FALEX 400 Operation And Maintenance Manual Download Page 1

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FALEX 400 Fuel

Thermal Oxidation

Test Machine

Falex

Corporation 1020

Airpark

Drive Sugar

Grove,

60554 630.556.3669

www.falex.com

Operation and Maintenance Manual

VER 1.2 (1-1-13)

Summary of Contents for 400

Page 1: ...FALEX 400 Fuel Thermal Oxidation Test Machine Falex Corporation 1020 Airpark Drive Sugar Grove IL 60554 630 556 3669 www falex com Operation and Maintenance Manual VER 1 2 1 1 13 ...

Page 2: ...tion 15 2 3 Instrument and Test Configuration 17 Section 3 Software Operation 22 3 1 Falex 400 Software Program 22 3 2 Run Test 23 3 3 Data 28 Section 4 Disassembly and Component Cleaning 30 4 1 Heater Tube Disassembly 30 4 2 Continued Unit Disassembly Cleaning 31 4 3 Component Cleaning 31 Section 5 Software Preferences 32 Section 6 Maintenance 34 6 1 Charcoal Filter Replacement 34 6 2 Desiccant C...

Page 3: ... Software Accessible Service 42 8 2 Alarm Log 42 8 3 Fault Indicators 42 8 4 Alarm and Warning Messages 43 Addendum A Parts Listing 46 Addendum B Printed Report Example 47 Notes Blank page for customer notes 48 Table of Contents ...

Page 4: ...e questions about operating or servicing this equipment please contact Falex Corporation This equipment should only be operated by person nel trained by Falex or a Falex approved distributor This operation manual contains HAZARD WARNING and CAUTION callouts which must be followed to reduce the possibility of personal injury damage to the equipment or improper service The Falex 400 must be electron...

Page 5: ...structions Failure to comply may result in personnel injury or death WARNING Desiccant may cause irritation to the eyes or skin Wear protective goggles and gloves avoid contact with skin eyes and clothing Use in well ventilated areas and keep away from heat or flame Follow all Material Safety Data Sheet MSDS Hazardous Materials Identification Sys tem HMIS ISO 9000 Lab Standard Operating Proce dure...

Page 6: ...rds It is robust reliable and compact ASTM D3241 Thermal Oxidation Stability of Aviation Turbine Fuels requires a strict conformance for the jet fuel industry for this critical test The Falex 400 matches results due to the critical equipment specification that controls the heater test section and test conditions The Falex 400 has been designed for years of operation it provides traceability long m...

Page 7: ...r 1 Start Up Kit Table 1 Start Up Kit Contents Quantity Description Part Number Picture 1 Package of 2 Pack of insulation bushings 400 018 003 1 Bus Bar Drip Pan 400 021 006 1 Package of 5 Charcoal filter 400 025 002 1 Package of 2 Metal Pre Filter screen 400 027 003 1 Heater tube holder assembly 400 103 009 1 Aeration line assembly 400 105 002 ...

Page 8: ... holder output line assembly 400 105 005 1 Pre Filter assembly 400 105 010 1 Sample input line assembly 400 105 020 1 Lead calibration holder with melted lead 400 108 004 1 Falex 400 Manual CD 400 112 001 1 DP calibration bottle 400 200 005 1 Package of 12 Heater Tubes with DP filters and O rings 400 560 001 Section 1 General Information Start Up Kit continued ...

Page 9: ...00 ml 648 400 012 1 Funnel large 648 400 003 1 Package of 100 Funnel filter papers 648 400 004 1 Package of 25 Pre Filter filter papers 648 400 005 1 Cleaning brush 648 400 006 1 Hex wrench 648 400 007 1 Cleaning pan stainless steel 648 400 008 1 Ceramic insulator removal tool 648 400 009 Section 1 General Information Start Up Kit continued ...

Page 10: ... USA 630 556 3669 f 630 556 3679 www falex com Material 316 Stainless Steel Form number 400 111 006 CERTIFICATE OF INSPECTION Tube Kit p n 400 560 003 The enclosed test pieces have been inspected and meet the following requirements Material 316 Stainless Steel QA Manager ______________________________ Date ___________ Manufactured in conformance with ISO 9001 2000 USA 630 556 3669 sales falex com ...

Page 11: ... Pump Priming Door Air Flow Meter Coolant Flow Meter Desiccant Chamber Door Front USB Slot Sample Test Area DP Calibration Alignment Line Figure 1 Fuel Thermal Oxidation Tester Front 1 4 Getting To Know The Falex 400 DP Calibration High Alignment Line On Off Switch Fault Indicators Resettable Fuses ...

