TRC and VARNA Products

Prelubing Industrial Equipment in Cold Weather Climates

2011-11-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

The rigorous demands on industrial equipment are even more so in cold-weather climates and studies have proven, the majority of engine mechanical wear, almost 90%, occurs at startup. At first crank of the engine, all the oil is in the sump and at the first rotation of the crankshaft the bearings, turbo bearings, rods, pistons, heads and all galleys are dry causing metal-to-metal contact to occur damaging the engine over its lifetime. In cold weather oil congeals and prelube helps to circulate the thick oil prior to cranking.
Prelube is a worthwhile investment to keep equipment running at peak performance, can help lessen time between top-end and in-frame overhauls and extend equipment life. With today’s high equipment costs it makes sense to protect the investment and get maximum life from it.

VARNA Products, a manufacturer of industrial oil/fuel oil pumps and turnkey control solutions, offers a line of pumps Optimized for Prelube. VARNA Products positive displacement vane pumps utilize our patented floating whisper vane technology. The pump itself does not create pressure, it produces flow. Some models have built-in check valve and/or pressure regulator and some models are built for maintenance free operation. Available for intermittent and continuous duty applications. Available in 12/24VDC, Single & Three Phase AC, Air, Hazardous Location, motors available. AC/DC basic and turnkey control systems available as well as R&D for custom projects.
www.VARNAProducts.com for distributor list or contact Tiffany at 530-676-7770/888-676-7770
VARNA Products is a Division of Transportation Research Corporation, 4305 Business Drive, Cameron Park, CA 95682.

VARNA Featured in Sacramento Business Journal

2011-10-25T14:47:00.001-07:00

See VARNA Products featured in Sacramento Business Journal for export success!Contact Tiffany at tmcachran@varnaproducts.com or 530-676-7770 for more information on our pumps and turnkey control solutions!

VARNA works With Centers for International Trade Development

2011-09-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

Cameron Park, CA…VARNA Products is working with the Sacramento RegionalCenter for International Trade Development on a multi-media project for the California Community College’s Economic and Workforce Development’s Young Adult Global Entrepreneurship Development Project to highlight entrepreneurship and small business export opportunities.The program strives to provide young students/adults with an “increased willingness to stay in school and pursue continuing education after high school, improved problem solving skills, better abilities to quickly respond to changing dynamics of the world, expansion of overall life management skills and, ultimately, contemporary business management skills and a stronger interest in and pursuit of creating their own businesses.VARNA Products, small business manufacturer, is committed to giving back to local and world communities and utilizes resources like Center for International Trade Development, Commercial Services Division of Department of Commerce, etc. in their export development program and to help bridge the cultural gap of understanding and cooperation.For more on VARNA Products please visit www.VARNAproducts.com or call Tiffany at 530-676-7770.

VARNA Products in Diesel & Gas Turbine Worldwide

2011-09-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

Check out VARNA Products in the September 2011 issue of Diesel & Gas Turbine Worldwide Page 14 under "INDUSTRY DRIVERS" = Call Tiffany at 530-676-7770 or e-mail her at tmcachran@VARNAproducts.com for more information on our pumps and turnkey controls and for a Smile to Share :-)http://www.dgtww-digital.com/dgtww/201109?pg=18&search_term=VARNA&search_term=VARNA#pg18

VARNA Products Represented at Tokyo International Fluid Power Exhibition 2011

2011-08-10T14:45:00.001-07:00

VARNA Products, pump & control manufacturer and their Japanese distributor Techno Support, recently displayed at The International Fluid Power Exhibition in Tokyo. International Fluid Power Exhibition 2011 is a renowned and only show of its kind dedicated to fluid power technology, equipment, and systems, in Japan.
VARNA Products current line was displayed and VARNA Products also helped Techno Support introduce their new PC9000-P Portable Oil Analyzer, which VARNA Products designed and manufactured a small gear pump for particle counting utilizing historical technology.
More information on VARNA Products line and/or their Research and Development team is available on line at www.VARNAproducts.com, or Tiffany, 1-530-676-7770 tmcachran@VARNAproducts.com or in Japan please contact, Techno Support, Aki Fukada, at afukada@technosupport.co.jp or phone at 072-730-2303.

