One of a pump operator’s worst fears is a plugged pipeline. Some believe this to only be a concern when dealing with extremely heavy slurries but this is far from the truth. Today we will discuss several causes of plugged lines and how to avoid these highly expensive and time-consuming problems. 1. “Sanded in” Is the most common form of … Read More
Challenges of Dewatering: Will adding another pump to my system help?
Recently I was asked for support at an open pit mine that was having trouble dewatering. The main challenge in short was that the inflow from springs and rainfall was exceeding their capacity to pump water from the pit floor and this was affecting mining operations. The first step was to tour the mine to get an overview of the … Read More
What is the Difference Between Malleability and Ductility?
In the blog article, “Thermal Shock” I used the word ductility. This word is one of a handful of terms commonly used to describe the characteristics of metals and how they react to externally applied forces. Terms such as malleability, hardness, brittleness, toughness, abrasion resistant and impact resistant are commonly used when describing metals but not always completely understood. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN … Read More
Beat the Rush
Thank you to everyone who sent in questions to info@hevvypumps.com . We have taken one of the top questions and answered it below! Frequently asked Question: Should we install a vfd to control our pump? Background Variable frequency drives, or VFDs, do pretty much what their name suggests. They drive electric motors at variable frequencies providing significantly more control than … Read More
Single Phasing in Electric Motors
Causes and Solutions to Protect your Motor I once had a customer ask me for some advice to help them come up with some ideas as to why their pump would trip as soon as it was lowered into slurry.I asked questions such as: Have you checked for proper rotation? Did you check for pluggage in the discharge line? After … Read More
No Flow Meter, No Problem
The Open Pipe Flow Measurement Method Over the years our team has been involved in countless pump start ups, many of which were field applications where instrumentation was non existent. There is always an expectation of a specific flow rate or at least a minimum flow rate. Without a flow meter, how do you know if your pump is performing with … Read More
What is the Number One Cause of Pump Motor Failure and How Can it be Prevented?
According to our electrical team, heat is the number one cause of motor failure. It simply kills them. Temperatures near or above the insulation rating of your motor will cause your motor’s insulation to deteriorate faster, ultimately resulting in premature motor failure. Defining the starting limit for your pump’s electric motors Our team is often asked one important question: How … Read More
How Do You Solve Vibration Issues in a Slurry Pump?
Vibration issues with your slurry pump might be obvious: your slurry pump shakes like a wet dog, or subtle: you keep losing bearings or seals prematurely and don’t understand why. In either case vibration can cause a number of problems with your pump that can lead to costly repairs, downtime and shorter mean times between failure. How to Confirm a … Read More
Slurry Pumps: The Ultimate Preventive Maintenance Guide
Are your slurry pumps in good condition? I travel to customer sites on a weekly basis and I see a full range of good and bad when it comes to pump maintenance. I decided to write a blog on the most common preventive maintenance tips concerning the Hevvy/Toyo line of pumps so it’s available even when I’m not. This list … Read More
Thermal Shock
Our blog on “Total Discharge Recirculation” mentioned thermal shock as a destructive force that can damage or destroy pump components. With how destructive this force can be, I thought it necessary to spend some time expanding upon this subject. What does thermal Shock mean in pumps? Wikipedia explains that thermal shock occurs when a thermal gradient causes different parts of an … Read More
