When engineers go “shopping” for a wastewater pump, they are often confronted with the dilemma of choosing the best product or choosing one they would rather pay for. If they are looking for the best quality wastewater pump, they will generally look no further than a Gorman-Rupp self-priming heavy duty trash pump from Hydro Innovations. They are rugged, reliable, can be mounted at surface level, and often perform unnoticed in plants for decades.
Their alternative is to go for smaller, faster running pumps that are often claimed to be “super heavy duty” or other descriptions to promote their supposed effectiveness on meat process plant wastewater. But when a pump is less than half the weight of the market leader and needs to run twice as fast to deliver the same performance, “alarm bells” should start ringing. Ear tags, pieces of hoof, and bits of baling twine are not going to be kind on fast running so called “semi-trash” pumps.
It is not only the heavy construction that engineers look for. They are also after features that enable operators to safely maintain their pumps over decades of use. The following are examples:-
• Having a wear plate that can be replaced without disconnecting the pump from piping or driver.
• An impeller that can pass a full 76mm solid.
• Having a self-cleaning wear plate that enables units to handle stringy materials such as rags, wipes and baling twine.
• Having parts available in hardened iron materials [twice as hard as cast iron or 316 stainless steel] to resist the effects of sand and grit in the pumped effluent.
• Having a suction flap valve that can be inspected or replaced without disconnecting suction piping.
• Having a burst disc in the flap valve to vent excess pressure back to the wet well if the pump inadvertantly runs against a closed head [protecting operator and machine].
• Having double lip seals to protect pump bearings in case of a seal failure.
When engineers look for the complete package within their pump purchase and look for a pump tailored to meet their needs, a USA designed, built and pre-tested pump from Gorman-Rupp will prove to be a reliable investment instead of a risk. John Ruskin [an 18th century philosopher] said it best: “There is hardly anything in the world that some men cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey”.