VARNA Products XD4 Extreme Duty Transfer Pump Featured In Diesel Gas & Turbine Worldwide

2011-08-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

Check out our VARNA Products Industrial/Marine Model XD4 "Extreme Duty" 2/4 gpm transfer pump for a variety of challengine applications/fluids.
Call or E-mail Tiffany for a quote on this model or our other models optimized for prelube and turnkey controls.
888-676-7770/530-676-7770 or tmcachran@VARNAproducts.com!

VARNA XD4 Extreme Duty Circulating Pump Featured in OEM Offhighway

2011-08-01T11:55:00.001-07:00

Check out the VARNA Products Model XD4 Extreme Duty Circulating/Transfer Pump featured in OEM Offhighway!
Call or e-mail Tiffany today at 1-530-676-7770 or 1-888-676-7770; tmcachran@VARNAproducts.com

VARNA Products XD4 Extreme Duty Circulating/Transfer pump featured in New Equipment Digest July 2011

2011-07-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

VARNA Products Model XD4 Extreme Duty Circulating/Transfer pump:

* 12/24VDC
* 2/4 gpm
* Extreme duty for high/low-end temps, difficult fluids, continuous duty

Call or e-mail Tiffany today for more information and to discuss your application!

1-888-676-7770/530-676-7770 or tmcachran@VARNAproducts.com.

Check out or other pumps optimized for prelube and turnkey control systems
www.VARNAProducts.com

VARNA Products Displaying Products At International Fluid Power Exhibition in Tokyo

2011-07-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

VARNA Products, Sales and Business Development Manager, Tiffany McAchran along with their esteemed Japanese distributor, Techno Support, will be displaying products at the show! East 5-hall 2F-4 Check us Out!

VARNA Article Featured in Engine Technology International

2011-07-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

Check out VARNA Products' article on Lubrication Importance in the June 2011 issue of Engine Technology International - page 68!

Relating to prelube on industrial off-highway equipment!

Improving efficiency smiles to share ;-)

VARNA Products Introduces “Xtreme Duty” Whisper Vane Transfer Pump “XD4”

2011-04-21T10:30:00.001-07:00

April 20, 2011

Cameron Park, CA…VARNA Products, A Division of Transportation Research Corp., is proud to introduce their new “Xtreme Duty” Whisper Vane Transfer Pump Model “XD4”.

VARNA’s latest design draws on their successful lineage of pump designs and it is the sister to their popular Model EP4 Prelube Pump. The “XD4” continues their tradition of simple, innovative, designs BUILT FOR INDUSTRIAL/MARINE use & duty! Made of TYPIII Hard Anodized Aluminum, Carburized Carbon Steel, the “XD4” has shown to perform well in a wide variety of transfer applications where extreme temperatures exist for both high & low temperature. The “XD4” is currently employed in the field in 2 countries with different OEMs.

The “XD4” pump Delivers up to 4 gpm (15 l/m) of oil flow, is Self-Priming, Quiet Running, utilizes VARNA’s Whisper-Vane Technology and is for use with non-corrosive fluids such as oils and coolants. It can produce up to 60 psi (4bar) Pressure at nominal voltages of 12 thru 24vdc. The “XD4” has a permanent magnet motor capable of doing an extraordinary amount of work for its size and can be used in certain continuous-duty applications.

The “XD4” complements VARNA’s line of pumps and turnkey controls used in Prelube and Transfer applications in Experimental Flight, Fuel Cell, Off Highway, Oil/Gas, Over the Road Transport, Rail, Power Generation, and more!

The “XD4” is available in April 2011 from VARNA Products and their WORLDWIDE Distributor Network available on www.VARNAProducts.com . For pricing and more information contact Tiffany McAchran, Sales Manager/Business Development, tmcachran@VARNAProducts.com or toll free, 888-676-7770 or international +1-530-676-7770.

VARNA Products works with Pacific Power Products Co. on Turnkey Prelube Pump System for MTU4000 Series Marine Engine

2011-03-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

Cameron Park, CA...VARNA Products, manufacturer of marine/industrial pumps optimized for prelube and turnkey control solutions, has developed a Turnkey Prelube Pump System with Custom Control for Pacific Power Products Co. and the MTU4000 Series Marine Engines. Pacific Power Products Co. offers these as “Standard Equipment” with AC-powered MTU4000 Series Units sold.

