Emerson VSG Foundation Materials, Considerations Prior to Starting, Building the Foundation

Section 3 • Installation

Foundation		Foundation Materials
		Materials needed to build the foundation are forms,
Vilter Single Screw compressor units are low vibra-
		concrete, sand, rebar, wire, grout, anchor bolts, ex-
tion machines. Under most conditions, no elaborate
		pansion board and shims. A set of concrete forms will
foundation is necessary. However a sound foundation
		need to be acquired; generally, these can be rented or
maintains motor alignment and proper elevation, and
		constructed from dimensional lumber. There should
is therefore required. Provided are recommendations
		be enough 4,000 psi concrete with one inch aggregate
for the foundation and anchoring of the compressor
		to build the foundation. Also, there should be enough
unit. The Vilter foundation supports the entire operating
		sand to provide a base of compacted sand four inches
weight of the unit and is suitable for years of continuous
		thick for the foundation to rest on, see Figure 1 - Con-
duty. Included are specifications for concrete, rebar, ag-
		crete Pad with Compressor Unit Dimensions - Side
gregate, anchors and grout.
		View. The rebar required is ASTM 615, grade 60, sizes
Considerations Prior to Starting		#4 and #6. Wires will also be needed to tie the rebar
		together. The recommended grout is Masterflow 648CP
Consult professionals, such as building inspectors,		high performance non-shirk grout to provide at least
structural engineers, geotechnical engineers and/or		a 1” thick pad under each foot. The recommended an-
construction contractors prior to starting. Below are a		chors are 5/8” Diameter HILTI HAS SS threaded rod for
few points to consider:		outdoor installations or HAS-E rods for indoor installa-
		tions. Anchor bolts shall have a five inch projection and
Site Characteristics:		12-3/8” embedment. The required adhesive is HIT-ICE/
•	Soil information	HIT/HY 150 anchoring system. There should be enough
•	Site drainage	one inch expansion boards to go around the perimeter
		of the foundation. Finally there should be enough shim
•	Wind data
		stock and extra anchor bolt nuts to level the compres-
•	Seismic zone	sor unit.
•	Ingress and egress	Building the Foundation
• Power and power lines
		Use the Vilter General Arrangement (GA) and founda-
		tion drawings to help secure a building permit and
Site Layout:		foundation construction. The Vilter GA drawing will
• Plant elevations, grading, drainage and erosion		have the necessary dimensions required to determine
• Accessibility to compressors for service		the overall foundation size and where to locate the
		compressor unit on the foundation. It will also show the
• Location of surrounding buildings
		dimensions required to form up the housekeeping piers
• Property lines and roadways		that the compressor unit rests on. The Vilter foundation
•	Power	drawing lists the necessary information to construct a
		suitable foundation. It includes the rebar requirements
•	Fire safety
		and locations. It also shows anchor bolt locations,
		grouting and the concrete specifications. Using the
Safety:		Vilter GA drawing, Vilter foundation drawing and the
		information from site characteristics, site layout and
	NOTE
		safety studies will provide enough data to allow build-
Always check with a safety engineer before proceeding.
		ing the foundation to proceed.
• Arranging equipment with adequate access space for		The foundation is to be cast and permanently exposed
	safe operation and maintenance
		against the earth. Therefore, if constructing on an exist-
•	Wherever possible, arrange equipment to be served
		ing floor, typically indoors, the floor will need to be bro-
	by crane. If not feasible, consider other handling
		ken up to get to the earth. If starting from undisturbed
	methods
		soil, it must be also be prepared accordingly. In either
• Make all valves and devices safely accessible		case, these are some check points to consider:
• Use special bright primary color schemes to differen-		• Check the depth of your frost line to ensure
	tiate service lines
		the foundation extends below it
• Lightening protection for outdoor installations
		• Ensure the foundation rests entirely on natural rock
•	Relief valve venting
		or entirely on solid earth, but never on a combination

VSG/VSSG • Installation, Operation and Maintenance Manual •Vilter/Emerson • 35391SSG 3 – 5