Case Study: We will do whatever it takes to keep you up and running.

Case Studies

Whatever it takes: ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR EMERGENCY REPLACEMENT PUMP

R. A. Ross rep’s “Never give up”
attitude saves client from weeks
of downtime and loss of money.

We had a customer with a Dean R4140 2x3x8.5 hot oil pump that was down and they were faced with an 8-10 week leadtime. The factory did not have castings for one of the parts they needed to repair their existing pump or for a replacement pump. With this pump down, part of the customer’s plant was down and costing them money minute by minute.

Knowing they needed a pump we started exploring options we had at our disposal. Our first option was to find another pump just like what they had. We tried several other Dean distributors to see if they had a pump in stock with no luck. Next we tried a few of the refurbishing dealers we work with to see if anyone had a rebuilt pump; no luck. Facing a third strike we turned
back to Dean and the RA Series Air Cooled Hot Oil Pumps.

The Dean RA3000 series air cooled hot oil pumps are dimensionally interchangeable with with the R4140 series pump piping and baseplate dimensions envelope. Furthermore they share the same hydraulic characteristics meaning they would provide the same flow and pressure as the existing pump.

The last hurdle in being able to offer the RA3000 pump is that it will not handle as high of a temperature as the R4140. Luckily the customer’s process was still well within the limits of the RA3000.

After going back to Dean to find they did not have a pump in stock or the ability to expedite one, we again turned to some of our other fellow Dean distributors. The RA3000 series pumps are a very common pump for OEM’s to use in hot oil system packages and are more commonly stocked by Dean distributors. After several calls we found a fellow distributor that had one in stock and agreed to help us out. We worked quickly with the customer to get an order placed and have the pump shipped overnight to get them back up and running.

“ Brad, you have gone above and beyond!”

Gary Morrison
Maintenance Planner
Catalyst Division
Clairant Corporation

The pump arrived and was installed quickly since it was a drop in getting them back on line with minimal downtime.

ABOUT BRAD

Brad, our inside representative who solved this problem has been a part of our team for 7 years. His attitude, like all our team, is to do whatever it takes to keep your company up and running.

In this case, Brad put everything else on the back burner to get this issue taken care of as the customer was losing a lot of money and was facing a very long down time. As you can tell by the summary, Brad (and all our team) has extensive knowledge of the products we sell, as well as what your needs are. This comes from ongoing, continuing education from our product manufacturers.

We hope that “whatever it takes” philosophy helps us keep customers for life. That is our goal. Not just a sale.
If you’d like more information on other case histories, please visit our website at www.raross.com. Chances are, we’ve helped solve a problem that you may have had or might face in the future.

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Case Study: Large midwest oil company needed three mobile units for testing gasoline in multiple locations.

Case Studies

The R. A. Ross team’s creative skills solve complex problem with innovative solution

Situation/Solution: A large oil company requested a Blackmer pump that would be used for “proving” gasoline, ethanol, diesel and biodiesel at several of their facilities. The specifications were listed as seen in the chart to the left.

The Ductile Iron Blackmer X4B 4” Sliding Vane Pump with Carbon vs. Iron. Viton mechanical seals met the specifications ideally running at 57% of maximum speed (which would give them long service life). The pumps would be coupled to Blackmer 5.77 to 1 HRB helical gear reducers with a 2.24 to 1 service factor for cool running operation and long reducer life. A 15 HP motor gave them more than sufficient safety margin.

Our job is to help keep you up and running.

R. A. Ross & Associates offers customers over 100 years combined experience with pumps and repairs.

 

Custom Blackmer trailer package built to customer requirements.

Trailer packages and the cart packages ready for customer delivery.

THE PROJECT SPECS:

Blackmer X4B Sliding Vane Pump assembly:
•Ductile iron construction
•Duravane vanes
•Viton o-rings
•Carbon vs. Iron mechanical seals
•Standard internal relive valve w/35-50psi spring
•4” NPT flange connections
•HRB 5.77:1 reducer to produce approx. 303rpm w/1750rpm motor
•15hp 3/60/230-460/1750 rpm Explosion Proof motor
•Formed steel base plate, couplings and guards

Trailer packing and control panel:
•5’ x 8’ 2990# capacity single axle utility trailer w/DOT approved lighting
•Tongue jack w/foot plate / tongue accepts 2” ball
•Jack on each rear corner for leveling/stability
•12ga. Treadplate steel floor
•2 – Wheel chock set and tool box w/lid and closure for storage
•Trailer dolly for movement of package by hand

BUILDING:

The treadplate steel floor gives us a solid base to start construction.

The pump is positioned on the trailer to keep the balance of the trailer and tongue weight as close as possible to its unloaded state.

Once the pump is secured to the deck, bracing and supports are added to accommodate the control panel. A tongue storage box is also added to house wheel chalks and provide additional storage.

Similar to the trailer packages the pump and control panel for the cart are installed to maintain maneuverability and ease of use.

Trailer packages and the cart packages ready for customer delivery.

The excess deck space around the pump leaves room for operator safety when attaching hoses to the pump and storage space for hoses to stay with the package.

RESULT:

Our client is very satisfied with not only our solution, but with the fact that we finished the project on time and under budget, and has ordered additional units from us.

Blackmer pumps are chosen in many cases as they are much “greener” (more energy efficient) than internal gear pumps. Blackmer vane pumps maintain their efficiency and flow even as the vanes wear where gear pumps start
losing flow and energy with any wear that occurs. The chart below shows the difference:

Blackmer X-Sliding Vane Pump typical applications:
Clean, non-corrosive industrial liquids and petroleum products, including fuel oils, lube oils, jet fuels, gasoline, edible oils, and a variety of solvents and thinners such as esters, ketones, naphtha’s, ethers, amines, aromatics, alcohol’s, terpenes, glycol’s and many other similar liquids.

Features and Benefits:
• Unique sliding-vane pump design self-adjusts for wear to maintain flow rates.
• Excellent self-priming and dry run capabilities.
• Blackmer mechanical seal and ball bearing construction provide maximum reliability.
• Symmetrical bearing support assures even loading and wear for long life.
• Adjustable relief valve protects pump against excessive pressures.
• External ball bearings are isolated from pumpage by mechanical seals to maximize bearing life and minimize contamination risk.
•Easy maintenance: vanes can be easily replaced without removing the pump from the piping system.

How Blackmer’s sliding vane action works

Blackmer’s positive displacement rotary pumps utilizing their unique sliding vane design offers the best combined characteristics of sustained high level performance, energy efficiency, trouble-free operation and low maintenance cost. Also, the high suction lift capability of these pumps makes them especially suitable for pumping from underground tanks, bulk plant service and aircraft refueling

 

Specially designed and built mobile Blackmer pump solution

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Case Study: Clean Air Solution

Case Studies

Dean pH2111 1×1.5×6 in 316ss construction 7.5hp EXP motor ASI model 595 double mechanical seal API Plan 53 barrier tank setup Custom pump base with seal pot stand to keep the package compact. Note: This package was developed in 2009 and is working so well after 8 years the customer just ordered a duplicate package!

CASE STUDY

Refinery uses Dean and ASI for sodium hydrogen sulfide (NaHS) application
Problem: Pump seals leak sodium hydrogen sulfide into atmosphere.

Solution: The raw gas sulfur knockout process at a local refinery produces sodium hydrogen sulfide (NaHS) and must be circulated through the tank to keep particles in suspension. The particulate can be anywhere from the size of a grain of sand to the size of a pencil eraser. Luckily the particles are easily deformable with the consistency of wet cereal making a centrifugal pump an acceptable means of transfer. The problem is the sealing of the pump. The product has a tendency to crystallize and the customer did not want any leakage of the product to atmosphere. For our application the customer chose to use a double seal with an API Plan 53 setup. In this setup a pressurized seal pot is used to isolate the product from atmosphere. The barrier fluid is contained in a seal pot which is pressurized to a higher pressure than the pump seal chamber. Barrier fluid must be compatible with the process fluid as there will always be some leakage of the barrier fluid into the process fluid.