The Kit comes in 3 configurations, currently:

VARNA P/N – 6423 Kit for 208VAC 3 Phase
VARNA P/N – 6863 Kit for 240VAC 3 Phase
VARNA P/N – 6521 for 480VAC 3 Phase

Single phase and 50 hz controls available on request for custom.

Pacific Power Products Co., Ridgefield, WA, USA, recently installed 2 of these Turnkey Systems on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Hopper Dredge M/V Yaquina repowering with MTU 8V4000M70 main propulsion engines U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Hopper Dredge M/V Yaquina.

The Yaquina helps maintain the entrance bars, rivers and harbors on the coasts of California, Oregon & Washington.

These systems are available for the MTU4000 Series at VARNA’s factory, PH # 530-676-7770, tmcachran@VARNAProducts.com or www.VARNAProducts.com.

VARNA Products Announces Distributor in Middle East

2011-03-07T12:15:00.000-08:00

March 7, 2011

Cameron Park, Ca…VARNA Products, Manufacturer of Industrial/Marine oil & fuel oil pumps, turnkey control solutions and valves is proud to announce the appointment of Sencitec Bahrain (W.L.L.) as master distributor for Bahrain/Qatar/KSA.

Sencitec is a systems solutions venture, with a team of highly qualified and experienced consultants focused, like VARNA Products, on quality and commitment to client service and satisfaction.

VARNA Products looks forward to working with Sencitec in the Middle East to develop and grow the industrial and marine markets for prelube and other oil/fuel oil pump applications.

For a quotation in these territories please Contact Sencitec, Mr. Mohammad Shahnawaz, Chief Consultant & COO, +973-1787-4936 PH, e-mail Shahnawaz@Sencitec.com, Office #23, Building #1857, Road #433, Block #704, Salmabad Industrial Area, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.
VARNA Products, www.VARNAProducts.com tmcachran@varnaproducts.com 530-676-7770

VARNA Products Works with Cummins Power Generation on Blackstart Prelube

2011-03-03T09:46:00.000-08:00

Cameron Park, Ca….VARNA Products, manufacturer of industrial and marine oil and fuel oil pumps and turnkey control solutions is working with Cummins Power Generation to provide Turnkey DC Blackstart Prelube Systems for some QSK60L and QSV91L critical power generator sets.

VARNA Prelube Pumps Minimize Engine Wear at Cranking and Help Ensure Generators Start. The highest engine wear rate occurs during startup. The longer the period between engine starts, the more engine damage that occurs. While it is not possible to eliminate all engine wear, it is possible to minimize the extra wear at startup. A prelube pump can be used to pressurize the bearings and fill any oil galleries prior to cranking the engine. As engine cranking begins, the main lubrication pump can immediately supply oil to all critical lubrication points because the oil lines and galleries are already full of oil. The prelube pump has prefilled filled these areas prior to cranking.

On large stationary Natural Gas engines used in the non-emergency standby market, it is important to pre-lube moving parts prior to startup. These engines will stand idle for long periods of time between startups. It is necessary to protect parts from premature wear by reestablishing the oil film in between bearing surfaces prior to startup. When utility is not available due to a power outage, another means of carrying out the pre-lube process must put in place. Pre-lube can be accomplished using various power sources (i.e. air motors, hydraulic reservoirs)which can be expensive and complex, but a DC powered Pre-lube pump is easy to install and does not rely on separate powered sources other than the one the engine already uses for motor starting.

The Turnkey DC Blackstart Prelube Systems utilize’ s VARNA’s Model CF15, 15 gpm max prelube pump with built-in check valve and pressure regulator direct coupled to 24VDC motor along with a custom-designed turnkey control system which is a back-up to the main AC driven prelube system. (Cummins Part #BOP2EA4409 for pump/motor and Cummins Part #BOP2E4408 for 60L & #BOP23005501 for 91L)

VARNA Products offers oil and fuel oil pumps available for intermittent and continuous-duty applications available in ac, air, dc, hazardous location. Turnkey Control Solutions for any application. Contact Tiffany, 530-676-7770 or tmcachran@varnaproducts.com www.VARNAProducts.com or your local Cummins Power distributor.

