Selecting proper gate valves and pipe

[haitiwater]

I am working in St. Marc Haiti on community development projects. The city water system here has many problems. One of which is old valves. If I were to import gate 2", 4", 6", 8" and 10" NRS gate valves, to be used on SCH 40 pipe. What should I be considering? A game played here is to used inferior valves. If local government wanted to specify an adequate valve, what would anyone suggest? What about blending c200 into a sch40 system. We are going to have to go under a large creek 8-18 meters wide prone to flooding. I thought working with gasketed pipe would be better choice, although c200 is not available here and would have to be imported.

 

[cvg]

for the creek crossing, I would use mechanical joints, a sleeve or encase the whole thing in concrete.

Recommend AWWA C500 valves

double disc parallel seat type

Manufacturer should provide certification that they have manufactured valves for a minimum of ten years

Each valve should have manufacturer's name, pressure rating and year in which manufactured cast on body. This will help prevent the old bait and switch. Spec out several acceptable manufacturers / models with no substitutions allowed.

Prior to shipment from the factory, each valve should be hydrostatically shell tested (400 psi) and hydrostatically seat tested (200 psi). Require submittal of the test results for your shipment.

Gates should be high strength cast iron.

 

[haitiwater]

Thanks for the info. Would you know if mechanical joints are called "manchons" in French? If I go under the creek with two 6" sch40 lines inside two cast iron sleeves will I need clean-outs? The water is coming from a spring, but goes through a reserviour before the crossing, so heavy particles may settle there. What is a double disk valve?

 

[cvg]

Don't know any french...
plug the ends of the sleeve to prevent water and sediment from getting in. Cleanouts shouldn't be necessary.

recommend you check out the Clow or Mueller website

http://www.clowvalve.com/awwa.htm

http://www.muellercompany.com/test/mueller_water/water_product.php?catn=17&cat=Gate Valves

 

[LeoSC]

"manchon" in French means sleeve. Hope this helps.

 

[haitiwater]

> Dear Sir / Madam,
>
> We are considering purchasing either a Grundfos 800S750-3A 75hp, or Grundfos 800S600-3AA 60hp with a Furnas Pump panel sz 3.5.
>
> These pumps are to be installed in Gonaives Haiti,the area of Haiti subject to recent horrible flooding. The electricity is highly unstable and many pumps fail from lack of adequate circuit protection. What is the best panel for these pumps? It must protect high and low> voltage on all three phases and sense thermal problems. Are there any super-excellent panels which can protect pumps from the worse electrical current in the world? The panel most be idiot proof. The operator is responsible to push the button. The panel could even have a timer to prevent multiple pushing when there is a problem.
>
Please compare Grundfos and Goulds pumps for durability in adverse conditions. The Grundfos would come from a firm in California (far away) assembling the pump on a discount for us. The Goulds would be straight market price out of Florida (closer to Haiti).

 

[JStephen]

I'm not sure if the double disk valves are available in the smaller sizes shown. Aren't the smaller sizes normally resilient wedge valves?

 

[Ballintoy]

What sort of pumping application is this?

 

[semo]

Goulds and Grundfos both make good pumps; but, bad power can ruin even the best pump.

At a minimum I would request a phase monitor in the panel. It will check and compare voltage on all legs and disable the pump should the voltage be out of settings. Thermal protection can be incorporated if an option with the motor.

 

[Ballintoy]

SEMO as in Southeast Missouri. If so, hello from PBMO.

I spent about a week in Haiti several years ago. The only thing less dependable than the electricity was the phone service. If a stormwater pump is needed, I'd suggest a motor driven pump. Voltage in Haiti is so erratic that I think a voltage/phase monitor would keep the thing from running at all. I also have some doubt about the type of power. I would be surprised if three phase is available. This seriously reduces the number of choices in the 60 to 75 HP range.

 

[haitiwater]

The application is for the Gonaives municipal water system. There is a 2400 cubic meter reservoir about 100 feet above three pumping stations. Pump station “one” is 0.5 kilometers from the reservoir. A 10 inch ductile pipe is used. Pump station “two” is 1.0 kilometers away and pump station “three” is 1.5 kilometers away they use a common 10 inch ductile pipe. Only one pump is now operational. It is pumping 400 GPM. The water director would like to install 800 GPM pumps. The 75 hp would be too big. The static level is 20 feet, the dynamic level is 30 feet, the pumps is set at 70 feet. There is a medium tension line feedings transformers at the number two pump house. Low tension 440 volt lines feed the other stations. Presently the control panel form pumpstation 2 is feeding the pump in pump station 1. All other panels and pumps are non-operational. The flood was 2.5 meters. The water director had raised the floor on pump station 1.5 meters because it had a 150kw generator which fortunately survived the flood.


Are American Flow Control 2500 resiliant wedge valves a good selection if they most stand up to daily use? Should I upgrade the order?

 

[Ballintoy]

As I understand it, you want to replace the two non-operational pumps. Do they pump to reservoirs or do they just pressurize the system?

It sounds as if you have an adequate, but probably very unpredictable, power supply. I would suggest having either Gould or Grundfos supply the control panels. They can both do this. This makes warranty claims a lot easier; although, I'm not sure how much of a warranty you can get in Haiti. You will need to tell them exactly what triggers a "Pump On" and "Pump Off" situation. With relays and a bit of magic they should be able to provide a panel which shuts down when the voltage high or low and automatically returns to service when the power is stable. If they can't or won't, let me know and I'll direct you to someone who can.

Good luck to you. I would be glad to contact you directly by email but, unfortunately, posting addresses on the forum is discouraged.

 

[dicksewerrat]

I'd buy a deisel generator to run your pumps. If the power supply is that erratic. Also would not be influenced by storms. Or a generator that takes over if the power supply acts up. Most pumps can deal with +/- 3-5% differentials in phase or voltage.