Page 12: ...r of the Falex 400 120V Unit Figure 3 Rear of the Falex 400 220V Unit Interface Panel USB 2 Ethernet 1 Circuit Breaker Circuit Breaker Power Plug Receptacle Power Plug Receptacle Interface Panel USB 2 Ethernet 1 Fans DO NOT BLOCK Fans DO NOT BLOCK ...

Page 13: ...than the aeration line Sample input line assembly 400 105 020 Thermocouple fuel sample 650 009 055 Beaker 1000 ml 648 400 012 Aeration line assembly 400 105 002 Sample output line assembly 400 105 028 Beaker 1000 ml 648 400 012 Aeration line assembly 400 105 002 Sample output line assembly 400 105 028 Sample input line assembly 400 105 020 ...

Page 14: ...s Bar Pre Filter assembly 400 105 010 DP Filter Housing behind fuel out line Pre Filter Bulkhead Bus Bar Thermocouple 400 103 004 Fuel heater tube holder output line assembly 400 105 005 DP Port Out Fuel Bypass Line Part of 400 103 009 Heater Tube Thermocouple Retaining Clip Heater tube holder assembly 400 103 009 DP Port Out DP Calibration Line Lower Bus Bar ...

Page 15: ...0 103 009 Lower insulation bushing 400 018 003 Upper insulation bushing 400 018 003 O ring 650 008 002 O ring 650 008 002 Heater Tube Holder Assembly Hex Nut 977 438 001 Figure 8 Components For Assembly of Prefilter Figure 7 Components For Assembly of Test Section Area Lower Pre Filter Cover Assembly 400 105 014 Upper Pre Filter Cover Assembly 400 105 021 O ring Pre Filter 620 210 001 Fuel heater ...

Page 16: ...rcoal filter replacement instructions 2 2 Sample Area And Fuel Preparation Setup will take approximately 20 min 1 Place a clean empty glass beaker in the sample in position at the left of the sample container area Connect the aeration line and the sample in line to the appropriate fittings on the front panel Figure 9 Fittings should be finger tight Place the aeration and sample in lines into the g...

Page 17: ...has been placed into the filter Figure 13 Place the now empty beaker in the sample out position at the right of the sample container area 5 Place an O ring on the sample out line O rings are required on all tubing lines except the aeration and sample in lines Place a clean small O ring 650 005 002 at the end of each line before securing the line in place Figure 14a and 14b Inspect the O rings and ...

Page 18: ... in the center of the housing with the riveted end down and the tube ID number closest to the DP filter housing Secure the heater tube to the top of the heater tube housing using the lower insulator bushing with the flare facing end of tube O ring supplied in the heater tube kit upper insulator bushing and hex nut Figure 15 Finger tighten loosely 5 Position the heater tube inside the housing by lo...

Page 19: ...he fuel out and bypass lines Replace if missing or damaged 11 Remove the right retaining screw of each bus bar cap using the hex wrench supplied Loosen the left retaining screw of each bus bar cap using the hex tool so that the cap is free to pivot on the screw Figure 19 To remove any fuel that may have seeped on to the bus bars clean the bus bar contacts and bus bar caps focusing on the portions ...

Page 20: ...aining screws and loosely finger tighten 13 Align the top of the heater tube so that it is flush with the top of the bus bar contact Figure 21 14 When the test section is properly aligned tighten the upper and lower bus bar screws with the hexagon wrench provided 15 Attach the fuel out line to the DP fitting and fuel bypass line to the DP fittings Figure 22 Finger tighten the fittings Fuel Out Lin...

Page 21: ...Place the lower housing onto the upper housing Line up the screw holes on the upper and lower housings and insert the screws through the lower housing into the upper housings Figure 23 Finger tighten the screws with the hexagon wrench 20 Inspect the O ring on the end of the pre filter assembly Replace the O ring if missing or damaged 21 Connect the pre filter assembly to the pre filter bulkhead fi...

Page 22: ...nd to the left of the bus bar area when not in use 25 Check all of the fittings to ensure they are finger tight 26 Close the acrylic cover to the sample test area Leaving the cover open will cause an alarm while a test is running If this is the initial setup or if the F400 has not been oper ated for 15 days it is recommended that the automated Purge be run prior to any tests being performed on the...

Page 23: ...okes a reference for help on all other screens Figure 27 Lower right corner buttons Usually there is a back ward arrow forward arrow or both Figure 29 The back ward arrow directs the user to the previous screen and the forward arrow advances to the next screen In many instances the forward arrow will not appear until certain conditions are met on the current screen such as man datory test informat...