Only Prelube Puts Oil Where It Needs To Be At Starting

2011-01-11T13:55:00.000-08:00

January 7, 2011
VARNA Products
Cameron Park, CA
Prelube Systems Improve Efficiency & Prolong Equipment Life
By Tiffany McAchran, Sales Manager
In today’s economy and with industrial equipment prices on the rise, owners and operators are looking for practical ways to extend equipment life and increase time between top end and in-frame overhauls to maximize investment.
Studies have shown, the majority of engine mechanical wear, almost 90%, occurs at startup. At first crank of the engine, all the oil is in the sump and at the first rotation of the crankshaft the bearings, turbo bearings, rods, pistons, heads and all galleys are dry causing metal-to-metal contact to occur damaging the engine over its lifetime.
Common arguments are that warming up your vehicle before driving, frequent oil changes, oil preheating, etc. work to prevent this problem. While all these practices are positive, none of them actually move oil to where it needs to be at start up; only prelube does that.
Other arguments that, “diesel engines run for millions of hours anyway” or, “if prelube made a difference OEM’s (original equipment manufacturers) would put them on”, have been made to negate the value of prelube. In today’s world of environmental regulation and impact as well as rising fuel costs, industrial engine operation is changing. With “no-idling laws” there are more frequent starts and getting enough hours is no longer enough – consumers want the most out of their high-dollar equipment. Some OEMs are utilizing prelube in certain applications like power generation and marine because they know the value in demanding applications and the benefit it adds.
Another benefit of a prelube system is when used for engine shut down & turbo wind-down to lubricate the hot bearings for substantial reduction in wear and increase in turbo life. Prelube is also helpful in cold climates for cold starting to help circulate the cold oil.
VARNA Products, a manufacturer of industrial oil/fuel oil pumps and turnkey control solutions, offers a line of pumps Optimized for Prelube. VARNA Products positive displacement vane pumps utilize our patented floating whisper vane technology. The pump itself does not create pressure, it produces flow. Some models have built-in check valve and/or pressure regulator and all models are built for maintenance free operation. Available for intermittent and continuous duty applications. Available in 12/24VDC, Single & Three Phase AC, Air, Hazardous Location, motors available.
www.VARNAProducts.com for distributor list or contact Tiffany at 530-676-7770/888-676-7770
VARNA Products is a Division of Transportation Research Corporation, 4305 Business Drive, Cameron Park, CA 95682.

VARNA Vane Pumps = GO GREEN & SAVING GREEN

2010-08-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

VARNA Products offers a line of positive displacement “whisper vane” pumps that are optimized to provide efficiency & savings over typical gear pumps used in the similar applications. Our VARNA Pumps were designed with Prelube in mind to provide a cost effective, long lasting and maintenance-free solution over the commonly used gear pump.

VARNA Products unique design allows for higher compression ratios in self-priming applications and our “whisper vane” technology empolys 6 continuous floating vanes that “float” rather than utilize springs. This adds cost benefit by removing the vane springs so there are no wear parts and operators and end users alike appreciate these can’t show up elsewhere in the system causing problems!

Unlike a common gear pump, our VARNA Pumps require less horsepower to run saving money on motors and providing a more efficient solution to OEMs and consumers.

VARNA Pumps are MAINTENANCE FREE, BUILT TO LAST FOR INDUSTRIAL/MARINE USE!

Check out www.VARNAProducts.com to see how our pumps are advantageous because of their optimized performance, low life cycle cost and energy efficiency can save you green and increase your equipment’s lifetime and return on investment.

Coming soon: A new continuous duty, bi-directional, high reliability oil / fuel transfer pump.

2009-07-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

The Daisy oil pump is poised to apply Varna’s time-tested, seal-less pump technology to oil transfer in a wide range of applications. The design draws from our long history of pump successes beginning in 1960 with Micropump Corp. This first of Daisy’s ancestors introduced the world to magnetically coupled gear pumps that did away with leaky and power consuming shaft seals in critical applications like Hewlett-Packard’s original microwave wattmeter, airline coffeemakers in all 707s, 727s, DC 8s and DC-9s of the day, and later made possible the first viable kidney dialysis machines. Enermorphics Corp., the second of Daisy’s ancestors came next in 1985 with a different method for eliminating shaft seals in oil pumps by using a “wet motor”. Oil was circulate through the motor for cooling. This also added the advantage of replacing grease-packed bearings which have a limited life with long lasting oil lubricated bearings. In 1994 Transportation Research Corp. (TRC) was founded to apply the wet motor technology of Enermorphics to railroad locomotive fuel pumps. Today virtually every locomotive in North America uses the TRC pump design.

