Repair and refurbishment of faulty pumps or valves should be investigated as a first line approach particularly where specialised equipment is concerned.
Through its extensive SupremeServ operation, Pump manufacturer KSB Pumps and Valves is able to repair a wide range of pumps and valves to original OEM specification at a significantly lower than new equipment. In addition to its own pumps and valves the company is also able to repair other brands to a level that meets or exceeds original equipment specifications.
The German manufacturer is in a unique position to undertake advanced repairs and refurbishments locally at its high-tech facilities where its advanced techniques and in-depth materials knowledge even enables full repair services including reverse engineering and manufacturing of parts and components for outdated equipment or equipment that is no longer available from OEM manufactures.
According to SupremeServ KSB SupremeServ operations manager, David Mathonsi replacement of broken or worn-out pumps need not always be the best course of action. Rather, a properly executed OEM repair can deliver the same performance at a lower cost and in less time. This is often a sensible route to go for operators and provides a good balance between costs and availability.
“We showed this recently with the repair of two KSB FBL pumps that have been operating tirelessly within a large water utility pump station. These units are critical to bulk water transport supplying Bothaville, Welkom, Odendaalsrus and surrounding mining operations where failure quickly leads to widespread water outages.
“These pumps work hard around the clock and in this instance their condition reflected the severity of their duty. The ageing units showed extensive system-induced hydraulic wear, significant erosion and clear evidence of cavitation. As a result their performance had already deteriorated in service with wear affecting reliability and output and our inspections confirmed widespread damage across key stationary components such as diffusers, stage casings, suction casings and bends, as well as wear rings and other components.
“However, due to the urgency of restoring supply for the water authority and its end users and relatively long lead times for new cast components (and the cost implications) it made sense to pursue repair as the only practical route. In addition, by restoring the pumps instead of replacing them the pumps were repaired at 30% of the price of new pumps. Turnaround time was limited to just six to eight weeks for both pumps, which was far quicker than procurement and delivery of replacements,” says David.
He explains that the success of the project was due to the depth of skill within the company’s technical division as well as the right equipment and materials to do the job to OEM standards. This enabled them to professionally rebuild the impellers, diffusers and all casings as well as restore mechanical seals and bearings. Worn consumables including fasteners, wear rings and shafts were replaced to ensure full system integrity.
Impressively, the SupremeServ specialists were also able to make improvements based on the findings of the inspections and were able to apply specialised machining and coating processes to prevent or reduce future damage. The pumps were assembled and restored to the required tolerances and alignments required and to further protect the pumps in service all the wet-end components received protective coatings designed to mitigate future erosion and cavitation.
“This type of project shows just some of KSB SupremeServ’ s capabilities. We also provide other services such as condition monitoring, diagnostics and field services, as well as professional installation and commissioning of equipment which allows our customers to manage their pump systems across their entire lifecycle with full OEM-compliant services. Our projects are also backed by a comprehensive warranty of twelve months from installation or eighteen months from delivery or readiness for dispatch which makes a compelling case for our customers to repair or refurbish first,” David concludes.
