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March 2007

Gaining Efficiency

Pats Peak added software controls to its snowmaking pumps, boosting efficiency and increasing reliability, for relatively little cost.

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With no time for down time during the snowmaking season, it’s essential that pumps and motors remain functional. To make sure that’s the case, Pats Peak, N.H., turned to Trask-Decrow Machinery in South Portland, Me., and its Snow Power E3 control system.

Rick Chapman of Trask-Decrow says, “We looked at what is already being used in other industries (who are using high-end, high energy equipment) and moved it mountainside.” Chapman says Trask-Decrow spent a lot of time working with the pump and motor suppliers to bring the Snow Power E3 package together. “Because of how the system was put together and the safety features built into the package, we are able to provide a 5-year pump and motor guarantee.”

“It’s like buying an extended warranty with an outreach program,” says Kris Blomback, Pats GM. “You can’t afford to have any downtime. We’ll use it every time we install a pump in the future.” The protection package software sensors monitor switches, vibration and oil temperature to measure wear and detect changes that signal problems before they become critical. The good news: it’s easy to operate, installs quickly, and is affordable. At Pats, the software ties to the area’s existing software for monitoring and data logging; Trask-Decrow can also supply the package with local outputs and shutdown capabilities for systems without software to read the data.

Pats, which has invested $5 million dollars in improvements over the last 5 years, has snowmaking capacity for 100 percent of the mountain. According to Blomback, the increased efficiency of the system is just a bonus. “When we discussed the cost of the E3 it was obvious what we should do. To purchase this piece by piece it would have been much more expensive. By purchasing the E3 we know the components will fit.” Since Pats already had its own software, total cost of the protection package was less than $5,000. “And it provides great peace of mind,” Blomback adds.


How it Works

The E3 system is more than a protection package, though. The pumps have a few added features, too. The impellers are dynamically balanced as a unit to insure integrity in the rotating assembly. The conventional approach is to balance each impeller separately and assemble the pump with the impellers at random. This can potentially allow for the unbalanced forces to line up, creating further balance issues.

The column assembly is provided with flanged rather than threaded connections. This helps not only to assure minimal run-out in the column sections, but saves an enormous amount of time should the pump require disassembly.

Chapman says using state-of-the-art equipment that the industry is familiar with is a key ingredient. “We typically start with a ‘Snow-Master’ designed motor or use a premium efficiency motor and build from there.” The bearing design is such that the axial thrust bearings are in the top of the motor and a radial bearing is at the bottom. The bearing thrust rating is brought up to the maximum rating available for a particular frame size. This helps to extend the life of the bearing since there is less load on it.

The mechanical seals are a high-pressure design and include silicon carbon over tungsten carbide faces to minimize leakage caused from debris passing over the seal faces. A seal water pressure monitor checks the pressure that the seal is experiencing, and can sound an alarm or shut down the pump if the pressure in the seal housing rises.

The flow of the liquid in the seal housing is also monitored for temperature, so that the system can pick up a problem with friction within the pump or a flow condition that could harm the unit. As opposed to having a temperature switch that cannot be tested without removing it from the pump, the system reads the actual temperature and sends it to a monitor that will display the temperature and shuts the unit down if it hits pre-established limits.

Space heaters are included in the Snow Pump E3 to prevent condensation from forming in the motor stator during shutdown periods. The insulation is a Class F, high altitude rating that gives the windings an opportunity to run a little warmer if necessary and not break down the insulation. The ability to operate these motors on an inverter (VFD) allows the flexibility to install an inverter today or at a future date.

Vibration monitors are installed at both the upper and lower bearings to monitor and shut down the unit if a pre-established vibration limit is reached. This can save the equipment from catastrophic damage and also allows Trask-Decrow to monitor the pumps and schedule repairs as required.

According to Chapman, the system isn’t designed to take the human element out of the operation; it just provides more safeguards: “We can provide more protection for the mountain and the operator. The E3 is a preventative device, a set of eyes and ears in the system itself.”