Can you spare a grille?

[JHansen]

I actually trained on old Cat stuff-G379NA and G398NA plus the odd 3306 out in the field. Kinda liked them old buggers-gutless but ran forever. The field I'm in now has a 3408-runs OK when it's not eating cylinder heads . Also have a 2895 Wauk and a dinky little 743 Cummins... . but the main plant is Ajax-4 of them! Feel sorry for me yet? Better watch what I say or RustyJC will send the Cooper hitmen out after me... . They run-I tolerate them-they tolerate me... pretty much end of that story.



I think that 7042 is a GSI-but I'm not really sure... . I took one walkthrough after the place was up and running-it was late in the day, the operator wanted to go, so I just took a quick pass through the building, marvelled at the modern technology, and took off. Need to go back again one of these days and have another look around-be nice to hear an engine run above 400 rpm for a change!



I've actually been pretty lucky-been at this game for about a year and a half now (spent the previous 6 years in the oilpatch as a truck driver poking my nose around and learning what I could) and I've gotten to see a lot of different things. Compression power from a 310 Wauk all the way up to a 7042 with time now on Cat, Cummins, Ajax, White as well... and some GM and Ford industrial stuff on the smaller boosters. Gotten to play with Lister, Kubota, Arrow and Gemini pumpjack drivers as well as various types of jacks (even had a couple of downhole PC pumps at the last place I was at)-more process type stuff than you can shake a stick at. Very interesting-every time I think my learning curve is starting to plateau something else new and exciting comes along-love my job.



I just may take you up on the contact thing if I (or they) get in a bind with that package again... . Thanks for offering man!



Jason

 

[me4osu]

My first five years in compression I worked for Tidewater (which is now Universal Compression). When I quit, we had just assimilated Halliburton Resource Management, which brought us to a rough total of 3500 Ajaxs, C30s to DPC-800 LEs. Ajax's are great packages, if you don't have to move them. When I was with Tidewater we had one in South Louisiana that ran continuous for 19 years without an overhaul. Just shutdowns for PMs, usual failures (valves, compressor rings) and the bi-annual power cylinder hone and re-ring. Load 'em 'till they squirt water out of the heads, and back-off the pockets 'till they miss every now and then! We even had one in Eddy Co. , NM that we were running on 5% H2S fuel gas. It liked to eat up power cylinders though.



Does RustyJC work for CES? I've seen him post. I think he's in Cypress, TX; not too far North of Houston. Sometimes, I think I'm the only person in Hanover that knows how to set up and troubleshoot a CleanBurn II panel, and I'm getting tired training a new operator every time one drags up. Maybe Rusty could help us out a little.

 

[JHansen]

I can't remember Rusty's exact title-but I think it's Director, Maintenance Technology Services... . smart fella anyways. I bugged him a couple times about Ajax stuff... . ours need some more gas as they're carboning up pretty good from not working. We've got 2 DPC280's and 2 DPC360's at the plant-at one time when the field was strong we were good for 15 million but those days are long past now... . hopefully by spring someone will have tied some more gas in and we'll be running a little harder. Long way to go on the 1st stage pockets-that couldn't hurt either but the lead operator is pretty conservative...



We use Universal Compression here to maintain them-they bought an outfit out of Edmonton that was working on them-one guy that dreams Ajaxes at night and a few more that are pretty good with them. Personally I think Ajax dreams would be more like nightmares... . just kidding Rusty don't send the hitmen after me! They run pretty good-we made one barf actually the 1st day I came down here. Hot day, working hard and the EGT shutdowns were set a little high..... that cost 2 power cylinders and 2 pistons. Expensive lesson!



Jason

 

[Plowboy]

When's the cat eating heads? If it's in the winter the air is colder, and the air/fuel mix runs lean. Try taking the air intake off and run it on the building air. This worked up north on some newer cats. (not sure of the models)

 

[JHansen]

Naw it ate up a new set in the fall too-Chinook says 3408's are hard on heads... . could be true, could be BS-it's running good now. It should run good-it never has to work that hard. Maybe not running hard enough-who knows? Still like my Cats-just not that one



Jason

Brainwashed by the Yellow Paint!

 

[me4osu]

3400 Cat

Thank your lucky stars you don't have a G3412C LE. We had one in Farmington, NM that smoked 24 turbos in a year and a half! Rust Equipment in Farmington clocked the turbos, then the Cat engineers came out and did the same. We had Cat screaming at Garrett quite loudly, and I think they are finally going to help us out with some replacements for a new design.



I'm partial to 6-1/4" bores myself, 379, 398 & 399. Had to work on a 3616 in Venezuela one time. Those things cost too much, gives me the willies.