
Fan upgrades at the 2024 turnaround. After monitoring them, Canadian Natural plans to upgrade the remaining fans.
“You guys have showed a great level of skill and professionalism to get this task completed… Thank you nick for all your help and support with resolving all the theoretical and technical questions.”
Troubleshooting on an old fan that is no longer made, followed by an order for three replacement fan packages.
“I truly appreciate the support you've both provided. Your assistance has been invaluable.”
Phoenix fans brought back into shape before the site's outage.
“Thank you for all the support… getting our Phoenix fans sorted out leading into the outage. You've been a tremendous ally over the years.”
Field crew support on site.
“I wanted to reach out and let you know how happy I was with your team and the support they provided for us last week. I was impressed with how efficient and professional the guys were and will definitely be recommending your support in the future.”
Our team came out to survey the existing fans before the upgrades.
“I have nothing bad to say only good, Russell and Bryce have helped plenty when we need a quick answer or helping by coming out and going through the existing fans for the upgrades to make sure we get everything correct for the job.”
Another cooler fan upgrade on TC Energy's NGTL system, following the Acme station upgrade.
“Please pass on a 'Thank you, and Job well done!' to Mariusz and all the crew that executed another successful upgrade.”
Ongoing air cooler and fan support from Nick Agius.
“Every single time I've run into an issue, you've had solutions… I will take any call from anyone regarding your capabilities and mission to help people fix their problems.”
Ongoing air cooler and fan support from Nick Agius.
“Thanks Nick! Been great working with you over the Years and look forward working with you in the future.”
Tell us what you're running and we'll call you back with a straight answer on whether there's something worth doing.
