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by Adam Telenko on Thu, Mar 21, 2024 @ 10:03 AM
Our customers need to evaluate cylinder assemblies regularly to spot any damage or wear. Swagelok Edmonton's Cylinder Maintenance Program provides this essential service. Learn what we check and download a sample Cylinder Maintenance Program Report.
Sample cylinder assemblies endure much more stress in the field than fittings or gauges. Fittings should do their job without issues for years after installation, while cylinder assemblies are constantly being connected and disconnected, with valves opening and closing regularly. Continuous use subjects valve stems to wear, as they encounter various fluids, temperatures, and pressures, compromising the repeatability of the seals.
Rough handling isn't rare either. If a cylinder assembly bangs around in a crew's truck bed during transport across sites, for example, that can lead to both immediate and gradual damage. We have seen broken valve handles due to drops and threads wearing out over time. Add harsh Alberta weather and you get significant wear and tear.
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Neglecting cylinder assembly wear and tear can result in leaking connecting points. In applications requiring SilcoNert, the protective coating can deteriorate over time, leading to inaccurate analysis of the cylinder content.
QA requires robust cylinder maintenance
It's important that the sample represents what is actually flowing through the pipeline so that the analysis will show the most accurate data possible. You want to make sure you have no contamination or mixing of old and new streams and to test it at he right temperature for analysis. Timing is important, don't forget to test it quickly, typically within a minute.
"One of our customers sends me cylinder assemblies to be inspected every 2-3 years— they have 70-90 in service," explains one of our Account Managers. "It's part of their internally driven QA program. They require a 3rd party to be involved for inspection. We are NOT a certified cylinder tester but that is okay for them. Usually a cylinder will show signs of rust before any sort of catastrophic failure in the cylinder itself."
Whether or not anything in a unit is replaced, we reassemble it, conduct a helium leak test, and send it back to the customer ready for use.
Maintenance methodology
Swagelok Edmonton has a proven methodology for checking assemblies:
- Visual inspection: Our team examines your cylinders and associated components to verify that they maintain their shape and meet safety standards for pressure operations.
- 10-point condition assessment: We evaluate the state of various parts, including threads, needle valves, rupture disc valves, and fittings, for any signs of wear or damage.
- Recommendations: After thorough inspection, we deliver an in-depth report, complete with photographs, stating suggested repairs or tests that may be needed.
Cylinder assembly database
"We generate a part number for each cylinder unit, like 'Acme Company Cylinder Assembly #17' for example. We build up a database with the history for all the units they send us. We can pull a report showing all the cylinders we received by their # and look back as to what was replaced and when."
Media and condition dictate procedures
Our maintenance procedures differ for non-media cleaned cylinders, non-media non-cleaned cylinders, and media cleaned cylinders. Maintenance on non-media non-cleaned cylinder maintenance, for example, involves:
- Visual inspection of valves
- Are there wrench marks on handle?
- Does the valve cycle normally?
- Any discoloration or damage on the body of valve?
- Any nicks in the SS body?
- Is the part number visible?
- Is there deformation? Measure circumference at ends & center; measure length
- Any nicks in SS outer body cylinder?
- Were threads able to be inspected?
- Was tape visible on valves?
Learn more about Field Advisory Services
We invite you to learn more about Swagelok Edmonton Field Advisory Services, which can help you whether we visit onsite or collaborate with you remotely. If you're interested in setting up a maintenance program for your cylinders, please click below and reach out to Swagelok Edmonton's Field Advisory Team. We're here to help.
