Gene Vogel
EASA Pump & Vibration Specialist

Service centers that provide field service for equipment removal and installation have little trouble handling most common horizontal pumps. However, vertical turbine pumps (and similarly mounted vertical pumps) present some additional challenges. Vertical pumps of this style use the discharge column to suspend the pump below grade from a grade mounted discharge casing. The casing provides the support for the pump, the pedestal for the vertical drive motor, and a 90 degree discharge elbow. The discharge elbow may be above or below grade.

The initial challenge for pump removal is presented by the length of the pump. