Dirty Secrets of
the Industry

There are less than a dozen companies in the United States that offer high velocity flushing services as their core business. Unfortunately, this means many companies that dabble in flushing, offer inferior service and often resort to unethical tactics to win contracts and extract customer money.Project cost is driven by ‘days on site’ because flush companies have no way of knowing howdirty systems are or how long they will take to clean.

Unethical Practices by
Unethical Contractors

1

Bid a very low price and then once on site extend the project to charge double or triple the original contract value. Send two men on a job requiring four to eight people. This will increase setup and breakdown time substantially.

2

Send undersized pumps and use minimum filtration to extend days on site. Real flush rigs need 480V power or are driven by diesel engines. If company shows up with 120V or 240V equipment, do not let them pass the guard shack.

3

Do not put filter bags or cartridges in housings for hours, shifts, or days at a time to extend project duration.

4

Use 25 micron filtration, when 10 micron or multi-layer filtration will be faster.

5

Use the minimum Reynolds Number acceptable to the customer. Reducing flush temperature, pressure, and velocity will dramatically increase flush time.

6

Mandate the Owner or Prime contractor personnel setup and breakdown flush equipment. Even skilled pipefitters, mechanics and millwrights will take longer than trained flush crews.

7

Use customer system oil, instead of low viscosity flush oil, to dramatically increase flush time.

8

Do not flush continuously 24/7. When shutting down overnight, systems will cool down and ‘dirty up’ overnight. Bringing the flush loop back up to temperature daily wastes valuable time.

9

Do not Reverse Flow when system architecture allows, as this is critical to quick and effective cleaning. If a contractor does not own reversing manifolds, you hired the wrong company.

10

Do not filter new oil when delivered to the customer. New oil = Dirty oil.

11

Do not clean flush equipment or replace filter media from the last job. Unfortunately, it happens all the time.

12

Do not isolate pipe deadheads / dead legs as they are dirt traps, which will release dirt slowly during cleaning.

13

When taking oil samples, intentionally contaminate the sample prior to testing.

14

Do not isolate heat exchangers from the flush circuit as they will introduce contamination and reduce oil velocity.

15

Ensure the customer is not around for oil samples and changing screens, filters and bags so either dirtier or cleaner items may be presented to the customer depending on whether projects need to be delayed or prematurely terminated.

16

When trying to prematurely end a fixed-price project, bring your own oil samples from off-site or run filters and screens for a shorter period to make the system appear cleaner.

Tricks of the Trade Flush Commandments

1

Use the largest pump feasible to maximize flow rate and Reynolds number.

2

Use the lowest viscosity flush medium, especially with operating oil at ISO 68 or higher.

3

Use the highest temperature possible without burning.

4

In general use centrifugal pumps for 6” and above pipe diameters. Use positive displacement pumps for pipe diameters of 2”or less and high-pressure requirements. 2” to 6” is case-by-case.

5

Bypass all pipe system restrictions. (Heat exchangers, bearings, tanks, accumulators, instrumentation and controls, and sections of smaller bore pipe)

6

Once the flush is started, run 24/7 until complete. Do not shut down daily.

7

For complex systems, flush legs and sections individually, rather than the entire system at once.

8

Do not self-contaminate clean systems with dirty supply lines, storage tanks, heat exchangers, and pipe dead legs.

9

Do not quit early due to outage schedule. Flush until the system is truly clean.

10

Reverse flow when possible and often.

11

Never believe the heat exchanger is clean. It is always dirty and it will crash your newly cleaned system.

12

Consider air or nitrogen injection to increase liquid cavitation and turbulence to create a scrubbing action.

13

Consider using pipe vibration if weld damage is not of concern.

14

Use vacuum dehydrators if there is any water contamination in the lube oil system.

15

If possible, avoid ping-ponging oil between storage tanks. Always create flush loops when possible.

16

Customers should always pay for and retain custom jumpers, flanges, blinds and weldments; otherwise, you will be forced to use the same flush company forever or be forced to pay for your ‘kit’ twice.

17

For operating oil stick with major brands (Shell, ExxonMobil, Conaco, Phillips 66). Do not mix brands! Get multiple price OEM quotes. Pricing can vary wildly for the same oil, especially if the local distributor knows they are guaranteed the sale. Buy in bulk and avoid buying in drums. Bulk deliveries must be filtered before going into your storage tanks.

18

Oil testing should be done Quarterly, if not Monthly. It is very inexpensive versus damaging million-dollar equipment. Sample tests may include ISO particle count (insolubles), viscosity, water content, wear metals, flashpoint (fuel contamination), and acid number. At least Annually, perform a RULER (Remaining Useful Life Evaluation Routine) to monitor phenol and amine antioxidant concentrations of your oil’s additive package.

19

Understand the difference between Group I, II, and III base oils. Industrial use of Group II and III oils have more than doubled in the last 10 years. These oils are more pure, effective, and have much more uniform molecule size. Their disadvantage is due to more consistent molecule size, there is less interstitial space to hold contamination. Therefore, they can be more susceptible to varnish problems and these issues may present themselves more quickly due to reduced capacity to hold contamination in solution. Regular oil monitoring is the key.