When we hear about silt pumping applications it usually involves pumping from an industrial lagoon or sump pit, mining site, fruit juice concentrate or dredging application. Often, job site operators have contained the silt-laden wastewater in either a holding tank or tote tank. Typically, the liquid waste must be treated or pumped to a larger containment area. As you can imagine, the internals of the pump must be able to handle the constant abrasive and gritty substances passing through it otherwise, the components will most certainly prematurely fail.
One of our mining customers in Nye County Nevada USA highlights a common application when pumping silt:
Our application involves pumping from two 1600 gallon cone tanks into a larger reservoir for treatment later on. The liquid is a silt mixture from a mining operation. We have tried some trash pumps and other submersibles but the grit keeps destroying the internals. Do you have any product recommendations? Don M. Nye County, NV
In this case we recommended that Don use a professional double diaphragm pump with specialized valve chambers to better manage pumping silt. We also designed the pump with a double suction and double discharge arrangement so the operator could pump either one or two tanks at a time depending on which tank reached its capacity first. The 2B-DD also includes butterfly valves to make pumping out one or two tanks a lot easier. When speaking with Don, we noticed that there might be the chance that the pump could become exposed to a closed valve in the system which may lead to pressure situation causing catastrophic damage to the pump. In this case, we engineered the Mud Sucker 2B-DD with pressure relief valves to help protect against any blockages in the line or a closed valve.
After six months, the pump is operating as expected with minor wear on the diaphragms and check balls. Given that the pump operates outdoors and on an eight hour /6 day a week schedule, the component wear is minimal. The Mud Sucker 2B-DD is an excellent custom solution for all kinds of silt application. More information is available here.