The 501F Users Group returns to in-person conferencing in 2022 with a year of experience in the virtual meeting world under its belt. The organization’s 22nd annual conference convenes in New Orleans at the Hyatt Regency on Sunday, February 20, and runs through noon on the 24th (Thursday). Sunday is reserved for socializing. There’s a

New purge procedure allows faster start of gas-line maintenance Challenge. CPV Valley Energy Center’s procedure for depressurization and purge of its fuel-gas system for inspection and maintenance required multiple movements of equipment (nitrogen trailers and hook-ups). Plant’s goal was having a procedure that didn’t require the movement of equipment and one conducive to faster purging.

Electronic log enables tighter control of boiler chemistry Challenge. The need for proper control of boiler chemistry is well known. An important part of any operator’s shift involves monitoring of boiler chemistry parameters and taking action to ensure they are maintained within posted specifications. The actions in real time help assure long-term integrity of boiler

Permanent monitoring system cuts time, cost of vibration analysis Background. Klamath Energy’s mechanical-draft counterflow cooling tower was built by Balcke-Dürr in 2000 without vibration probes installed on its gearboxes. The CT is of fiberglass-reinforced polyester (FRP) construction with eight cells, each 48 ft wide × 48 ft long. The tower’s fans are driven by 200-hp,

Single-permissive remote start, automated fuel equalizing Challenge. Rolling Hills recently updated its run profile from a 30-min start window to five minutes. Like many other plants with a 5-min window, a remote start program was implemented. The challenge that Rolling Hills faced was to simplify the old startup sequence so an operator could bring units