ECS Engineering raises the roof on pump maintenance 21 May 2014

When the pumps at Knowlston Place pumping station, in Matlock, Derbyshire, reached end of life, ECS Engineering Services carried out the replacement project, along with electrical work and building modifications – including removing the pump room roof.

The three original pumps were housed inside the pump building, which made access for difficult for maintenance, so the Environment Agency called for the roof to be removed and all services to be re-routed.

Making the design changes meant a mobile crane would be able to lift the pumps when required for maintenance.

ECS carried out all work and installed the new pump controls and associated wiring in the MCC (motor control centre), also assisting site engineers in the commissioning of the new pumps.

Pump controls installed include new starter circuits as well as a new changeover system for the generator supply, which ensures that the pumps continue to operate, in the event of a power failure.

Once the pump installation had been completed, ECS installed a new, raised GRP grating floor above them, along with access steps and hand railings. The new flooring is designed to allow safe and easy access to the pumps while also protecting the supply cables.

Interestingly, although during normal river flow conditions the main pumps are not required, occasional rainfall starts to fill the wet well so they were being used to remove this water.

However, to reduce energy consumption, ECS installed a much smaller, submersible pump in the wet well with permanent cast iron pipework. Using conductivity probes, this new pump now automatically controls the wet well level – so also saving unnecessary wear on the larger pumps.

Brian Tinham

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ECS Engineering Services Ltd

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