The majority of Endurance E-3120 wind turbines are not fitted with any oil filtration on the main gearbox.
As the E-3120s age, it is becoming increasingly apparent that oil filtration is a must have for all E-3120s.
There have only been a handful of gearbox failures, however, the repair costs are very high, and a modest investment in oil filtration will help to extend the gearbox life and reduce the need to change the oil as frequently.
DC21 will be installing oil filtration on all of its own turbines and encourages all E-3120 owners to do the same.
Endurance Wind Power (EWP) prescribed regular (15,000 hour) oil changes as a means of keeping the gearbox oil clean. However, EWP’s dirt thresholds are somewhat relaxed and are unlikely to protect the gearbox for a service life approaching anything like the 20 years EWP promoted.
The issues are compounded by opening of the gearbox for sampling and the relatively poor cleanliness of new oil or introduction of contaminants during oil changes.
During 2015 EWP introduced oil filtration on the E-3120, and latterly the new E-4660. A retrofit kit was offered for older turbines at a price of over £3,000 (main dealer price) plus installation.
At that time the only benefit published by EWP for the oil filtration was the longevity of the oil. Whilst the oil is fully synthetic and quite expensive, the payback on the oil filtration system was not particularly attractive and few E-3120 owners elected to upgrade their turbines.
The EWP system was based on the CJC oil filter, the prevalent oil filtration technology for small/medium wind turbine gearboxes. The GT-F oil filtration system we install uses the same core filtration technology but with several design improvements and delivers this at a lower cost than EWP were charging dealers.
DC21 has been comparing oil test results from turbines retrofitted with the GT-F with oil filtration. The graph below shows the effect of adding on filtration (in March 2017) on a 5 year old E-3120 wind turbine.
Note: the dramatic reduction in contamination above 4 microns, and reduction in wear indicators.
The GT-F will seal your gearbox for life and prevent the ingress of moisture and dirt that can seriously compromise the life of your gearbox.
Serenity Wind is part of DC21’s nationwide service network. Observations on oil cleanliness and gearbox life prompted Serenity Wind to develop the GT-F.
The GT-F is now exclusively available through DC21 to all E-3120 owners.
Installation can be carried out during other work, or alternatively, we can schedule installation for the next available engineer.
We recommend the oil filter is changed at every service and the breather/desiccant dryer is changed on exhaustion (colour indicated).
If your O&M contract is with another service provider we can still install the oil filtration system and provide consumables for servicing by third parties.
DC21 can offer a new LSS that has been designed and manufactured in the UK. The design has several key features.
DC21 can provide an alternative to replacing the bedplate by delivering a reinforced bedplate at a fraction of the cost of a new bedplate.
DC21 can provide complete refurbishment of the E-3120 hub, our hub removal tooling means there is very little risk of having to purchase a new hub.
DC21 are pleased to offer the Serenity Wind spring tube upgrade with all E-3120 and E-4660 models. These spring tubes come with a 5 year insurance backed limited warranty.
DC21 can offer a complete oil filtration retrofit for those E-3120s that did not benefit from oil filtration from new. Our kits come with the all important oil level switch system to protect the gearbox in the event of loss of oil.
DC21 have worked with Nordlock to develop the Reaction Arm Expander pin for the E-3120.
Fast, efficient and cost effective E-3120 gearbox overhaul and repair from DC21. We hold complete gear sets in stock to enable a rapid repair
New wind turbine braking system for the Endurance E-series that will reduce the strains placed on the turbine compared to the original braking system.
Please feel free to contact us if you would like to know more about our highly competitive endurance wind turbine upgrade and repair services.