Natural Gas Compressor Remote Visual Inspection

A natural gas compressor facility was having problems with their backup compressor, a Waukesha 7042. Control panel readings suggested coolant seepage into one or more of the 12 combustion chambers. The diagnosis could only be confirmed visually, which meant removal of the cylinder heads, requiring 6 hours of labor, or a 30 minute borescope inspection using the VJ-ADV from RF System Lab.

Using the VJ-ADV's 6.9 mm diameter insertion tube and joystick-controlled 4-way camera articulation, technicians were able to access the combustion chamber through the spark plug hole and see unusual build-up on the valves and valve seats of cylinders 6 and 4, along with minor seepage down the cylinder walls. By the time the technicians reached cylinder 10, the full extent of the problem came clearly into view: a pool of coolant lying on top of the piston.

Photos of the inspection, captured directly onto the VJ-ADV, were immediately emailed to the owner of the compressor, and the engine overhaul was approved the same day.