By George Black, Contributing Editor

Pump Maintenance

Too High? Think Twice

Before You Buy!
An industry veteran tells how specification decisions can impact the cost of maintenance later on.

rocess equipment engineers and technical sales representatives certainly know their pump products. Their knowledge can be very helpful to those of you who have to make the selection. For the most part, however, you are spending your companys money, not your own. Its your responsibility--and your neck on the line. You, ultimately, must answer for the pumps you specify, requisition or purchase. Speaking to a graduating class at Tulane University Business School, Fred Friendly, former president of CBS said: Our job is not to make up anybodys mind, but to open minds and make the agony of decision making so intense, you can escape only by thinking. In a follow-up discussion, Friendly emphasized the difficulty of getting college graduatesbright, educated future industry leaders--

While a pump that is giving you trouble may have been the right one when it was first installed, before replacing it, youll want to take the time to check it against whats out there today.
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to avoid knee-jerk reactions. . . . to think out of the box. . . to dare to be different and open to new ideas. What does this have to do with your role in reducing pump maintenance and related downtime costs? Everythingespecially since we all know how easy it is to simply requisition a replacement pump just like (or much like) one that has failed, rather than get authorization for a new and different one that may cost more. Before automatically ordering a replacement for a failed pump, or specifying pumps for a new installation, you need to think. While a pump that is giving you trouble may have been the right one when it was first

installed, youll want to take the time to check it against whats out there today. You may be surprised at what you find. Review the service conditions as they were when that pump was originally installed. Have they changed? Examine the causes for failure and the maintenance history on this installation. Keep your options open in light of new pump designs and the availability of new materials of construction. Make your decision on todays choicesnot those of yesterday. Doing so can help save on maintenance costs in the future.

For Example. . .
One area where being open to new ideas is especially impor-

tant is in material selection. Take, for example, that running battle over the choice of stainless steel and available plastics for the handling of fluids used in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to 2001, the standard material of construction for fluid handling piping and related equipment was stainless steel because of its well-known and documented corrosion-resistant qualities. But in January of that year, the following statement appeared in the IPSE Baseline Engineering Guides for New and Renovated Facilities: Pharmaceutical equipment and piping systems rely heavily on stainless steels to provide the nonreactive, corrosion-resistant construction needed in manufacturing and

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heat sterilization. However, thermoplastics are available that may offer improved qualities or lower cost. This simple statement opened the gates for the publication of data on extensive research that had been and is still being conducted by DuPont, Atofina and other manufacturers of the various thermoplastics widely used by the process industries for handling corrosive, hazardous and other aggressive chemicals, as well as for circuit board manufacturing applications where metallic contamination can not be tolerated. The high point in response to this flood of published data was an article published in

Pharmaceutical Engineering. Picking up on the public demand for lower cost pharmaceuticals, and the revised ISPE Baseline that suggests the possibility of using thermoplastic fluid handling equipment instead of stainless steel to cut costs without affecting product quality, the writers noted: Contradictory to the careful planning and execution of resource expenditures, the pharmaceutical and biotechnical industries continue to spend untold millions of dollars to compensate for the shortcomings of materials of construction (stainless steel and glass) currently used in

the production of their products. (We) suggest a redirection, with the aid of fluoropolymer materials of construction, of these millions of dollars, to more productive pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry uses. When materials engineering specialists sign their names to a statement that an industry is misspending untold millions of dollars because of its selection of the wrong materials of construction, its time to sit up and take notice. In another article on the subject published in Ultrapure Water, stainless steel pumps were indicated as one of the major sources of

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creating and spreading rouge (a catchall word for the destructive iron oxide corrosion product) found on the inside of the stainless steel piping in pharmaceutical water systems. This rouge has to be removed periodically by shutting down the system and passivating the stainless steel piping through the use of chemical solutions. According to the articles authors, Robert W. Evans of R.W. Evans and Associates, and Drew Coleman of ICOS Corp: Rouging can first be noted on the impeller, then on the backing plate and/or housing. High differential velocities within the pumps lead to erosive forces and propelling finely

dispersed particulates throughout the entire system. These statements not only reinforce the strong attack on the conventional use of stainless steel, they put a big part of the blame on the shoulders of pump manufacturers and pump specifiers. One answer is to specify piping systems constructed of standard or double containment PVDF or other thermoplastic pipe, as well as pumps offering all fluid contact components of the same material.

Back to Basics
Material selection is just one of the critical factors in extending pump life, minimizing downtime and keeping mainte-

nance costs low. Unfortunately, because many engineering students miss out on actual field applications while in school, they may overlook such factors when theyre out in the real world. No wonder. Much of todays engineering school curriculum is based on laboratory immersion testing results and the sophisticated processes involved in their manufacture. Thanks to a number of things, including the creative engineering of raw material producers, the willingness of plant engineering and management personnel to share their successes and failures and the editorial determination and integrity of the trade press, to name a few, there has been a con-

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tinuous, free and invaluable postgraduate course available to all willing to read and learn. Still, facts and figures are only part of the answer to the problems pump users face. We all know there is no substitute for doing what doesnt come naturally. Thinking and rethinking is not easy. Neither is avoiding the temptation to automatically re-order a replacement, or buy the cheapest product, or the one with the biggest name, or something from the friend of the boss. In the long run, good management requires doing what doesnt come easily. But it pays off. To see how, lets look at several major pump problems and solutions.

