Operator-Safe Pump Stations Save Maintenance & Labor Costs

Smith & Loveless Wet Well Mounted Pump Stations offer pump maintenance, operator safety and cost savings. 

Featuring packaged, above-grade designs, these stations allow operators to immediately access all mechanical and electrical equipment at ground level—including duplex vertical non-clog pumps, the control panel and all valves—without the use of special safety gear or other precautions that usually go along with accessing confined spaces and wet wells. 

In order to provide this above-grade convenience, Wet Well Mounted Pump Stations are positioned atop the wet well with pumps several feet above the liquid level. A simple suction lift process called vacuum-priming achieves quick and efficient pump priming in about 60 seconds under standard rated conditions. Once primed, the pump can remain primed for an indefinite period of time. 

As a result, one operator is able to safely inspect stations daily and conduct routine maintenance when needed—with no confined space buddy system required. Maintenance tasks like pulling an entire pump or changing out a pump seal or impeller can be completed without requiring costly outside contractors or pump maintenance centers. Merely removing eight cap screws from the connecting motor adapter on the station base facilitates full access to the volute and suction elbow in just a few minutes. 

By eliminating many of the requirements of confined space entry, clients can save on hundreds of hours of manpower and related maintenance costs. A recently published 12-year study of one municipality’s pump stations compared total maintenance and labor costs for Wet Well Mounted Pump Stations and Submersible Pump Stations. The study found that the average annual repair and maintenance expenditure was 55% lower per station—a differential of almost 25 labor hours and $2,800—for the Wet Well Mounted Pump Stations compared with the submersibles. Download the study at www.smithandloveless.com/pumping.

With this pump and station design, clients might find themselves taking the do-it-yourself attitude one step further to installing the pump stations. Stations arrive factory built and tested and are simply set in place, with all piping and electrical connections made quickly and easily. Installation and start-up usually can be achieved within a few hours with existing staff members only.

Contact Us
Smith & Loveless Inc.
Lenexa, KS
800.922.9048
www.smithandloveless.com
[email protected]