Page 24: ...n buttons Figure 30 Additional Page Arrow on Instruction Pages Additional pages The RUN TEST menu allows users to choose various test types The test data can be viewed printed and or stored after a successful test completion 1 Accessing the Test Type screen On the MAIN screen press the Run Test button Figure 31 If this button is not visible there will be a temperature bar in its place Figure 32 Th...

Page 25: ...r greater a peacock P or abnormal A rating is en tered the final test in the series is initiated at a temperature of 5ºC below the previous run All results are compiled into a single data file Note Only tube rating entries of 1 1 2 2 Figure 33 Test Selections 3 3 4 4 and A abnormal or P peacock are accepted for the breakpoint tube reading D Custom buttons 1 4 Custom 1 4 buttons allow the user to s...

Page 26: ... can be found on the specimen tube E Fuel Type A Fuel Type may be up to 29 characters in length F Fuel ID A Fuel ID entry is required It may be up to 15 characters in length G Test Temperature C Enter a temperature The test will control the temperature of tube between 100 380 C Single and Custom test configurations allow this to be an operator entry Breakpoint min temperature is 180 C But on ASTM ...

Page 27: ...s purged from all lines and valves 6 During the aeration inspect all fittings in the sample test area for leaks 7 If leaks are found re tighten using fingers only 8 Test Screens These screens remain open the duration of a test The Pressure box in the lower right indicates the system pressure and the DP value Tests run at 3 45MPa 10 Once system pressure is reached the heater will commence It is rec...

Page 28: ...ring a test or from the test itself failing to reach defined parameters Refer to the Alarm section of this manual to see which alarms cause an immedi ate test termination and which alarms initiate only a warning message Figure 43 Tube Rating Screen 10 Test Completion Tests either complete or they fail due to operator aborts failure to meet or maintain operational requirements such as pressure loss...

Page 29: ...ernet connection Complete data records of DP mmHg heater tube tem perature and system pressure are taken every minute during a test and are stored in the data file To retrieve the data file the operator needs to Transfer the data file and then Copy the file to an external device Data files are saved in csv format and can be viewed using ap propriate software Figure 47 Viewing Data Page 2 DP Values...

Page 30: ...he test data to the computer Upon transfer data files reside in the Data folder under the root directory F400 C An acknowledgement window appears upon successful data transfer Figure 48 Do not proceed until this acknowledgement appears Note The current test data will be lost at the start of the next test if this Transfer button is not pressed or when the F400 s power is cycled The computer has lim...

Page 31: ...own the thermocouple using a germicidal wipe 5 Remove the fuel out line from the DP fitting and the fuel bypass lines from the DP fittings 6 Remove the prefilter assembly from the cabinet bulkhead 7 Remove the right upper and lower bus bar screws with the hex wrench provided Figure 49 8 Loosen the left hand screws on the upper and lower bus bars but do not remove Figure 49 9 Remove the test sectio...

Page 32: ... 21 Remove the fuel thermocouple from the beaker and wipe down 22 Remove the sample in and sample out glass beakers 23 Dispose of fuel appropriately according to local regulations 4 3 Component Cleaning Note The heater tube housing is the only component to be cleaned with Tri Solvent 1 Brush the inside of the heater tube housing with the provided cleaning brush and Tri Solvent 2 Inspect the inner ...

Page 33: ...references A Test Selection This section is on the left hand side of the screen containing six boxes with respective titles on their right Clicking on these boxes will put an X in the box and activate the different test buttons available on the TEST TYPE screen To deactivate a test type click the boxes once more so that the X disappears from the box A Single test allows the user to enter all the t...

Page 34: ...the Task Bar Change the Date Time by accessing it from the lower right area E ASTM Temperature This is where a default test temperature can be stored for all ASTM tests For instance some specifications require 270ºC rather than the default value of 260ºC Section 5 Software Preferences C Install Printer Pressing the Install Printer button will initate the Windows Control Panel Select the Printers a...

Page 35: ...lothing Use in well ventilated areas and keep away from heat or flame Follow all Material Safety Data Sheet MSDS Hazardous Materials Identification System HMIS ISO 9000 Lab Standard Operating Pro cedures SOP and related instructions Failure to comply may result in personnel injury or death DO NOT use the ethernet port inside the desiccant chamber area It is for use by Falex technicians only 1 Chan...

Page 36: ...dge 5 Obtain a new desiccant cartridge Figure 56 6 Align the new desiccant cartridge with the desiccant cartridge inlet outlet ports Push the desiccant cartridge straight into the F400 desiccant housing until the cartridge snaps into the retainer clips 7 Power on the machine and proceed to maintenance screen Push the aeration button Verify the humidity level is dropping If it is not the desiccant ...

