Update from Bryan

We are pleased to announce that we have installed our first Sentinel^®-CPM Compressor Performance Monitor on a Cat / Ariel package in Texas. The unit is an Ariel JGK three stage unit driven by a Caterpillar 3512 natural gas engine at 1050 RPM. Obviously, the unit, and our system, is capable of 1400 RPM, but the flow requirements of the end user necessitated the reduced speed.

Part of what excites us the most is this system’s applicability to both the slow speed Integral and the high-speed separable and motor driven compressor markets. It is a relatively inexpensive system, is designed for aftermarket applications, employs a simple, straightforward installation, includes a very sophisticated expert diagnostic program and there are no monthly subscription fees. In fact, the diagnostic program is embedded in every Sentinel CPM System we ship. Plus, you own the data, wherever you house it.  

Unlike other systems, this system does not just measure overall compressor process conditions, such as suction and discharge pressure and temperature per stage. Sentinel-CPM measures the individual cylinder end internal pressures, phased and in real-time, providing you with an accurate depiction of the actual internal health of the unit.

While the data provided is Real-Time, actual Phased P-V and P-T Curves, this system is not designed to replace your compressor analyst. What it is designed for is to save your analysts countless hours of “Windshield Time”, travelling to outlying locations on a monthly or quarterly schedule. You analyze when you, or our algorithms, spot an anomaly.

To further help with that, we’ve employed Warren Laible’s proprietary multifactor algorithms to assess the unit health in real time. As I’m sure you’re aware, over the past fifty years, Warren has trained or was involved in the training of many of the current generation of analysts in the industry today.  

Warren’s diagnostic program looks at multiple factors such as the shape of the P-V Curves, suction and discharge pressures and temperatures, flow balance, clearances etc. before identifying and alarming on any particular malfunction. His program also incorporates the capability to tune the alarm factors for individual machine applications and the customer’s tolerances for the amount of leakage that is acceptable.  In this manner, we minimize most of the false alarms that have plagued other companies’ attempts at creating similar programs.   

We are well aware of the problems associated with finding, training, and keeping analysts. We can’t change most of those issues, but we can absolutely help you make better use of their time.

In the same light as our ProBalance System^®, in which you balance when the engine needs it, rather than on an arbitrary schedule, we designed Sentinel-CPM under the same premise: Alarm and address the issue when it needs to be addressed.  

Bryan