Self Priming Peristaltic Pump for Sludge

Sourcing a Suitable Replacement for a sludge Handling Vertical Immersion Pump

North Ridge Pumps were contacted by a customer that was experiencing issues with their vertical immersion pump. It was being used to empty a thick sludge mixed with a variety of chemicals from a 8 metre deep tank. The vertical immersion pump was suffering from high wear, blockages and frequent stoppages. During maintenance, a team of engineers was required to lift and remove the pump from the tank for clearing blockages, this caused huge delays and high costs as maintenance was taking up to ½ a day.

The Benefits of Using a Peristaltic Pump for this type of Application

We had experience with this type of application previously, we knew that it would significatly improve the situation for the customer if the pump was located above the tank outisde of the fluid. This would allow the customer to see any problems early on and maintenance costs and time would be reduced immensely. We therefore specified an externally surface mounted self-priming RBT peristaltic pump that can handle viscosities up to 50,000 CST and can perform the required 8 metre suction lift.

Chemical compatibility with the chemicals and sludge was checked, resulting in a NBR rubber internal hose being selected. An external vacuum system was also installed on the RBT pump to assist with priming, this was required due to the high viscosity of the sludge and high suction lift height.

North Ridge's easy to maintain RBT Series

The RBT Series of peristaltic pump is perfect for sludge and slurries as it can perform large suction lifts, dry run, handle viscous fluids, handle large solids and large quantities of solids, and is reversible in case the delivery pipework becomes clogged and needs reversing. The pump was fitted with a leakage sensor, this ensures that the system is stopped in the event of the internal hose becoming damaged. Having only a single wearing part, a hose was a major factor in the selection of the pump as maintenance can be performed far more easily if required.

The result of the peristaltic pump installation is that downtime and maintenance is significantly reduced for the customer, it now only falls into scheduled maintenance programs, rather than interrupting production.

Below is the specification of the peristaltic pump that was installed: