To continue with the articles I have written about Permit-Required Confined Spaces found in mechanical refrigeration processes, today I want to discuss the Compressor Oil Separator. SAFTENG Members can read my earlier post on Evaporative Condenser(s) and Sprial Freezers. Over the last several years I have shared several pics of workers halfway inside these separators and this week another one was shared in the SAFTENG FaceBook Group and it again stirred a great debate: Are these separators a PRCS?
As we can see in the pics below, these vessels have a man-way on the end of the vessel and this opening is there so that the coalescer filter elements can be changed and worked on, which is usually done every 3,000 hours of operation (depending on the manufacturer).
But are these pictures a depiction of an “entry into a Permit-Required Confined Space”? Well, the OSHA COMPLIANCE answer may very well surprise you!
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