Starting problems with reciprocating compressors
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The company has a reciprocating compressor used for pumping air. It doesn’t have any pipes for inlet or outlet, nor does it have the capability to adjust the load between 0-50-100%. It cannot start when both the inlet and outlet are open; it stops after rotating a few times. It can only be started with the inlet completely closed and the outlet completely open. Ask the equipment manager; they say this results in a lower startup load. But one thing is unclear: with low inlet pressure and high outlet pressure, shouldn’t the load on the compressor be high?
Starting the compressor in this way is extremely dangerous: once the outlet valve fails........
No air enters at the inlet, so the compressor does not do any work; therefore, the power output should be at its lowest level, approaching zero! Personal opinion
Could you be more specific? The inlet is fully open, but what’s the condition of the outlet?
How many stages of compression does the compressor have? What was the current level before it stopped operating? What was the outlet back pressure? Too little information is provided
Is there a one-way valve on the outlet? No load means that before the compressor reaches its normal speed, there is no gas inside the compressor, and no gas enters at the inlet; the outlet pressure should be the pressure behind the check valve. Even in the absence of a check valve, the valve itself can prevent gas from flowing back from the outlet.