Answering Industrys Needs

Several years ago, Gerald Lewis, President and CEO of Vanton Pump & Equipment, authored an article entitled Way Back When - An Overview of Pump Developments from BCE to Y2K, for Pump-Zone.com. In it, he highlighted several pump developments of the 20th century that he felt would mature during the 21st. Each of these were solutions to problems that caused maintenance costs to rise and production rates to fall. Among them: 1. Problem: Vertical pump

failure, motor burnout and lost production due to interruptions in fluid flow. Instrumentation was developed to automatically shut the pumps down. This saved the pumps and motors, but played havoc with production schedules. Consequently, the industry designed cantilevered shaft pumps that can tolerate long-time dry running and be running full blast when the fluid starts to flow. 2. Problem: Leakage of corrosive or hazardous fluids This is a problem that plagues all industriesand one that has become more serious as

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Necessity. . . and Invention

Gerald Lewis, President and CEO of Vanton Pump & Equipment, knows a lot about the topic of pump developments, past and future. As a young engineer, Lewis had been behind the development of the first all-plastic pump (a selfpriming, sealless peristaltic type rotary pump to gently handle blood during heart/lung operations without contaminating it). As so often is the case, necessity was the mother of this invention. Not only did this flexible liner non-metallic pump design solve the problem and save lives, it launched the worldwide use of nonmetallic pumps for the handling of corrosive, hazardous, toxic, abrasive and other aggressive fluids, as well as those demanding ultrapurity.

environmental and health regulations have become more complex and demanding. Despite the many advancements in seal technology, the inherent characteristics of horizontal centrifugal pumps keeps this problem alive. One answer is to stay close to your seal supplier to make sure the pumps you are using, specifying or ordering incorporate the right seals for the chemistry, temperature and physical nature of the fluids you will be handling. Yet, even if they fit the requirements, sooner or later all mechanical seals need inspection and changing. Thus, you need to carefully consider the downtime frequency and time requirements for effective planned maintenance schedules. Pump design plays a major role in seal selection.

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End suction horizontal centrifugal pumps conforming to ANSI specifications offer back pull-out features that speed seal changes. Standard horizontal centrifugals are also available with an interesting pedestal power frame construction that simplifies inspection in the field. This design incorporates unique sliding bar design that permits inspection and repositioning of the inboard shaft bearing closer to the impeller without removing the pump and without affecting shaft alignment. It affords easy adjustment of the bearing assembly and keeps shaft overhang and deflection at a minimum, thus extending seal life. And this can be accomplished in the field in a matter of minutes. Another answer is to go sealless. A number of pump designs fit this solution: vertical sump pumps, canned pumps, flexible liner rotary pumps, diaphragm pumps, tube pumpsand if you are thinking horizontal centrifugals, consider magnetically driven pumps. Again, most of these are available in metals and plastics. 4. Problem: Pumping debris laden fluids. Clear liquids are one thing. Dirty fluids with small solids or stringy materials have always been a headache but the problem has been handled with a variety of tube, peristaltic, diaphragm and similar pumps

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Next time you need a seal, why not install a quality seal built for industrys toughest services. Whether your pump needs a cartridge seal or component seal, AST has a high performance solution that will meet your exact needs. Long ago, our AST 70 single cartridge and AST 80 dual cartridge designs set the industry standard in heavy duty applications. Whats more, as a designer and OEM, we maintain large inventories that mean fast deliveries to minimize your downtime. And because AST seals are field installable and rebuildable you can control budget, schedule and maintenance. To learn more how AST seals are more than just good, contact.

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with flexible casing materials. Centrifugal pumps, both vertical and horizontal have been on the dont use list until recently. Headway has been made with the vortex recessed-impeller design, and these, too, are now available in both metal and plastics.

Make your decision on todays choices not those of yesterday. Doing so can help save on maintenance costs in the future.

Maintenance in the Future

Pumps have been functioning since the ancient civilizations dating back 3,500 years or more. Accordingly, pumps are now often viewed as a mature industry. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those individuals with the responsibility for creating new fluid handling and processing

systems to meet the high productivity and environmentally sound manufacturing demanded by our rapidly changing world must not consider themselves as living on the inventions of a static society. Reducing maintenance costs is a step forward not backward, and we should be taking that forward step whenever we have the opportunity to replace a failed piece of equipment or order a new production system for our plant. To stand still is to go backwardsand expensive. P&S Contributing Editor George Black is a communications consultant with a broad background in process equipment and the selective use of stainless steel, high alloy metals and engineered plastics for the transfer and storage of corrosive, abrasive, hazardous and other aggressive chemicals, as well as ultrapure water and high purity chemicals. A life member of the American Society for Materials (ASM), he has been an active member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers for more than 25 years. He has served as a communications consultant and technical writer for a number of leading corporations, including International Nickel, Cooper Alloy, Patterson Pump, Skinner Engine Company, Kason, CrollReynolds, Atofina Chemicals, Vanton Pump & Equipment and many others. In addition to writing numerous articles on the marketing of industrial products, he has authored three textbooks, including Sales Engineering An Emerging Profession (Gulf Publishing), a guide to help engineers succeed in the advertising/marketing field. E-mail him at coop6412@verizon.net.

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