Now VARNA Products introduces the Daisy pump with the same seal-less technology that has proven itself for decades in applications from as small as a trickle of coffee to as large as a railroad locomotive.

Drawing on this history, the Daisy pump is designed for reliability measured in decades without any maintenance or need for overhaul. Every aspect of the Daisy’s design has been optimized for simplicity and rugged reliability. Because it’s oil flow can be routinely throttled from 9 gpm to zero, the Daisy has no need for costly motor speed controls. It comes with a 3-phase 208/230 VAC motor, for the most reliable electric power drive available. The Daisy’s pump and motor are completely sealed for wash-down and wet environments. There is no shaft seal to wear out, generate heat or introduce safety concerns such as fuel or oil leaks.

The latest improvement in the progression of design is the Daisy’s ability to operate equally well in either direction. This reversibility feature is designed for applications such as draining and filling engine oil sumps, and bi-directional fuel transfer between tanks and the like.

Varna Products anticipates releasing this new product for sale later in the fall of 2009. Call your Varna Products sales representative at 888-676-7770 for further details.

Making Prelube Pay

2009-03-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

When you get right down to it there is only one reason to put a prelube pump on an engine, and that is to save money. In that way it really is like an investment. You buy the system up front with the expectation that it will pay you back and also pay you a return on your investment. Just like any investment there are risks and benefits. Let’s have a look at each of these separately.

What you risk by putting in a prelube system is that the money that you spend on the system doesn’t return a profit. There are basically two ways that can happen. Firsts it could happen if the extension of engine life gained by prelube is not sufficient to cover the cost of the prelube pump. Calculations need to be made beforehand to be sure prelube makes sense for what you are doing. We’ll get to that in a second. The other way you risk not making a profit is if a catastrophic event happens to the engine before it reaches it “expected life”. For instance, the engine is not maintained or the ship the engine drives sinks. In this case only your insurance man can help you.

The benefit you stand to gain by installing a prelube system is clear cut. By using a prelube pump you make sure there is oil on the engines critical moving parts from the moment they start to move. Oil is the lifeblood of any engine new or old, big or small. Without oil, the life of the engine is literally counted in seconds. The short period of time between the starter beginning to turn the engine and the normal oil pump bringing the oil pressure up to operating levels is the most risky time for the engine. By prelubing it you eliminate this risk all together.

Weighing these two factors, the risk and the benefit, can be involved. The more factors you can bring to the table the more accurately you can predict how profitable prelube may be. I have put together this spreadsheet that can walk you through some of the basic math calculations needed to determine whether prelube is a good investment for a given engine. Put your numbers in and let them speak for them self.

Click here to download the spreadsheet.

New Equipment Digest Features VARNA Products' Pumps

2008-12-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

Check out VARNA Products EP4 model , CF15 series prelube, oil and fuel transfer vane pumps featured in New Equipment Digest Online!

Industrial-strength pumps for industrial equipment in marine, off-highway, highway, generators and compressors. VARNA Products focuses on providing high-quality, effective, efficient technology along with affordability in all of their pumps and products.

We understand your equipment is an investment and we work with you to extend equipment life and protect your investment.

Varna Products Broadens it’s Line of Prelube Pumps with New Offering

2008-03-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

The new, low cost EP-4 prelube pump is essentially a scaled down version of Varna’s proven CF-15 prelube pump design. It operates on 12 or 24 volt DC power and shares many of the CF-15’s value adding features such as it’s integrated low pressure-drop check valve, and the quiet running “Whisper-Vane” pump head. After finding that many of the CF installers were using ¾” and smaller hose, Varna built the EP-4 as a more appropriate pump for smaller sizes of hose. It can deliver 60 psi pressure continuously for up to five minutes’ time and includes a built-in pressure gauge to show it. It provides much needed lubrication prior to starting reciprocating engines and compressors by drawing oil directly from the crankcase and delivering it back to the bearings until the main oil pump gets running and takes over. Installation details vary depending on the engine or compressor being lubricated.

