Decatur Industrial Electric performs DC and synchronous motor PMs on a routine basis for an industry leading paper mill. Our tracking and trending of electrical testing revealed that a 2,000 HP synchronous motor had degrading insulation and resistance to ground readings over time. Our reliability specialists, during a scheduled plant outage, inspected and dry ice blasted the motor onsite. The resistance had huge improvement.
Dry ice blasting is an effective and quick way to clean electric motors. It also allows the equipment to be cleaned in place and in an environmentally friendly manner. And, because dry ice converts to gas, there is no fluid or water residue. As a result, there is no disassembling of electrical components or equipment.
Through this method, we were able to clean the motor on-site to the point where it was able to stay in service and a spare didn’t have to be installed. The PM testing saved over $250,000 because the motor did not run-to-failure causing unplanned downtime. The on-site cleaning altogether saved downtime, equipment change out costs, and repair costs.