Boise Cascade (Timber Processing Magazine)

Verdun Anodizing, Inc.

Hampton Lumber Mills, Cowlitz Division

FH Stolze Land and Lumber Company

The Carriage House Companies

We installed Enercon orifice units in early 2005 to prevent the failure of strainers and traps on outside steam lines in winter. Normally with -35 and -40 degree weather, we would get freezing steam traps and strainers.

With our mechanical traps, there would be a pool of condensate in the bottom of the lines. When strainers & traps on outdoor lines froze up, the pools of condensate would accumulate in the bottom of steam lines. The condensate pool would be carried into the steam turbine blades and the blades would get damaged. The Enercon technician said that with properly-sized orifices operating on a continuous flow basis, we wouldn't have this problem.

Since installing the orifices, we have found that all condensate is removed from the pipes, and blades are not subjected to damage from condensate in freezing weather. We figure we saved a minimum of $150,000 from not having damage to the turbine we could otherwise have experienced. The orifices are being used for pressures ranging from 50 psig to 790 psig, and we have not needed to repair or replace the orifices, which has been an additional cost savings. We are very satisfied with the results of the Enercon orifice condensate removal system installation, and we are continuing our program to replace mechanical traps with Enercon strainers and traps as the mechanical traps fail.

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Boise Cascade

 "Conservatively, the new traps reduced by well over 10% the steam required to dry lumber and paid for themselves many times over in their first few months of use," Rogers says.

"As I see it," says Rogers, "the key to a successful orifice installation is a reputable supplier experienced in both steam and orifice technology, one with a record of properly utilizing these deceptively simple devices.  With 16 years in the business, and excellent references, we were confident Enercon knew what they were doing."

Jared Rogers, Regional Engineer

Quoted from story in January/February 2006 issue of Timber Processing

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November 19, 2002

Mr. Cliff Walker
Enercon Systems Co.
621 East Butterfield Road
Lakeland, IL USA 60148

Dear Sir:

This is a short note to compliment you on Enercon's excellent product and service.

Verdun Anodizing is a job shop that anodizes 2 million parts per year in a facility where we had constant downtime repairing and changing conventional steam traps. An additional challange was maintaining adequate steam pressure in the cold Quebec winters.

The simple switch to Enercon eliminated 100% of the steam trap problems and gave us a bonus of lots of steam even when the incoming water temperature was 40 deg F.

I'd also like to mention the excellent sales engineer John Natale who gave us good advice and excellent follow up after delivery. I'm sold!

Sincerely,

W. Peter Bigney

WPB/edeh

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Hampton Lumber Cowlitz Division

Excerpt from Timber Processing, July/August 2004
(article about results from replacing all mechanical steam traps at 6 Hampton Lumber Mill sites with Enercon traps)

 "At Packwood," says Angus Low, Kiln/Boiler Lead for Hampton Lumber's Cowlitz Division, "we saw a six-hour (combined average) improvement in the time required to dry a charge of lumber. We were also able to run an additional kiln, which is something we couldn't do before. Overall, our kiln and boiler performance became much more efficient."

Steve Evans, Planer/Boiler Supervisor, points out that, at the Randle mill, steam goes through a pressure-reducing valve between the boiler and kilns. "Our target pressure," he says, "is 110 psi. Before the orifice traps were installed, we averaged 98. Since the installation, we've averaged 105 psi, a 7 lb. improvement. Average steam flow at the boiler actually increased by 633 lbs. The operators say there's a noticeable difference in the volume of ash we now produce. Makes sense. If the kilns are maintaining a higher pressure, the boiler's not working so hard."

"Enercon just didn't sell us parts," Joe Hellem, Quality Control Supervisor at Randle says, "they supplied design, technical backup, steam system expertise and troubleshooting. They contacted us continually for updates on how the parts were working."

"At Randle," says Hellem, "the Enercon technician made suggestions that, when implemented, save 5,324 gallons of water a day, which at 360 operating days a year is 1.9 million gallons annually. This also cut water treatment costs and has had a significant environmental impact."

"One of the objections we had seen repeatedly on the Internet and heard from numerous other sources," says Low, "is that the orifice is only effective in applications that produce steady, fixed condensate loads. This concerned us because our operations are all 'zone control' and we have a constant variable load situation. Based on a year's operations, these (orifice) traps perform with excellence in our varying load environment."

"With 22 dry kilns and five boilers to manage, I don't have time for gimmicks," Low says. We're now able to make better use of our people by focusing on product improvement and process efficiency. Instead of second-guessing traps and having to plan trap maintenance, we can concentrate on improving our process. Proper trapping is really the heart of a good steam process."

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Reference from F H Stolze Land and Lumber Co., Montana

April 3, 2008

Your orifice product has been oustanding in performance in our dry kilns.  I have operated our kilns for 20 years.  We replaced our bucket traps after a lot of research and phone calls from references and mills that have them in operation.  They have all given positive input on the results of their workmanship.

The orifices have been in operation for four years.  We have four kilns and they are all zone controlled.  With the installation of the orifices we have eliminated the wet pockets, and have seen more uniform drying.

We have seen an improvement in drying times, as much as 15-20 hrs. depending on wood species.

It was a real pleasure to work with your field technician to make sure everything is working properly.  Your company made the necessary changes to our system to make it function and get the most efficiency.

I now have more control of the kilns, and the boilers don't struggle to keep up with the kiln steam demand, kilns warm up faster, and kiln schedules are not as harsh as they were.

Our lumber now looks great and has less degrade, tighter moisture content and standard deviations.  Our grade inspector is very pleased with our lumber.

Thank you for your concerns and improvements you have made at our plant, and I would recommend this to any plant for replacement.

Sincerely,

William Wood, Dry Kiln Operator, Supervisor / F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co.

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April 20, 2004

Mr. John Natale

Natale Enterprises

5 Ryanwood Ct.

Ganesvoort , NY 12831-1792

Subject: Enercon Steam Systems Condensate Removal

Dear John:

Relaying some information regarding the recent installation of the Enercon Condensate Removal System, we have been able to do the following:

• Reduce our plant steam pressure setting from 110 psig to 95 psig.
• The average steam load has been reduced by five to seven thousand pounds/hour due to better heating in cooking vessels. The estimated savings are $150,000/year.
• The cooking processes have shown improvements with better temperature control and quicker cook times. This has improved throughput and product quality.
• We no longer have to service the traps. The older system was a constant maintenance area.

Based on our good experience, we have informed our other sister companies to investigate the Enercon System.

Sincerely,

The Carriage House Companies, Inc.

Troy J. Winkelman

Plant Engineer – Fredonia , NY

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