Ruhrpumpen Service Team in Chile gives new life to old vertical pump

Rebowl operation for vertical pump running in mining facility in Chile.

The world’s biggest lithium producer chose Ruhrpumpen for the repair of a vertical pump operating in their plant in Coya Sur Maria Elena, in the Antofagasta region in Chile.

After several years of continuous operation, a Johnston vertical pump, model VIT 16 AHC of 8 stages, started to have high vibration problems. For this reason, the decision was made to perform a general maintenance of the equipment. The pump was used for pumping of river water necessary for the irrigation of leaching pools and the production of iodine and its derivatives.

Thanks to the previous commercial relationship between the customer and Ruhrpumpen, our Service Team in Chile was given the opportunity to inspect the pump and offer a proposal.

With the use of specialized tools and reverse engineering techniques, our service team was able to diagnose the equipment. After the inspection of the pump, it was suggested that the bowl assembly be completely replaced. The reason? A repair of the pump and its components would require a greater investment of time and money. Carrying out the rebowl offered a better cost-benefit with the same delivery time and the improvement of the pump’s operating conditions.

The performance of the pump was optimized with a new bowl assembly of 8 stages. In addition, the diameter of the impellers was increased. The new impellers were manufactured in 304 stainless steel. The coordination of our teams in Chile and Mexico made it possible to deliver the rehabilitated pump on time, without causing delays in the customer’s operations.

The installation on site was carried out by the customer and the pump has been operating satisfactorily since.

“Talking with the sales team about the repair of the pump, of a discontinued model, we realized we needed to increase the flow. The RP team offered me the rebowl and the delivery time was extraordinary… in less than three months the pump was already in Chile. It is worth mentioning that the pump now has a higher efficiency, with 100 m3 more in capacity using the same motor.

The equipment has been operating since April, with a good performance and we have great expectations. Thanks to the availability and responsiveness of the RP Chile Team, we decided to send a new repair order for another vertical pump immediately”.

- Head of Department of Hydraulic Engineering and OOS

Ruhrpumpen demonstrated its ability to make engineering modifications as well as the complete rehabilitation of a pump from a discontinued model. The customer chose Ruhrpumpen thanks to our capacity to respond on time with a completely overhauled equipment vital for their mining operations.