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Steloy Foundries
a flow path above the pump casing to allow a release of water from the pump and away from the shaft. The mechanical seals remain isolated in the oil chamber above this flow path, protected from any excessive pumping pressure or water hammer that may cause premature wear or failure of the mechanical seals in high-pressure applications. “Any pump with vacuum prime can suffer volume loss on the suction,” Ranieri said. “The diesel pumps that were previously at the site would burn through oil quite quickly, so the guys had to keep filling that up. Then, over the course of six to 12 months, you have to replace the oil seal — pull the whole pump apart, pull the impeller off, etc., so there’s downtime there. And there’s always the possibility of contaminating groundwater in the event of a diesel or oil leak, so the customer is obviously very happy to avoid that.” In addition to no longer needing to carry out oil changes, further savings have been made by eliminating the need for staff to jump in a pickup truck and transport fuel to refill the pump every two or three days.
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Aside from their temporary use following blasting, small, lightweight KTV series pumps also play a vital, innovative role in ensuring the GSZ operates flawlessly throughout the bitter Midwest winter, when freezing water could lead to damage of the pump, its hose, or lead to other issues. The KTV creates constant turbulence that prevents the water around the GSZ from freezing. “Brian came up with the idea of running a 1 hp KTV28 pump in the pit without a hose on the discharge, so it basically works as a fountain that keeps the water in motion,” Ranieri said. “So even during Wisconsin’s coldest winter nights, it still leaves a decent-sized area of water in liquid state to prevent any problems arising.” Fortunately, despite being designed for light- to mediumduty applications, the wear-resistant KTV pump has easily handled the demands placed on it, ensuring the GSZ pump continues to function as expected. “The installation has been in place for over a year now, and it’s working out great, even over what was an extremely cold winter in 2021,” Radovich concluded. “It might be the quarry’s first GSZ pump, but I doubt it will be the last one we install in applications like this.”
Tsurumi Pumps Africa, +27 (0) 82 404 4743, enquiries@tsurumipumpsafrica.com, www.tsurumipumpsafrica.com
Most advanced foundry group in South Africa
Steloy Foundries is specialist in the supply of as-cast and machined components for pumps and valve castings manufactured in stainless steels, nickel-based corrosion resistant alloys, carbon steels and low alloyalloy steelssteels forfor applicationsapplications wherewhere severe corrosion, high pressure and high or cryogenic temperatures are prevalent. Castings are produced at Steloy Foundries, all of which have access to centralised solidification analyses and modelling (Solidworks) andand CNCCNC patternmakingpatternmaking capabilities.capabilities. All components are produced in accordance with the relevant ASTM, DIN EN and SEW specifications and conform to applicable NACE specifications.
