Entries by Mike.Lake

High Bearing Loading

Past Turbine Tips have covered the main reasons for bearings to wipe: 1) Insufficient lube oil supply, 2) Low lube oil pressure, and 3) Water in the lube oil. Every once in a while a fourth cause appears: High bearing loading. Proper bearing loading is calculated by the elevations of the bearings, component weights and […]

An Attitude of Safety

Have you ever noticed that people who are successful in life, or are just happy, tend to have a positive attitude? And so it is with safety. Look at it this way–safety rules and procedures are written to protect you from harm. They are not written to make your work life more uncomfortable or inconvenient. […]

Prevent Bearing Failures

TGM believes that forced outages can be avoided with proper maintenance and periodic assessments performed during a short outage. Unfortunately, we see all too many examples of too few inspections and too little maintenance. Here’s an example from one of our recent projects. The picture below is a gearbox bearing on a line shaft gearbox […]

Big Problem = Hot! Hot! Hot!

The current heat wave engulfing the U.S presents big problems for all our employees. Particularly at risk are those who work in high air temperatures and/or high humidity, near radiant heat sources, and/or engage in strenuous physical activities. In other words, conditions typically found on the turbine deck. When a person works in a hot […]

Beware Exploding Sockets

Beware Exploding Sockets Hytorc® bolting heads have long been regarded as a safer alternative to hammering on a striking wrench to remove stubborn case bolts.  But even impact sockets can shatter under extreme Hytorc® pressures, sending shrapnel rocketing across the turbine deck.  These explosive failures can cause serious injury or even death. These failures can […]

Loss of Lube Oil (Emergency Lube Oil Systems)

The International Association of Engineering Insurers found that the highest frequency of steam turbine failures worldwide is due to loss of oil. To minimize the effects of loss of oil events, all turbines have a backup or emergency oil system; however, checks of these backup systems are too often neglected. Should the backup systems be inoperable […]

Safety Tips

At TGM, our motto is Safety, Quality, Production . . . In That Order! We currently have: Zero OSHA Recordable Accidents for 528th Consecutive days! Safety is Turbine Generator Maintenance’s top priority. TGM puts safety above all other considerations and expects that devotion from every TGM employee. Please see our dedicated Safety section of our website for […]