Gearbox Oil Leak

[Amir]

We have Amarillo gearboxes with about 2.5 years of operation. We started experiencing oil leaks on the outlet shaft. I am wondering if anyone experienced this. The first gearbox was disassembled and it appears that the oil leak is due to V-seal failure on the bottom of the bull gear that keeps the oil from entering the drywell/out shaft grease seal.

Any after market solution or advise.

[gmirsky@galebreaker.com]

You might consider wind screens placed around the perimeter to reduce the uneven loading on the fan blades as they rotate.

[ctboxes]

I would make sure the oil level is not too high and per the manufacturers recommendation. The top of the drywell should be above the oil level. Sometimes grease looks like oil after it breaks down, then runs down the shaft. Have you contacted Amarillo?

[Amir]

I have contacted Amarillo.

I am wondering after the oil level comes down below the drywell, why the leaking does not stop.

Does the seal compromised after the gearbox being overfilled?

[Bob Neely]

Hello Amir,
My name is Bob Neely and I can help you. Please contact me at bneely@amarillogear.com and we will help you find a solution for your leaks.

Thank you

[ctboxes]

Sorry I am not that familiar with the Amarillo design.

[Bob Neely]

Hello Amir,
We have not heard from you. What is the name of your plant and your location? Can you send me pictures of the v-seal? Our old design used a v-seal and has since been replaced with the Quantum that uses no seals to ever wear out. Can you send us your PM history? What is the frequency of your oil changes? Answering these questions would be a start.
Please contact me ASAP and we can help you resolve your problem.

Thank you,

Bob Neely

[Amir]

Scattergood Generating Station is located at El Segundo, CA. I called Amarillo and sent emails and no responses. Please share your email address and I will forward you all the info and V seal picture.

We change the oil every other year using synthetic oil and every other year we are filtering the oil. We also take frequent oil samples.

Thanks a lot,
-Amir

[Paul]

Amir,

What is the model number? We have had what sounds like a similar issue with Amarillo Q500 with open dry well which has been rectified by Amarillo under warranty.

Take care,

Paul

[Jason Newquist]

Amir,

I’m in the ACC Service department of ENEXIO (formerly GEA). We can help you evaluate the complete ACC system to identify any potential influencing conditions beyond the gearbox itself. Our ACC Field Service Advisor is actually based in San Diego. My email is jason.newquist@enexio.com, please feel free to contact me directly.

Regards,
Jason Newquist

[nmatesa]

Was there any resolution or root cause determination for this issue? We have purchased two Amarillo gearboxes to replace our original Merger gearboxes this Spring.

[Amir]

The model number of our gearbox is P2195.

Yes, we found the source of the leak. It is from our output shaft due to collapsing the V-seal on the oil tube/dam. This v-seal is not submerged and is only prevents splashing of the oil to the out shaft and seal. Now I have 12 of the 15 gearboxes leaking. To get to this V-seal we need to completely disassemble the gearbox. Note this is not part of normal PMs.

Amarillo has failed to give us a convincing answer of why the seal is failing.

Just heads up this is not the only problem we have with these gearboxes.

[Amir]

The model number of our gearbox is P2195.

Yes, we found the source of the leak. It is from our output shaft due to collapsing the V-seal on the oil tube/dam. This v-seal is not submerged and is only prevents splashing of the oil to the out shaft and seal. Now I have 12 of the 15 gearboxes leaking. To get to this V-seal we need to completely disassemble the gearbox. Note this is not part of normal PMs.

Amarillo has failed to give us a convincing answer of why the seal is failing.

Just heads up this is not the only problem we have with these gearboxes.

[Author]

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