Precision pumps

Pump manufacturers are expanding their product lines to meet the increasing demands of individual markets and contractors. the booming construction industry has prompted manufacturers to develop their existing customer base as well as widening their activities in developing markets.

John Michael Paz, president of Godwin Pumps, said that as well as experiencing growth in North America, the company was currently seeing growth in Australia and looking to increase the market in Singapore and the Middle East.

Mr Paz said, “A lot of activity in the Middle East is being driven by economic expansion in Dubai and the UAE, and there is a lot of construction work going on there at the moment. there is also worldwide growth and demand for oil.”

Henrik Mogensen, export manager and chief executive of PX Pumps, echoed these sentiments, saying that Australia and the UAE were areas of potential growth for the company, which currently supplies pumps to 50 countries worldwide. the main area of growth is in Asia, particularly in Th ailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and China, he said. He attributed the company's success in Thailand to its ‘dynamic’ distributor, which is working with local consultants in the local market.

However, Mr Mogensen said it is sometimes difficult to introduce markets to new technical pump innovations.

He said, “Some countries are very curious and want to try new things and be in front. Other cultures like the kinds of things which they have used for the last 20 years.”

However, he added developing countries are listening and are open to investing in new stock.

Environment

The concern about pumps polluting the environment has led to new designs, including silenced and energy efficient models.

A spokesman for global pump manufacturer, Tsurumi, said the company has developed an innovative electrode level sensor that combines energy savings, cost savings and a reduction in the amount of CO₂ emitted into the atmosphere.

The spokesman said the sensor responds to the presence of water. As the water level rises it makes contact with the electrode, which switches on the pump. When the water level drops away the automatic timer switch will stop the pump after just one minute. In this way, the company claims that the electrode level sensor reduces both costs and carbon emissions by more than-70%.

Initially the sensors have been incorporated into the KTVE range of contractor pumps, used for general dewatering applications. the pumps, which range from 0.75 kW to 5.5 kW with maximum head of between 2 m and 37 m, are modified versions of the existing KTV range and share the same compact design and lightweight profile. the KTV range, like all Tsurumi pumps, has dry-running capabilities as standard.

The spokesman said, “On construction sites it is neither practical, nor economically viable to have pumps monitored round the clock. the dry-running feature of Tsurumi pumps is popular with contractors as it avoids damaging the pump or the need for higher staffing costs.”

Meanwhile, PX Pumps releases a new pump in October this year, which increases electrical efficiency as the pump wears out. Mr Mogensen said that the B-TWEEN solid handling wastewater pumps will be launched at the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) show, held in San Diego, US.

He said the new models are a revolution in pump design because normally, as the pump wears out, efficiency decreases. He said the new product fits in well with an environmentally conscious global market and it should change the thinking behind new pump applications.

New pumps

The demand for more durable, reliable and more environmentally friendly pumps, which can cope in increasingly harsh situations, has led to the introduction of a variety of new pump lines.

Godwin Pumps has introduced three new pumps in its High Lift (HL) series, which are ideal for applications that have an extremely high vertical discharge, Mr Paz said. the 102 mm suction by 76 mm discharge, the 152 mm suction by 102 mm discharge and the 203 mm suction by 152 mm discharge extreme High Head pumps are also useful if pumping into a closed system requiring pressures greater then 100 psi (6.9 bar) he added. the HL110M, HL130M and HL160M all have discharge head capabilities beyond 183 m.

Mr Paz said, “Pumps with this kind of discharge pressure are finding new applications in the mining and aggregates market, petrochemical facilities, and with pipeline and offshore customers. The contractor and rental markets are also seeing new and exciting uses for the HL and extreme High Head pumps.”

The company is also debuting the Godwin CD140M and CD180M Dri-Prime pumps at the WEFTEC show this year. A spokesman for the company said the new, 76 mm solids-handling (102 mm x 102 mm) CD140M and (203 mm x 152 mm) CD180M portable diesel pumps offer elevated heads and solids handling capabilities without sacrificing flow rate. The pumps achieve total dynamic heads to around 85 m, solids handling up to 76 mm in diameter and flows up to 4160 litres/minute.

“When we introduce a pump to the market, it is a result of the type of insight that only comes from designing, manufacturing, testing and using your own equipment. these pumps are a perfect example of that,” said Mr Paz. “We have found that with the construction of new home communities throughout the US, more and more lift stations require more pressure to feed out to the force main, which is probably an already crowded line. these pumps achieve elevated heads without sacriffing solids handling capabilities, which is what the municipal market demands.”

The CD140M and CD180M are automatic self-priming Dri-Prime pumps with the ability to prime and re-prime from dry. Featuring an oil bath mechanical seal, the pumps run dry without damage and are ideal for intermittent flow conditions associated with bypass pumping and back-up municipal lift station applications, Mr Paz said.

ITT Flygt unveiled its new 2600 submersible dewatering pumps at Hillhead earlier this year. the range of six pumps in the 2600 series is suitable for most applications for sites of every size in quarrying, construction and mining. the pumps have been redesigned, feature Dura-Spin hydraulic system and have outputs ranging from 0.75 to 18 kW.

The company has also launched its new 2700 series of corrosion-resistant pumps and the first to be introduced is the largest drainage pump, the 2750. the other models in the series will be available successively, a company spokesman said.

The pump range consists of three drainage pumps and three solids handling pumps.

ITT's Flygt Michael Hjelm said, “Our new stainless steel pumps have been developed and successfully tested for pumping liquids, sludge and suspensions in extremely tough and demanding environments. the new 2700 pump range offers flexible and cost-effective dewatering solutions where, for example, cast iron or aluminium pumps could lead to limited life time because of corrosion, chemical attacks or low abrasion resistance.”

Flowserve is expanding its family of MEN water pumps to the North American market. A company spokesman said that the expansion allows Flowserve to offer comprehensive worldwide availability of all MEN sizes in both frame mounted and close coupled configurations.

“The MEN single-stage, end-suction pumps deliver maximum mechanical and hydraulic flexibility, and are ruggedly designed to provide reliable performance in a variety of water services. these areas include water supply, water treatment, irrigation, drainage, filter cleaning and water circulation,” the spokesman added.

The range is constructed with a one-piece bearing frame available in three sizes to ensure parts interchange among pump sizes and configurations, he said.

“The resulting reduction in inventory costs, along with the MEN's hydraulic flexibility and minimal maintenance needs, provides users with significant cost savings.”

Outlook

Pumps are designed to produce more efficient results in increasingly tough construction environments. This fact together with the increasing concern about the impact pumps have on the wider environment brings innovation in pump design under the spotlight.

Mr Paz said, “the single most important goal of our pump specialists is to educate existing and new customers to portable pumping options that they didn't know existed. Th irty years ago, a portable automatic priming pump with discharge capabilities to 183 m was unheard of. For that matter, even three years ago, it wasn't possible. Now, the landscape has changed and customers are learning new ways of pumping product under extreme conditions.”

Mr Mogensen said the most critical issue facing the pumps industry is the monopolisation of the large pump companies in the market. As a result fewer small pump manufacturers exist around the globe and competition has thinned out, he said.