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Mechanical seals play an important role in industrial processes and can be found in many
commercial applications. Seals are used in the automotive, pharmaceutical, chemical, mining,
power generation, oil and gas, pulp and paper, food and beverage, water systems, and
refrigeration compression industries.
In this training, we will provide a comprehensive guide for the shaft seals used in the YORK opendrive YK and YT centrifugal chillers. You will learn about the benefits of the open-drive chiller
design, the development of the latest generation of YORK shaft seals, and some important seal
maintenance tips. In the last section, you will learn about shaft seal removal and installation
through a video assisted instructional format.
After completing this course you will be able to:
Describe the benefits of the YORK open-drive chillers.
Describe the issues that led to the development of the bellows type YK and YT shaft seal.
Identify the different versions of shaft seals utilized in recent designs of YORK single stage
centrifugal compressors.
Describe important procedures to be followed for proper seal maintenance.
And remove and install a shaft seal.
YORK is the only manufacturer providing open-drive chillers to the air-conditioning and
refrigeration market today. All other manufacturers provide hermetic-drive chillers, which enclose
the motor inside the chiller and surround the motor windings with refrigerant.
Open-drive chillers such as the YORK YK and YT offer several benefits over competitive
hermetic-drive designs. These benefits include:
Ease-of-use by allowing easier, less expensive chiller refrigerant conversions - The opendrive motor windings do not come in contact with the refrigerant, eliminating compatibility issues
when converting the chiller to alternative refrigerants. The hermetic motor windings, in contrast,
are surrounded by refrigerant, raising compatibility issues when converting to a new refrigerant.
Flexibility in drive types that includes electric, steam-turbine, and gas-engine applications
The hermetic design, in contrast, supports only an electric motor drive.
Lower energy costs by having air cooled motors - In an open-drive design, no chiller energy
is used to cool the motor. Hermetic motors, in contrast, must be cooled by the refrigerant in the
chiller.
Lower maintenance costs - Open-drive motors, if necessary, can be repaired at a local repair
facility. Hermetic motors, in contrast, must be returned to the motor manufacturer, increasing
costs and extending chiller downtime.
In addition, open-drive motor burnouts do not require system cleanup. Hermetic motor burnouts
however, foul the entire chiller system, incurring significant cleanup costs and downtime.
An extreme loss of seal oil almost always follows a shaft seal failure. This is due to the inability of
the failed seal to contain the surrounding oil. We have learned however, that high oil loss does
not always precede seal failure and can normally take place during the seal break-in period. High
oil loss can also be a unique operating characteristic of some seals.
YORK has therefore provided a standard guideline for seal replacement based on seal oil loss.
After the shaft seal break-in period, an oil loss rate of 750 milliliters or more within 14 days is
considered the signal to schedule replacement of the seal.
Immediate replacement is rarely necessary and the chiller can operate satisfactorily until it is
convenient to replace the seal.
Please note that 750 milliliters is equivalent to filling the YORK supplied catch bottle.
When replacing YK shaft seals, it is important to know that several different designs of YK shaft
seals may be found in the field.
Original design compressors prior to May 1998 used a carbon shaft seal cartridge. May 1998 and
after, compressors were equipped with the new bellows type shaft seal cartridge.
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