Hitec Pumps

such as forward/reverse time-sequencing to reduce manhours and avoid equipment failure. “This solution not only reduces the number of hours spent dealing with the issue freeing up necessary manpower but also addresses the increased costs involved.”

Materials that cause clogging in the wastewater system are not only wipes but also paper towels, napkins, baby diapers and toilet seat covers are a problem. Ortiz said screening processes are also not a safeguard for pump clogging. “These processes only collect and remove large floating objects from incoming wastewater. The best solution is to prevent clogging from the get-go ensuring that it does not happen at all. This approach is far more efficient and cost-effective in the long run.” Using a case study of a client Ortiz explained how the pump user was seeing clogging happening anything from four to nine times a week and how valuable time was spent checking on the pumps every day. “Applying a VFD saw them going from supervising their system daily to no supervision and no clogging occurrences,” he said. “The drive was now monitoring itself and clogs were simply no longer an issue. The company saved on maintenance and staff could focus on other tasks instead of supervising a pump.” The VFD cleaning features use a programmable timing sequence of forward and reverse rotations of the pump to get rid of and remove non-dispersible materials from the impeller. Different methods are available to trigger the function and start the sequence, said Ortiz. “The period between these reverse rotations as well as the length of time the pump is in reverse is dependent on the circumstances the pump is operating in. The only requirement is that the pump must be able to go into reverse and pump users should check this with their pump manufacturers before implementing such an anti-clogging solution.” Other factors that play a role include how fast one wants the motor to go into reverse and then for how long. “You have to know the systems and what kind of materials go through because one has to programme according to that,” said Ortiz who says that annual maintenance cost savings of up to 60% can be made with an anti-clogging solution. “A drop in power consumption is another benefit as the pump will use less than 20% in energy and pumps will also operate at a higher efficiency. It reduces manual labour and endless time monitoring pumps.” “More so, it drastically cuts down on clogging and increases pump life. The pump cleaning function can also be scheduled to operate during off-peak hours, so it doesn’t interrupt the normal pumping operation.”