Do You Need to Prelube Your Engine Installation?

2007-12-05T13:43:00.000-08:00

It is widely understood that the period of time between when the engine begins to turn at startup and the time when fresh oil from the sump reaches moving parts causes up to 90% of the wear an engine sees during its lifetime. A prelube pump puts the oil where it is needed before the engine begins to move, thus reducing this high wear period.

Historically operators of large engines would avoid shutting them down. This was done to reduce startup engine wear in addition to other operational advantages. In colder climates for instance, letting an engine cool all the way down can cause significant problems when trying to restart it. Fuel “gels” and very cold engines can be nearly impossible to start. Until recent years the simplest and most widely used solution to this problem was to just leave the engine running. Large engines might only be shut down for periodic maintenance. Fuel was inexpensive and environmental concerns were not considered. As the price of fuel climbs ever higher and idle emissions are no longer acceptable, operators are shutting down engines more than ever before.

Fuel costs as well as the EPA and other regulatory agencies are increasingly requiring engines to go into “auto start” mode rather than just idle. In auto start mode the engine starts its self and runes only long enough to warm the fuel, coolant, oil and the engine block back up to operating temperatures. The engine then shut itself back down to save fuel and emissions. As a result the number of times some engines need to be started in their lifetime may go up from only 80 or 100 to as many as 86,000 times. It’s easy to see how wear rates that were considered acceptable with only 80 lifetime starts would have a significant impact on engine life with 86,000 lifetime starts.

In the end the decision as to whether a prelube system is appropriate for a given installation comes down to the cost benefit analysis of three factors. The number of times the engine will need to be started in its lifetime, and the cost of replacing/rebuilding the engine, against the cost of adding the prelube system.

As an example a good prelube system may run in the range of $1500 by the time it is installed. So if the engine is small and only costs $10,000 a prelube may be impractical. As the engine size goes up in the calculation though, a $1500 investment could save many times its price in future repairs and downtime. Likewise if an engine were only going to be shut down every three months for maintenance, the cost of a prelube system might be unjustified but for a system that is restarted multiple times a day it would be a necessity.

Considerations in wiring power to a prelube pump

2007-12-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

A prelube pump is operated prior to cranking the engine. Its purpose is to fill the oil passages with oil prior to startup. The power to operate the prelube pump comes from the starting battery or from some other auxiliary power source.

The simplest wiring system consists of a pushbutton switch to operate the prelube pump. The operator pushes the switch for the appropriate length of time and then starts the engine. Most prelube pumps draw too much current for an ordinary pushbutton switch, so an electric relay is usually added to the circuit, as shown in the diagram below.

In automating the engine prelube, there needs to be some measurable condition that indicates that the prelube function is complete. One possibility is to check the oil pressure. This is the fastest way to safely start the engine. If the oil pressure is not zero, then you can start the engine. But, most prelube pumps are too small to significantly raise the oil pressure in an engine of any size, especially if the engine has been run recently and the oil is still hot. While these pumps may fill the passages with oil they cannot raise much pressure within the engine because of the many places the oil must go, such as spraying cooling oil to the underside of the pistons, etc. Therefore, unless a large prelube pump is used, checking oil pressure as a condition to start the engine is problematic.

If an oil pressure switch is used to signal prelube completion, make sure that the prelube circuit is disabled after the engine starts. This is to avoid the situation where the oil pressure gets low enough to restart the prelube pump, such as when a hot, well used engine is running at idle. At this point the prelube pump could cycle endlessly as it adds enough oil to bring the oil pressure up only to be shut down again.

Another measurable condition is time. One could run the prelube for, say 5 seconds, and then start the engine. The actual time would depend upon the pump, its plumbing, and the engine. There are several options here.

