diagram, engineering drawing

Performance Testing: What Is Your Pump Trying to Tell You? (Webinar)

Would you drive a car off the lot without taking it for a test drive first? Probably not. And yet so many end-users “drive” their pumps off the lot and expect it to work exactly to specification.

Pump testing is an essential step in evaluating the hydraulic and mechanical performance of a pump before installation. Testing is applicable to new pumps, refurbished pumps, or re-engineered pumps and offers insights into equipment reliability, performance and can measure the effect of design changes.

Understanding the power and benefit of aftermarket testing can be confusing. Especially without the knowledge of the various testing capabilities available. Hydro’s testing facility is designed in compliance with Hydraulic Institute Standards and API 610. It’s capable of testing horizontal, vertical and submersible pumps up to 5,000 horsepower. This webinar will focus on aspects of aftermarket testing on problem pumps by diving deep into several case studies where issues were found with a pump prior to assembly—helping save time, headache, and money.

Register at pumpsandsystems.com/webinars

a close up of a tire

State of the Art Parts: Expedited Impeller

The destroyed sample used for reverse engineering

State of the Art Parts: A Gulf Coast refinery had the primary pump for a critical system at the HydroTex Golden Triangle facility for refurbishment. While the primary pump was in the shop, the backup pump operating on-site began to show signs of failure. The impeller of the pump being repaired had extreme wear and was unable to be reused. The shop needed to source an impeller in an expedited timeframe to complete the repair ahead of schedule and get the primary pump back in service before the backup pump failed. Continue reading

State of the Art Parts: Bearing Cartridge & Adaptor Piece

State of the Art Parts: Hydro Parts Solutions recently supplied a new bearing cartridge and adaptor piece for an OH2 pump from a Caribbean rum distillery. The customer had no spares for these components and was in a critical situation because both parts had failed and were unusable.

The OEM had provided a minimum delivery time of 10-12 weeks for both parts. Because these parts were necessary for the equipment to be returned to service, the customer sought out a qualified vendor who could provide the components in a shorter turnaround time. Hydro Parts Solutions was able to offer a 5-6 week delivery.

This job was particularly challenging because there were no samples to reverse engineer, only rough sketches from the customer. While it is standard to request samples to reverse engineer, because of the tight timeframe, Hydro Parts Solutions created a model using the sketches and the design experience and engineering resources within Hydro. Continue reading

an island in the middle of a body of water

Pitfalls in Puerto Rico: Rescued by Reverse Engineering

diagramWhen the experts at Hydro were called on to reverse-engineer parts for a large circulating water pump in the Caribbean, they were concerned to discover an OEM-provided suction bell had failed during service. All internal ribs were lost and the bearing holder was found loose within the assembly. Not only had the suction bell failed, but the customer was facing excessive lead times for the parts needed for the refurbishment of the pump.

After a meticulous review of the suction bell design, it became clear that low manufacturing costs had been prioritized over reliability. Instead of providing the customer with a cast component, the OEM had provided a suction bell that had been fabricated, resulting in an excessively thin wall thickness. Continue reading

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Ares Panagoulias Recognized by Pumps & Systems as a “Top 10 Pump Professional”

a group of people in a roomHydro is excited to announce that our very own Ares Panagoulias has been chosen by Pumps and Systems Magazine as one of “2021’s 10 Pump Professionals to Watch”.  This annual list is compiled and curated by the editors and the editorial board of Pumps and Systems Magazine, the premier industry publication for the North American Pump Industry. The list recognizes some of the best and the brightest in the pump industry.

a group of people posing for the cameraAn Eye Toward the Future

Ares has been with Hydro since August of 2011, starting as Test Lab Engineer, then quickly rising through the ranks to become Test Lab Manager, then Sales & Engineering Manager of Wireless Condition Monitoring, and now he is The Director of Condition Monitoring and Test Lab.

Ares’ contributions to both Hydro and the pump industry are quite substantial given the relatively short time he’s been in the field. His commitment to keeping Hydro on the cutting edge of pump technology is one of the many reasons we agree that Ares Panagoulias is a standout in the pump industry. Congratulations Ares!

https://www.pumpsandsystems.com/10-pump-professionals-watch-ares-panagoulias

Case Study: Batch of 21 Pumps Tested & Validated Under Expedited Conditions from Hydro, Inc. on Vimeo.