We’ve met a lot of clients over the years that have experienced maintenance issues with pre-existing sump pumps. In this post, we offer a few ideas on what’s causing these problems, and how to address them.
Sump pump system design is often the area that is most overlooked when designing or upgrading a mine processing plant.
Sump pumps such as submersible or vertical cantilever pumps can become an ongoing maintenance problem if the pump type, pump size and pump system is not properly designed.
Over the years we have been too many industrial accounts that have pre-existing collection sumps. We have seen sumps that range in design, shape and size. Our clients usually tell us they have personnel digging the sumps out multiple times per day because the pumps will not move the solids out of the sump. These pumps are usually suspended on chain hoists, with only a small portion of the pump submerged in the sump.
Common Problems with Sump Pump Systems
In my experience, the pump type and design are often a part of the problem–but the root cause of inadequacies in transporting solids is usually sump size and piping system design.
Moving solids out of a sump requires a balance between a correctly sized pump, discharge pipe size, static discharge height, sump size & design. Remember, even if you select the correct pump type and size, you can still have issues with the pump system not functioning correctly and you will be heading down to the hardware store to purchase a new batch of shovels.
If you are interested in learning more on how we can help you with your sump pumps and sump pump systems, we have some of the best people in the industry that know how to tackle these problems.
Please include your comments or questions below, or get in touch directly. We’re happy to help.