1. Prelube for longer than anyone would think is enough. Advantage, for sure the passages have oil in them. Disadvantages, longer time until start, and extra drain on the battery.
2. Find out experimentally how long it takes for the oil passages to have sufficient oil. Prelubing a cold engine will probably cause some pressure increase when the oil passages become full. At that point an oil pressure gauge may indicate a little pressure or the sound of the pump may change a little. It is a reasonable guess that a warm engine with hot oil will take about the same time to fill the passages. Advantage, the time to start is shorter and the drain on the battery from the prelube pump is less. Disadvantages, it is just a guess and certain situations may require longer prelube, such as when the engine oil has been changed.
3. One might also remove an oil port at the furthest point possible from the oil filter and see how long it takes for the oil to start flowing out. Advantages and disadvantages, the same as #2 above.
4. If the engine has a glow plug cycle, the prelube pump circuit can be connected there to provide a prelube cycle the same length as the glow plug cycle. Advantage, easy to do and requires little extra circuitry. Disadvantage, the glow plug duration may not be optimal for prelubing.

The diagram below shows one example for wiring a prelube pump using a timer.

When all is said and done, how accurate does the length prelube cycle need to be? What happens when the prelube cycle is too short? One must realize that any prelube at all is better than none. So, if the prelube time is a bit short, the oil passages will still have gained additional oil. As the engine starts, the passages will fill faster than if the prelube was not done at all. There will always be some benefit.

Prelube - Pressure Verses Flow

2007-11-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

To explore this topic let us start by considering the crank bearings of a running engine. The tight clearance in the bearing area between the crank shaft and the crank arms is filled with pressurized oil from the service oil pump. As the engine turns the load rotates around the crank shaft. This rotating load is therefore constantly climbing onto a fresh pillow of oil film substantially preventing wear as there is never any metal to metal contact.

Now let us consider the engine after having sat for some long period of time. The oil has drained back to the tank leaving only the slightest of oil films. The weight of the crank arm has pressed the pillow of oil out of the way and left it sitting in near metal to metal contact. If the engine is started at this point without prelube, wear will occur at a far greater rate than during normal running until oil from the service oil pump reaches these surfaces to reestablish the oil volume needed for the pillow. As the engine wears from this kind of event the bearing clearances get bigger requiring a greater volume of oil to fill them. Thus an engine with more wear will wear more at startup than a new engine. This leads to progressive failure.

The greatest value of the prelube system is that it reduces to near instantaneous the time between when the engine starts to crank and when the pillow of oil is established to prevent metal to metal contact. If the prelube pump has moved enough oil during its cycle to fill the clearance voids around all running surfaces, then as soon at the engine starts to move it immediately rolls onto a thick film of oil and very little wear takes place. For most applications prelube oil flow should be sufficient to extend the starting wear failure mode well beyond other failure modes that would take the engine out of service.

Very little wear however is still wear and that is where pressure comes into play. In order to prevent that last little bit of wear, the engine bearings must be designed in such a way as to cause oil pressure to lift the components out of metal to metal contact. Obviously this is an innate property of the engine and is not under the control of the end user. Having lifted the components out of metal to metal contact during the prelube cycle the parts are temporarily set back onto the oil film if the prelube cycle ends just prior to engine crank. This however is insufficient time for the oil film to dissipate and the components are still protected.

Locomotives Then and Now

2007-09-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

The business of buying and selling railroad locomotives has its roots in the days of steam. Before the early 1900s steam power was high tech. Boiler horsepower was the source of energy for industrial enterprise on land and sea, and the railroads made abundant use of their share of it. Steam locomotives developed over the years to become the mighty iron horses that transported both people and freight overland faster than any other means. Wherever railroads were available, economic expansion flourished. However, since time is of the essence in railroad operation, every railroad had to have its own locomotive shop to maintain and rebuild its locomotives in a timely manner so as to keep the trains running. The gross inefficiency of the steam locomotive's use of energy, 4-6% at best, was technically embarrassing if anyone thought about it, but in those days steam meant power and opportunity. To optimize that, mechanical efficiency was of no economic consequence.

Later, when locomotive builders began thinking seriously about improving efficiency, calculations showed that diesel-electric power stood head and shoulders above steam and everything else. However early attempts to build diesel-electrics were such a departure from steam experience that these early efforts didn't go well. Vibration from the diesel engine and the unfamiliar road action of the running gear caused unanticipated surprises for both the locomotive builders and their railroad customers. General Electric became an early builder of diesel-electrics along with ALCO, and shouldered most of these problems in the process.

