We get all kinds of interesting things in the Repair Shop here at CECO. We always come up with solutions for the problems, but as you can see, not every part that comes in can be fixed!

This packing came from a compressor that was submerged during Hurricane Ike. Yuck!



This valve came in recently and we are working on figuring out exactly what might have caused it and four other valves to split into two pieces. (You can see one of the other valves behind this one.)



Fortunately, the packing case these pieces came out of has been repaired. Nothing but a serious piston problem can cause damage like this to a packing case filled with bronze!



You can see the springs embedded in the metal!


While you can repair a poppet valve yourself, if you end up with a rough surface like this one, you will end up needing to replace the entire seat.



Other times these get so worn down there isn’t much anyone can do.



This pre-combustion chamber has also seen better days:

Let’s continue our valve testing conversation with testing procedures and requirements. After completely rebuilding your valves you need to test them with the proper testing media. We will use channel valves as an example for this topic, and use an air test stand (refer to our Repair web site to see one in use).

We pressurize the valves to a known pressure and then operate the valve channels to check the freedom of movement and to help seat the channels to the seat. Once we have completed that we let it set for about one minute and watch our pressures. After one minute we will secure the air being supplied to the valve and watch the pressure gauge for a pressure drop, and note how much of a drop if there is one, We have set standards that we follow provided by our Engineering Department; if the valves do not pass the operational test and the drop test then we find the problem and fix it. Some of the problems we have with re-conditioning valves are, rust, greasy grim, broken channels, springs, plates, and poppet’s.

For a much more in-depth idea of how CECO rebuilds and tests your valves, attend our Valve Repair School. We guide you through our rebuild process and provide you with maintenance principles that may be basic, but some times, as mechanics, we forget to refer to the basics for one reason or another. If you would like to small video of our test stand being used to test a channel valve please let me know. We also use this test stand to test packing cases (I will talk about this in next week’s blog). So please send your questions or comments about repairs to me (below or by email) I will do my best to get you an answer for any repairs procedures not just valves.

I’m here today to talk about how to properly test valves.

First off, we at CECO test all valves repaired or manufactured here using a couple of different means. We use air test, light oil, Nitrogen and upon request we will use any other media. We use an air test stand for a majority of our valves, including channels, disc, and plate valves. We use a light oil to test our poppet valves with. In the past we have had customers request testing valves by other means, like water. However, we prefer not to use water for testing procedures to eliminate the possibilities for rusting, and damage once installed.

If you would like to see our test stands in operation please schedule a tour of our facility or sign up for the CECO Valve Repair School, and I will personally show you how to operate our test stand and teach you the proper way to rebuild and test all the valves I just mentioned.

I will be posting different items periodically; if you have any questions or something you want to discuss please comment below or email me and I will get back to you.