Put to the test in a process-critical abrasive slurry transfer operation, the trial has demonstrated that in comparison with existing air operated diaphragm pumps, the Bredel APEX35 can extend the time between scheduled maintenance intervals dramatically at this important producer of rail side frames and bolsters.
Scott Schuette, Amsted Rail's engineering manager had worked with Bredel hose pumps in the past at Elementis Pigments, and brought his confidence in the technology to Amsted Rail.
"Amsted Rail has used air-operated diaphragm [AOD] pumps in this particular process for many years," Kurt Krummrich, industrial sales manager at Watson-Marlow Pumps Group said. "Scott's willingness to try something new, coupled with our discussion that maintenance cost savings could be achieved by installing the new APEX35, got our foot in the door."
When handling abrasive substances such as the core wash slurry, a major advantage of APEX hose pumps is that they have no costly wearing components like seals, valves, membranes, stators, rotors or glands to maintain. The pumps are also self-priming and dry running.
The Bredel APEX35 hose pump replaced an AOD pump on one of the dip tanks, running with flooded suction and virtually no pressure. While the AOD pumps need to be maintained every two weeks, the APEX35 hose pump ran continuously for ten weeks before any maintenance was carried out.
In addition to the significantly longer uptime periods, when maintenance of the APEX pump is required, additional savings are apparent as it takes less than 50% of the time needed to reinstate the AOD pump to operating condition, with only a single replacement part required – the precision machined hose element.
Although the AOD pumps have been in use for many years, Schuette's aims for the future are to choose pumps that not only reduce maintenance and downtime, but also that do not require compressed air for their operation.
The benefits of the APEX pumps' increased uptime and process continuity at Amsted Rail are clear, and the company can look forward to substantial savings in labour and parts, with a greatly decreased cost of ownership.