This situation was a sitting duck for a disruptive technology if one were to appear. Enter, GM's Charles F. Kettering, who had fostered Detroit Diesel Division's development of a large two-cycle diesel engine for marine applications. He was also an innovative designer of electrical equipment. By combining the two cycle diesel engine with an innovative high rpm traction motor, GM's Electromotive Division produced a diesel electric locomotive from scratch that was presented to the railroads as the successor to steam. The railroads were skeptical and locomotive builders were concerned that General Motors was using its clout as a railroad customer to force the railroads to buy EMD locomotives. But EMD locomotives just ran and ran and ran quite smoothly without serious maintenance and soon the steam locomotive was a thing of the past. EMD 's SD40-2 became the best performing, and most reliable heavy haul locomotive ever produced up to that time.

But the railroads still had their locomotive overhaul shops and EMD was only too happy to show them how to maintain and rebuild their new locomotives. With EMD's system of insignificant part numbers, it maintained an ironclad hold on the supply of spare parts. If the parts list called for a 40077367, there were only two places to go to get one. Either you bought a new one from EMD at a non-competitive price or you swiped one from an existing locomotive that was out of service or scrapped for one reason or another. Nobody else knew what it was and could only guess at how to make one. And EMD would not even talk to you unless you were a railroad locomotive owner. Only railroads and scrap yards were the players in that game.

So EMD could do no wrong. - Until the EPA entered the picture. Diesel locomotives as a group were easy to identify as an atmospheric pollutant. They were owned by a few large corporations vulnerable to government scrutiny, and furthermore they spilled black dirty oil everywhere they went. EMD was too fat and happy to pay attention to storm clouds on the horizon but GE took this as their opportunity to excel.

By introducing a new diesel engine plus upgrades to existing systems, GE was able to not only meet, but exceed the EPA requirements with its new GEVO (Evolution) locomotive series. GE was going "green" for all it was worth - and being successful at it. But GE locomotives were a significantly different breed from EMD locomotives While EMD had designed, built and tested substantially all of the components of its locomotives, GE locomotives were to a considerable extent built from components purchased from suppliers in the open market. GE engineers had to pick and choose from components they were available to buy, while EMD engineers designed and had built what they considered to be right. Like horses and mules, either one could do the required job but their genetic makeup and temperament were different.

There were differences in the railroads' maintenance and overhaul operations as well. Although GE put its own part numbers on the spare parts it sold, their commercial counterparts could also be obtained at more competitive pricing. To combat this, GE decreed that its locomotive warranty would be void for locomotives in which non-GE part numbered parts were installed. The logic for this was that GE purchases its parts in accordance with specific Purchase Specifications that include critical to quality (CTQ) characteristics not always found in the open market. Another difference between the maintenance and overhaul of the two breeds of locomotives is that, understandably, there is more commonality among the components of various EMD models than among the GE locomotive models. Some railroads, CSX for example, maintain two separate overhaul shops, one for each of the two makes of locomotives.

There will never be another SD40-2. But watch out for the next disruptive technology to hit the railroad scene. It will come from China. China has already published its Locomotive Purchase Specification and nobody makes a locomotive quite like it. China can take the opportunity to build its future high speed, heavy-haul railroad infrastructure around new technology while the US and others remain economically and politically tied to the past wherein every new railcar and locomotive must be capable of functioning properly with the oldest equipment still available, and also with the roadbeds, curves and tunnels designed long ago and which is difficult to change.

Varna Products rolls out a new line of prelube pumps

2007-08-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

Available now in 15 gpm version with a 20 gpm version to follow, this new line of C face compatible pumps incorporates existing technology into a smaller unit for use in marine and stationary power prelube for engines in the one to three thousand horsepower range.

* Key features of the CF Series Prelube include: Whisper-vane technology for quieter running
* Built in low pressure-drop check valve
* Built in 30psi pressure-relief valve
* Direct shaft coupling to motor

The pump is easy to customize because the pump head can be rotated to any of four positions as well as mounted to any NEMA 56 C Face Motor.

New Low Noise Technology Holds Promise for New Applications

2007-03-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

TRC has completed performance testing of a new low noise prelube and oil pump design. By changing the way the ports feed the pump, noise was significantly reduced and life expectancy was improved. This new technology can now begin to be introduced into new product solutions for customer applications. One anticipated use will be in a new generation oil pump for engine prelube systems where noise is a concern.