Can the actuating mechanism of a gate valve be replaced without shutting it down?
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At the inlet of one of the pumps in our plant’s low-temperature methanol washing unit, there is a gate valve with a DN500 size and PN11.0 pressure rating. Due to maintenance work on the pump’s seal, the inlet valve was closed; after the maintenance was completed, when the inlet valve was tried to open, it was found that its operating mechanism was damaged and could not be used to open the valve. Is it possible to replace this operating mechanism without shutting down the plant and releasing pressure?
The risk is high; opt for a conservative treatment approach and address it thoroughly after stopping work.
During operation, swapping the actuator works without issues
For small valves (DN100 and below), I’ve encountered many cases where the handwheel fell off; using an adjustable wrench doesn’t affect their functionality, but I’ve not faced such issues with larger valves
Sure, it just requires changing the driver. It’s just like replacing a handwheel; it doesn’t affect operation
A new actuator has been replaced online, and there are no issues.
The filler is located below the gland, and it has nothing to do with the fan turbine; simply remove the fan turbine and replace it with a new one.