Why should Water Lubricated Bearings be the center of every Hydro Power Plant?

Posted on Thursday, June 22nd, 2017 and is filed under News

It’s simple… the environment is the most valuable asset we have and water lubricated bearings offer a safe, sustainable solution for Main Guide Bearings. The United States started out with Water Lubricated Bearings that have decades of proven performance and longevity without the risk of oil spills, high Insurance cost, lawsuits or public relations nightmares. If you start with water as a lubricant then there is no chance for oil or grease to enter our drinking water from the bearing. If you start with a superior bearing then everything else is easier.

Lignum-Vitae bearings have decades of proven performance. This material has extraordinary properties that are exceptionally suited for not only Water Lubricated Applications but also aging equipment that has imperfect shaft conditions. In addition, they perform well in run of the river applications. This is an important characteristic because many water filter systems get clogged which cause dewatering and without that lubricant the bearings fail and damage the shaft. Lignum – Vitae needs water as well but is much more forgiving and often gives the operator time to shut down and un-clog the filter … then resume normal operations with the original bearing. Watch the video below to see first hand how Lignum-Vitae helped this plant keep running saving extraordinary amounts of maintenance cost.

Not only do they offer superior Environmental Performance but they perform when others fail.

Ameren’s – Osage Plant 

This plant would not run an hour on any other bearings and now has been running on Lignum Vitae almost three years without adjustment.