Understanding the Correct Pumping Technology for your Application
Specifying a pump and what is right for a process can mean two different things. It requires a fine balance between what the process demands, keeping wear, and maintenance to a minimum whilst maximizing process efficiency.
The pump is often one piece of a larger puzzle – the system, where just because a particular pump type can perform the duty, previous experience can suggest otherwise or that another design can undertake the process with vastly differing levels of wear, maintenance and total lifetime cost.
Providing what the process demands without issue, albeit with a differing initial cost of purchase, but one where payback will be as little as a few years and provide fewer issues in the long term, is one of the founding principles of North Ridge Pumps.
Below are 4 examples of pump selections where close attention should be paid to pump specification ensuring problems do not arise:
Metering & Dosing of liquids requires careful consideration of not only chemical compatibility but how it can behave within a process. Liquids such as Sodium Hypochlorite produce a gas which can cause internal pump valves to open or cause vapour locking within units leading to pump stoppage or seeping of fluid past closed valves.
Others such as Ammonium Sulfate or Calcium Carbonate and lime milk can coat internal parts reducing pump efficiency, leading to manual cleaning of pump parts and accessories such as foot & injection Valves further reducing accuracy.
Consideration should be given to Mechanical Seal selection or eliminating use of such parts to eradicate possible points of leakage, wear or failure. Designs of pumps are available which can handle abrasive products without seals eliminating clogging and manual cleaning, whilst providing variable pressure without loss of accuracy or flow.
One problematic fluid we recently helped a client with is Glue which can be either solvent or water based. Both types behave in a similar way in that when exposed to air the water or solvent evaporates over time leading to the glue setting. One problem users of diaphragm pumps have is that often the pumps clog meaning the pumps need to be dismantled, cleaned thoroughly and replaced into service.
When this occurs production stops meaning with one factory we recently replaced a pump at each incident of cleaning meant £3,000 in lost production. Moving to a technology which did not require cleaning, was non clog due to its absence of valves and consisting of a single wearing part meant that maintenance was accelerated.
Another issue we recently helped with was when a user was experiencing insufficient dosing or molasses when utilising a gear pump at high temperatures where the pump was experiencing slip. Slip – which is a loss of efficiency leading to recirculation within the pump head causes inaccurate dosing or lower transfer of fluids which arises in some designs of pumps. A minimum viscosity is required to prevent this and by providing a design of pump where slip does not occur eliminates this issue entirely.
Chemical Tanker unloading and loading can cause the perfect environment for a multitude of problems such as low NPSHA being available, high inlet pressures and volatile corrosive chemicals because of pumping liquid gasses, and a chance for cross contamination to occur when several types of fluid are transferred via a single pump.
“Chemical Process Pump with Casing Drainage.jpeg”
Selecting Low NPSH design of pump which is magnetically coupled and seal less can help avoid or reduce the risk of cavitation and dry running. Self draining casing designs helps eliminate cross contamination between batches as the casing can be automatically drained effectively between batches.
Abrasive Solid laden Slurries – containing stringy solids such as straw leading to clogging in cheaper submersible pumps or centrifugal pumps incorrectly specified for such applications.
Dry running can frequently occur with some designs leading to repeated maintenance, downtime and associated high repair bills. Careful planning utilizing accessories, or non clog dry running pump designs can ensure your process is bulletproof.
Dry & Dehydrated Sludge can encompass a variety of viscous liquids from dry & dehydrated, to mud like cake. Smaller pumps are often selected to perform such duties which can often operate too fast as they can achieve the flow rate but often ends in failure due to accelerated wear, clogging or dry running. Oversizing pump design, reducing speed or opting for a dry run design helps avoid such pitfalls.
5 Common Mistakes of Pump Selection
- Just because a pump can undertake a process doesn’t make it right for the application.
- Focus on initial cost rather than the total ownership cost which considers spares, maintenance time, training, downtime and risk to your process.
- Need for speed – operating pumps too fast for the application, rather than oversizing units and operating slower.
- How difficult some technologies of pump are to maintain. The training and expertise required to repair units where expertise may no longer be available and have to be outsourced.
- Availability of wearing parts which could often be as long as 14 weeks.
As North Ridge Pumps are not tied to a single pump technology, it means we can specify what is right for your application and often provide more than one solution for your application.
If you are experiencing frequent issues, downtime or repeated failure contact us to see how we can help – visit www.northridgepumps.com or contact +44 (0) 1773 302 660.
North Ridge Pumps
- 01773302660
- sales@northridgepumps.com
- http://www.northridgepumps.com
- North Ridge House 3 Chrysalis Way Eastwood Nottinghamshire NG16 3RY GB
About us
North Ridge Pumps are an independent manufacturer and distributor of pumps. Having been established since 1998, we have a vast array of experience having become accustomed to supplying pumps for most processes.
We work within a range of industries both UK and Internationally, specifying pumps for a wide variety of applications from the transfer of corrosive and aggressive chemicals, to dewatered sludge, viscous grease, resin, glues, food and Seawater.
Our pumps range from standard centrifugal and multistage pumps, to immersed and process overhung solid handling pumps. We also supply a wide range of positive displacement pumps including Vane, Piston, Progressing Cavity and Peristaltic enabling us to specify more than one solution for your application, but also ensuring the majority of applications remain within our reach.
We offer the following services:
Technical support – We know at times pump selection is difficult. Pump selections are made with confidence by technical sales engineers who understand your process, ensuring equipment is engineered beyond your needs.
To select the correct technical solution for your requirement, longevity of design is prioritised. If there are existing issues you need assistance with, we work with you to solve these which could be high maintenance costs, frequent service periods, repeated equipment breakdown leading to lost revenue, inconsistent flow rates, clogging or where pumped product is inconsistent.
Application experience – Due to our 20 years of application experience we work with you to ensure our pumps operate according to your desired application. Our experience means we have most likely provided a solution for a similar process previously. With proven results, we know how to achieve your outcome sooner.
As our pumps are completely configurable, we design pumps with materials according to your requirement, and to your required duty point. Pumps are engineered specifically for your process whether they be baseplate mounted, within a mobile frame or in kit form with couplings, hoses, and dispensing nozzle.
Industry knowledge – We have a thorough understanding of a range of industries through experience from supplying the offshore oil and gas market, to paper mills, chemical plants and food manufacturers to name a few.
We not only understand the importance of downtime but also what each process requires and how small design improvements specific to the nature of your industry and application can reduce downtime, facilitate maintenance and improve longevity.
If you have a process or application you require a pump for, or a process which requires improving, get in touch to see how we can help.
What we do in a nutshell
Pump Specification & Supply
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