Cat® Generator Helps Hinckley Stay One Step Ahead
Located about 30 miles south of Cleveland, the Hinckley Wastewater Treatment Plant processes around 1.7 million gallons of sewage on average each day. The low-profile facility is fed by 50 miles of sewer lines that come from the suburban communities of Brunswick, North Royalton, Strongsville, and Broadview Heights.
When its utility provider, Ohio Edison, removed one of the two utility feeds to the plant, Hinckley needed a way to provide vital backup power to the facility. Prior to acquiring a backup generator set from Caterpillar, the Hinckley plant had a trailer-mounted generator that could only support one of the facility’s raw sewage pumps.
Nestled in a wooded valley 30 miles south of Cleveland, the Hinckley Wastewater Treatment Plant provides a tranquil setting for ongoing sewage treatment.
“Our relationship with Ohio Cat has been great. If I have any questions on our C18 generator, I just call up our sales rep, and he always answers the question, or he will transfer me to someone who knows the answer.”
In the spring of 2016, the plant’s stellar performance history was put to the test during a 114-hour unscheduled power outage.
Running at full load, the generator set is specified to run for 24 hours before refueling is necessary. The generator ran at 45 percent of its total capacity during the power outage.
After contacting local Cat® dealer Ohio Cat, Hinckley began working with Sourcewell, a municipal contracting agency that establishes and provides contracts with industry-leading vendors. Hinckley also acquired a new 600 kW Cat C18 diesel generator set to supply reliable backup power to the entire facility during a power outage.
The new system was put to the test during a 114-hour unscheduled power outage in the spring of 2016. The generator fired up automatically and ran for nearly five days until an electrician could work on Hinckley’s high-voltage electrical equipment. With a 1,000-gallon diesel fuel tank mounted directly beneath the elevated generator enclosure, the generator set is able to run at full load for 24 hours before refueling.
Hinckley performs weekly and monthly testing on the generator set to ensure optimal performance. When questions arise or new parts are needed, Hinckley trusts Ohio Cat for its quick response and outstanding support.
“In hindsight, it’s clear that we made the right choice in purchasing the Cat genset, both from a standpoint of both reliability and dealer support,” says Robert Elmerik, the plant superintendent.