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Case Study: The R. A. Ross team relieves shock and back pressure problems

Case Studies

CASE STUDY

Air operated Diaphragm pump ball check was deformed and pushed through seat into fluid cap causing pump failure.

Problem

Shock and back pressure sends 2 1/2” check ball into 2” hole causing weekly pump repair.

Situation

View of fluid end cap (Rotated 180°) where ball was pushed through seat into end cap.

To remove the balls from the fluid caps of the pump we had to drill them out. The balls could not be driven out with a punch and hammer and the use of a hydraulic press risked deformation of the fluid cap itself.

There were no signs of chemical attack or deformation due to temp, so we recommended the use of a Blacoh dampener to absorb the shock from the system that we suspected was forcing the balls into the diaphragm chamber.

After installation of the dampener, which has been nearly 6 months to date, the pump has not been touched. Repairs and downtime from pump change outs have been eliminated on this line and the customer is looking to install the dampeners in other locations to save wear and tear on the pumps and piping system.

We love tackling and solving the toughest problems. Put our knowledge, training and skills to work for you today. Call us…we’ll keep whatever you process flowing.

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Case Study: Local packager puts Blackmer Pumps in tough oil field service

Case Studies

BLACKMER SOLUTION

Problem

When Gusher centrifugal self primers kept loosing prime and seals, another solution was needed and was needed fast!

When the Gusher centrifugal self-primers kept losing prime and seals another solution was needed and was needed fast! The original pumps, part of an OEM packaged skid, removed a mix of water with some heavy hydrocarbons to opposite of mostly hydrocarbon and some water from a liquid/vapor separating vessel.

Application

• Pumpage – Ambient temp water with some heavy hydrocarbons to mostly hydrocarbon and some water
• Some mixed phase pumping when some hydrocarbons cause vapor in suction (flow reduction may be realized base on amount of gas entrained in liquid) 20gpm @ 135psig discharge (0-5psi positive tank pressure)

Solution

• Blackmer liquefied gas pumps with custom bases and reducer/motor setup.
• Pump: Blackmer SGLD2 ductile iron sliding vane pump with carbon vs. silicon carbide mechanical seals, HNBR elastomers, Duravane vanes, 2” NPT flange connections and Blackmer’s cavitation suppression liner (LGL &SGL pumps)
• Reducer: NORD SK12 with 4.93:1 ratio for 355rpm output speed with 1750rpm motor.
• Motor: Marathon Premium Eff. 5hp 3/60/230-460/1750rpm TEXP footless with 2:1 turndown.
• VFD Controller: Toshiba ASD in NEMA 1 enclosure.

Formed Steel Base and Guard: The base was custom designed with a minimum height to allow for as much NPSHa as possible. The length and width of the base were also made specific too fit as far down into the skid as possible to reduce piping arrangement augmentation.

After only a short time in service, the benefit of the assemblies was apparent; no more pump failures, no more vapor lock, increased flow, and shortened cycle times. Shortly after this success more assemblies were ordered to retrofit other skid packages to utilize the Blackmer SGLD2 pump and all the benefits the pump provides in the application.

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Case Study: EagleBurgmann Big Seal Savings

Case Studies

R. A. Ross saves customer $200 per seal.

Our focus is on saving you time and money

We have a customer who called asking if we could repair an Eagle Burgmann seal that they were paying $400 for.

After some research, we discovered that Eagle Burgmann would typically not repair this type of seal.

However, we found that we are able to offer this same exact Eagle Burgmann seal for $200.
Our profit margin on this type of solution is minimal, but that’s not why we are in business. Our focus is on helping our customers save time and money. Our job is to help keep you up and running.

Give us a call and let us find a solution for you!

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