Archives for 2022

Emma Mallory, a former student at Mt. Zion High School, has received a $1,000 scholarship to help cover educational related expenses for the upcoming school year. She will be majoring in business management at Millikin University. 

“Winning this scholarship means a lot to me. I know that college can  be very expensive, but I have been saving up and working. This scholarship will allow me not to work as much in college to help me pay for it, but also allows me to focus on my studies,” said Emma.  “This scholarship has helped ease some of the financial stress. I just wanted to thank all of the donors of this scholarship for the great opportunity.”

The Claud Thompson Decatur Industrial Electric Scholarship
This scholarship assists students seeking a career in business through the Tabor School of Business (PACE included) at Millikin University or students pursuing engineering technology degrees at Richland Community College. Additional criteria online includes financial need and students who are self-driven and leadership-oriented with a record of community service. High school seniors and college students may apply for the scholarship on the Community Foundation of Macon County website here. 

To find out more about our founder, click here. 

The sight glass of vertical machines has two marks, either marked as “Min” and “Max” or “Standstill” and “Running.” Sometimes, as shown in Figure 1, it’s not marked at all. There is much confusion about how to interpret these levels, and the motor manufacturer manuals are consistently vague. 

Unlike the dipstick in an automobile engine, the marks are not indicative of a safe range. The cutaway view of Figure 2 helps clarify how we should view those levels. The higher mark, whether it is labeled “Max” or “Running,” is the oil level we should see when the motor is running.  

As Figure 2 indicates, oil inside the bearing chamber is metered to avoid flooding the bearings during operation, which results in a higher oil level at the sight glass. 

The lower mark, “Min” or “Standstill,” is the oil level when the motor is not running. The oil seeks its own level, partially flooding the bearings within the inner chamber, to protect the bearings against corrosion. 

If we carry this understanding a step further, a running motor with oil level at the lower mark means the standstill oil level will be even lower – by the distance separating those two marks. Worse still, a non-rotating motor with oil level at the upper mark is actually overfilled, and the running level will increase by the distance between those two marks. In that case, an oil leak is very likely to occur when the motor is running.  For more valuable resources, check out the EASA Resource Library