Oil Change

As one of the most important components, the gearbox must operate under extreme stresses and operating conditions. Its critical parts must be protected by a lubrication fluid free of contaminations. Only with the highest cleanliness can the gearbox sustain years and years of operation under some of the most demanding conditions anywhere. Although the equipment and lubricating oil may be improved and designed to a maximum lifetime, the need for a oil change over the years can never be entirely eliminated.

Gear oil systems on offshore wind turbines can now be changed in even relatively rough seas thanks to Ocean Team’s hydraulic, wave-compensated, gear-oil conversion and flushing system, now available to the international offshore market. Our new system solves many of the challenges of maintaining offshore wind turbines. The system, developed by Ocean Team, allows any vessel to pump oil from the gear systems in the nacelle into tanks on board the ship without the equipment being damaged due to rough weather. The integrated hydraulic systems compensate automatically for the movement in the sea. The hoses are equipped with a “weak link” safety device and patented valve system. If tension on the hoses becomes uncontrollably high, the weak-link will break immediately, causing the hose to separate from the nacelle in a safe, controlled manner, thus reducing the risk of damage to equipment or crew.

The system consists of just three main processes:
1) Used oil drainage
2) Gear flushing
3) New oil filtration and filling

All processes are controlled by the oil conversion system, ensuring optimal oil and gear cleaning in a quick, efficient and safe way with minimum risk of oil spillage in the environment. The system offers a perfect solution to a major practical problem in the growing market of offshore wind turbines while meeting all requirements and specifications on environmental protection. It’s another example of the ingenuity of Ocean Team when searching for better solutions to benefit of our customers.

Easy Oil Changes with SOCOTFlex+®.

The SOCOTFlex+® system gives you the freedom to transport, plan, and change various
kinds of oils. Using the SOCOTFlex+® system with Trailer Oil- & Transport Handling®, provides the project management with the option of allocating oil to each WTG of a site in time before the actual oil change, letting the service team work efficiently. The Trailer Oil- & Transport Handling® itself has a capacity to include 5 eá 1000 ltr. IBC tanks for flushing oil, clean & used oil, which in most cases makes for two oil change per day. The trailer also includes a drip tray, a generator and two pumps to feed the SOCOTFlex+® Power Pack. The SOCOTflex+® unit itself is a lightweight solution that can be moved in a minivan for easy reach of even remote locations. The Unit includes a hose-reel with a three-hose umbilical, which can perform maintenance on used oil, clean gear oil and clean hydraulic oil separately to avoid cross contamination during the oil change. There are also two separated pump systems including flow gauges that are integrated within the unit.

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