Chuck Yung
EASA Senior Technical Support Specialist

Flooding in the aftermath of tropical storms, including hurricanes, monsoons and cyclones, and with their associated heavy rainfall can shut down hundreds of plants along the Gulf Coast, from Florida to Texas, as well as in other places around the world. And they are doing so more often.

To get them up and running again, maintenance departments and motor repairers face the daunting task of cleaning muck and moisture from many thousands of electric motors and generators. The process involved in such situations can take weeks, if not months, and requires special clean-up procedures for motors contaminated by saltwater.

Although the problems are huge, affected plants can get back in production more quickly by working closely with service center professionals and following a few tips that will make the cleanup more manageable. These include prioritizing motors and generators for repair or replacement, storing contaminated machines properly, and using proven methods to flush away saltwater contamination.

Constructing temporary ovens on site or at the service center can also add capacity for drying the insulation systems of flooded motors.

Topics covered in the article include:

• Understanding the problem
• Two ways to clean
• Saltwater flush procedure
• Temporary bake oven - eliminating the bottleneck
• How long to bake?
• How it works

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Categories: Repair procedures & tips, Plant Engineering

Tags: Flooding Motor cleaning

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