On 17 May 2023 technicians from the University of Liège and Canal and River Trust (CRT), met in Liège to commission the purpose built control panel (constructed by Bridges and CRT) so it operates the Hidrostal pump (purchased through Green WIN for use at Calcutt, back in the UK) at maximum operating efficiency.
They addressed any teething issues with linking the control panel to the Test Tank before the University team could carry out full testing ‘in anger’. They successfully ran the pump a few times on the Variable Speed Drive (VSD) to tune operation and check parameters and to confirm they could perform a test on all three starters. Despite concerns about possible vibrations in the pipeline during start up, they gave it a go – knowing they could easily stop the run if there was an issue.
The result of the Lab tests can be found here. Laboratory CRT – Flygt
All in all, it was a very successful visit, and despite a few gremlins and though a few issues might still remain, they overcame the biggest obstacles and Liège were able to test what was needed.
Subsequent ‘in tank’ tests were completed by Joris Hardy from Liège the next week and the pump and control panel is due to be shipped back to the UK after the May Bank Holiday.