Page 37: ...he maintenance software screen The Maintenance screen is accessed from the Main screen Figure 57 6 3 1 Prime Pump Select the Prime Pump button on the maintenance screen Figure 58 Before beginning the Prime Pump operation be sure the sample beaker has plenty of fluid 250 ml allows for 15 minutes of priming Attach the sample in line properly placing the filter end into the beaker At tach the sample ...

Page 38: ...E PUMP button 5 Press the PRIME button 6 Insert an empty plastic 10 ml syringe into the pump priming port at the center of the black priming port knob Figure 61 Rotate black priming port knob counterclockwise and suction fuel out of the pump priming port by pulling in the syringe plunger Allow 6 8 ml fuel to fill syringe Close the black priming port knob by turning clockwise Remove the syringe fro...

Page 39: ...r end into the beaker Be sure there is a beaker under the prop erly attached sample out line Pressing the Start button begins an automated prime pump sequence that cannot be stopped once started Figure 62 It s purpose is to flush every line in the system with new fuel and expel any air pockets The purge sequence runs 21 minutes Valves are open and closed in sequence as can be seen by the lighted D...

Page 40: ... Calibrate Thermocouple display This will reset the previous calibration factors to the default values 0 ºC factor 0 and 327 5 ºC factor 327 5 It will also call up the Thermocouple Calibration Lo Check display Section 7 Calibration 7 1 1 Thermal Calibration Lo Check 1 Prepare a low temperature standard from an ice bath of distilled water and crushed distilled water ice an insulated cup works best ...

Page 41: ...r is started to allow thermocouple removal 8 Once the one minute timer has completed or the thermocouple has been removed heating is stopped The operator must remove the thermocouple from the lead at this time and clean the thermocouple with a cloth to remove any residual lead on the thermocouple Dispose of the cloth properly Wear appropriate gloves when handling the hot thermocouple with possible...

Page 42: ...reen turning it red 21 Bring the bottle down from the top of the machine and align the fluid level in the bottle with the center of the DP port alignment line 22 Hold the DP calibration bottle steady so the fluid level is level Hold the bottle in this position for about 1 5 minutes until the DP value on the graph remains constant 23 Press the Zero button on the screen without moving the bottle The...

Page 43: ...or has an understanding of the system as not to damage the pressure transducer 3 Close DP Pos Pressing this button manually operates the DP positive valve This button is not interlocked with the bypass valve and should be used only if the operator has an understanding of the system as not to damage the pressure transducer 4 Factory This is a protected area for the authorized users only 8 2 Alarm L...

Page 44: ...uple not installed properly heater failure Failure to Reach Pres sure x 3 min after test start 3 1 Mpa Fail to Reach System Pressure in 3 min Checked at beginning of Test Possible Cause filter paper pressure leak Sample Fuel Tempera ture Out of Range x Aeration active 15 ºC 32 ºC Sample Fuel Temp Out of Range Checked during aeration Tem perature must be outside of limits for 1 sec Possible Cause T...

Page 45: ...60 ºC Cooling System Failure Abort after 1 second Possible Cause Cooling system failure Thermocouple not in stalled properly System Low Pressure x Test active 3 1 Mpa Low System Pressure Abort after 1 second Possible Cause Pressure leak inlet valve failure System High Pressure x Test active 3 8 Mpa High System Pressure Abort after 1 second Possible Cause tubing blockage pressure sensor failure Hea...

Page 46: ... Test active 100 ºC Sample Thermocouple Failure Abort after 1 second Possible Cause Thermocouple failure Thermocouple not con nected Safety Cover Missing x Test active Bus Bar Cover Missing Warning only Possible Cause Cover removed during test photo eye failure Data Transfer Failure x Data xfer button selected FTP Comm Open Action Failure Checked after data transfer but ton selected Possible Cause...

Page 47: ...00 108 004 Lead calibration holder with melted lead 400 200 005 DP calibration bottle 400 560 001 Heater tubes with DP filters and O rings 12 tube assy box 620 005 002 O ring tubing bag of 25 620 210 001 O ring pre filter bag of 5 648 400 003 Funnel large 648 400 005 Pre filter filter papers 25 filters box 648 400 006 Cleaning brush 648 400 007 Hex wrench 648 400 008 Cleaning pan stainless steel 6...

Page 48: ...47 Addendum B Printed Report Example ...

Page 49: ...48 Notes issue date 1 1 2013 ...

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