It is possible to more than double a vertical pump’s life by upgrading the pump repair to a “precision remanufacture”. As a result of this, the pump vibration will be reduced and can be verified upon start-up. The precision repair and upgrade cost is usually a small item in the pump’s life cycle cost.
This concept of asset life extension was put into practice recently when the PSS Service Facility in Rayong received a heavily corroded 6 meter long sump pump from a petrochemical plant in Rayong, Thailand. Upon detailed inspection, the cast iron pump was found to be both corroded and cavitated. The remaining pump construction of the columns and pipings were of cast steel construction. Due to age and the effects of corrosion, the faces and register fits of the mating surfaces were out of tolerance. This was a contributor to the vibration problems faced by the customer.
It became apparent that nearly all the components on this pump had to be replaced. The Engineering team in PSS proposed to upgrade the metallurgy of both pump and column piping to SS 316. Our customer was in agreement with the suggestion but gave us a time of only 2 weeks to complete the upgrade.
Due to time constraints, our mechanics could only upgrade the columns, piping, flanges, shaft, and line shaft bearings. All components were machined in the PSS Machining Center in order to verify faces and fits of all components. The SS316 shaft was turned, ground, and polished using our lathe and OD Grinding machines.
For the cast iron pump and impeller, PSS scanned the pump components and have proposed upgraded SS 316 casing and impeller with delivery times of 2-3 months. As a temporary solution, PSS applied Enecon protective ceramic coatings, machining out the casing and impeller wear ring areas to ensure proper clearances.
The sump pump was successfully commissioned back at the petrochemical plant. All vibration issues have disappeared and we expect the pump to operate trouble free for many years to come.