Weg variable speed drive pays back for Rittal-CSM 06 October 2011

Plymouth-based Rittal-CSM reports completion of the latest stage of its energy saving carbon reduction programme; with Drew & Co installing more efficient pump controls at its paint plant.

Rittal-CSM maintenance engineer Nigel Brewer says that the firm achieved payback in just a few short months for the £17,000 package of Weg CFW-11 inverter drives.

The project involved improving energy use at its paint plant circulation and spray pump sets. Each pump set ran at a fixed speed, he explains, using conventional control gear. Both the flow rates and spray head volumes were controlled using manual valves.

"After we had conducted the energy audit, we realised that variable speed control was required on the pump motor," states Brewer. "We approached an inverter supplier and concluded a deal for a single VSD, a Weg CFW-11 unit, to be installed on one of the motors as a trial.

Brewer says the trial ran for several months and proved very successful. "But when we came to retrofit the remainder of the pump motors, we ran into problems. It was at this point we contacted Drew and Co, as we have worked together on many occasions and some of their engineers know our plant well."

"After consultation, it was decided to install 10 Weg CFW-11 variable speed drives, ranging from 3kW to 45kW, on the pump motors," says Andrew Botterill of Drew and Co.

"Each variable speed drive was positioned in an IP65 Rittal enclosure with forced ventilation and filtering, adjacent to its respective pump."

The new system meant that all manual valves, previously used for pump output control, were opened fully, with control taken over by the variable speed drives. Botterill explains that each was set up with a simple local speed control, enabling plant operators to set the optimum flow and volume for its particular application.

Drew and Co carried out all of the control panel modifications and on-site installation works during a single plant shutdown over a weekend. The paint plant started back into full production on the following Monday morning.

Brian Tinham

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