Vertical Cantilever Sump Pumps Vs. PumpEng ScatPump

The Problems With Vertical Cantilever Sump Pumps

Vertical cantilever sump pumps are used predominantly in processing plants all over the world.

These can be run by mining companies or the type of industrial processing plants you find on the fringes of cities. Just by the nature of what they're doing, there tends to be spillage.

That spillage will either contain environmentally unfriendly products such as caustic cyanide, hydrochloric acid and other chemicals they use, or even the products that they are trying to extract.

It might be gold, copper or nickel. These are the valuable products they're producing. Companies don't want to waste this material if they can avoid it. This is because it costs them money. It can also potentially pollute the environment.

That's why maintenance teams usually have a series of sumps on a concrete pad within the process plant. All spillage gets funneled into these sumps. This is where vertical cantilever sump pumps are often used.

Our customers have made us aware of a few issues they have with the vertical cantilever sump pumps. For a start they are expensive.

They also require a lot of ongoing maintenance because they have belts and pulleys. These are also expensive to repair.

Another issue is that customers find that this type of pump is usually very heavy and difficult to remove or work on for maintenance purposes.

How Do You Avoid These Issues?

PumpEng took these concerns seriously and set about designing a pump that addressed these problems.

A PumpEng submersible pump, like the ScatPump, will cost you a lot less from a capital perspective. Their ongoing maintenance is essentially nil because they are submersible. They stay down there and keep going for a long time.

Once they do require attention, they're a lot lighter and easier to manoeuvre for maintenance. They are designed to allow easier access when maintenance is needed.

The other major thing is that the vertical cantilever sump pumps tend to take away the fluid first and leave behind the solids. They don't have an agitator. If you're using a sump, there's dirty water going into it. All of the water gets pumped out, and once you get down the solids, there is a build up of dirt.

We call that, bogging out. The sump bogs out. It gets full of dirt. All the water gets taken away and leaves the solids behind.

The maintenance crews have to come in with hoses and wash those solids away. They have to mix them back into the solution, so the pump will work.

This work ties up the person doing it. More importantly, if you've ever squirted a high-pressure hose into a corner you'll know there is always going to be a splash back in your face.

This is something crews really want to avoid. The liquid in these circumstances can contain caustic sulphuric acid or something else just as nasty.

Our ScatPump has the agitator running at the bottom which keeps the product in solution and it stops that bogging out from happening.

This means that the build up of dirt doesn't happen. A person doesn't have to come along with the hose and wash out the sump. You're getting rid of delays as well as a potentially dangerous job for your maintenance team.

There's also a big difference in the weight of a vertical cantilever sump pump compared to the ScatPump. If you were to compare the two products ours is about a quarter of the weight. Exactly how much difference will depend on the exact two models you are comparing. The ScatPump usually works out to be around 25% less which makes a big difference for maintenance.

The Right Pump For The Job

A vertical cantilever sump pump will certainly do the job it is designed for. It's when you get bogging out or breakdowns that the bigger issues come into play. ScatPump is so much easier to use and to fix. These pumps save our customers time and money and reduce potential hazard by not needing crews to wash out the sumps.

The PumpEng ScatPumps are cost effective. They're maintenance friendly. They perform a better job. If the maintenance crews get a say they'll choose the ScatPump over the vertical cantilevered sump pumps any day of the week. There's a link below to a review from a nickel processing plant.