INDUSTRIAL PUMP SOLUTIONS
May 24, 2016
Workplace Alliance specialises in working with its clients in the problems that our clients encounter in the workplace:
- Locating
- Identifying
- Isolating
- Removing
- Engineering out
The following is a report sent to one of our long standing, valued clients following the investigation and subsequent repairs carried out by Work Place Alliance on an industrial pump in situation at our clients plant.
Workplace Alliance was delighted to send out two of our industrial pump specialists, Shannon King and Peter Barclay, to investigate the issues of your industrial pump.
Our initial thoughts were there could have been foreign materials enter the system causing damage.
Extreme care was taken during the pump strip down, no evidence of contaminants or abrasives in the system were found, the pump impeller and housing still maintains its manufacturers surface finish, with the exception of a few rust spots.
It was clear the pump had minimal usage, there were however irregular wear marks on the seal which required further investigation.
The shaft was checked with a dial indicator and was well within manufacturers specifications as was the seal compression ring setting.
The seal was replaced, rust spots cleaned away and the pump reassembled. The pump immediately proceeded to leak again.
The pump was again stripped back down and the same irregular wear marks as on the original seal were noted on the new seal. Further inspection revealed the backing plate for the pump had been over tensioned during manufacture distorting it.
The pump was reassembled and the backing plate bolts tensioned appropriately. The pump was tested and no leaks were found.
It was clear the root cause of the original fault was the assembly during manufacture and the over tensioning of the backing plate bolts.
Effectively two changes were required to solve the problem, a new seal and modification of the torque settings during re assembly of the pump.
The only other issue was the minor “rust pitting” which was polished out during the inspection and sanitized before reassembly. The most likely cause of the “rust pitting” was contamination with mild steel during the finishing stage of manufacturing.
Workplace Alliance will communicate with the manufacturer with regard to our findings re the distortion of the backing plate due to over tension and the “rust pitting” issue.
Workplace Alliance work with our clients and suppliers to achieve safe, sustainable solutions.
