Correcting the problems of severe pump efficiency loss and excessive annual repair costs caused by abrasive sand, a LAKOS Turbine Pump Protection Separator was installed in a well at a cotton farm near Phoenix, Arizona and directly increased the effective operating life of the pump to more than four years before necessary servicing. According to Bob Moore, farm owner and operator, the savings are significant.
Eliminating an annual charge of $5,000 or more to pull, repair, and replace their 1,300 US gpm (340 m3/hr) turbine pump. Moore says, “The savings are even greater nowadays since that same service probably now costs more than $15,000.”
Before this four-to-one increase in the pump’s operating life, efficiency would drop from 75% to 45% in a single season. This also contributed to a much larger energy bill simply to deliver the needed water to furrow irrigate the cotton in this arid region (see “Sample Energy Savings”). According to Moore, another one of his turbine pumps is also equipped with a LAKOS Pump Protection Separator and has operated for over five years with no appreciable loss of performance.
By eliminating excessive abrasive wear, a pump’s efficiency lasts much longer . . . and that saves energy and money. For a pumping system like that described in this bulletin, the savings in energy can be very significant. For example, given a flow rate of 1,000 U.S. GPM (227 m3/hr), a pumping lift of 600 feet (183m), an annual pumping volume of 757 acre-feet (247 million gallons or 933,000 m3) and an electricity cost of 7¢/KWH, the average annual pump-energy bill would be $54,300 (if the pump dropped from 75% to 45% every year).
With a LAKOS Pump Protection Separator, the average (over four years), is easily reduced to only $53,000 . . . A SAVINGS OF MORE THAN $1,000 PER YEAR IN ENERGY ALONE. And remember, this doesn’t even include the reduced pump service and repair costs!
LAKOS Pump Protection Separators. The smart alternative to excessive repair and energy bills. NOTE: Ask your LAKOS representative for further information on the effects of sand in pumping systems.
Gilbert Pump – Tucson, AZ
Anderson Pump – Chowchilla, CA
Humboldt Drilling – Winnemucca, NV
United Pump & Supply – Portland, OR
Layne Western – IA
CPS Distributing – CO
Alta Pump – CA
Weber Pump – Tempe, AZ
Clowe & Cowan – El Paso, TX
Sabol & Rice – Salt Lake City, UT
Caruthers Pump – Caruthers, CA
City of Mesa – AZ
Artesian Water Company – DE
City of Las Cruces – NM
Austin Pump & Supply – Austin, TX
B & E Pump – Simsbury, CT
Miller Pump Service – San Jacinto, CA