Vertical Turbine Pumps

[Joe1001]

Does anyone know of projects where vertical turbine pumps have been installed? We are currently designing a pump station and have different options on the type of pumps we can use. One of the options comprise vertical turbine pumps. This prove to be the most cost effective option when compared to the others.

We are concerned about the reliability of these pumps. One pump typically delivers 650 l/s at 260m head. The vertical shaft of the pump will be approximately 9m high. We would like to contact clients who have installed similar pumps to obtain information about the reliability and maintenance cost of such an installation.

Best regards

 

[TenPenny]

What part of the world are you in?
What sort of installation is it - fresh water, recycled water, mine water, etc etc....having some of that information may get you more useful contacts.

There are a lot of VT pumps in service, and if they're selected properly, they'll run forever.

 

[impeller1]

Yes the fluid you're pumping is very important..it should also dictate the type of vertical you go with. Where I work, we have a large number of verticals..as a matter of fact, they outnumber the horizontals. We pump sea water..and in some areas, it's purified..and in others its dirty with mud, silt sand etc..If you're pumping clean water, then you wouldn't have to worry about the maintenance costs too much..our pumps in clean water have performed for years without any major work..However, there's dirty liquid with a lot of abrasives, we found that here's where you're trouble is..these abrasives would quickly eat away at the bearing bushings which would eventually send the vibrations through the roof,causing sometimes frequent breakdowns..If that is your scenario..then i recommend that you look at verticals in which the central line shafts are sealed and flushed by an external clean water supply..it'll save you a lot of troubles..

 

[SteveWag]

I have installed several hundred, all pumping “clean” water, from 150 GPM to 4000 GPM and 150 feet to 1200 feet. Some are 35 years old and have operated at least every other day with no failures. The only failure I know of is with two I did not install, but was called to supervise the rebuild after the failure. These both failed when converted to variable speed operation without a critical speed investigation. The problem was solved by installing additional lineshaft bearings, reducing bearing spacing. One installation was a mine dewatering job involving 500 feet of shaft between the motor and pump. Vertical pumps are amazingly reliable, including the top-of-motor thrust bearing. One thing to keep in mind is the need to design the pump foundation to resist the pump thrust (downward).
Steve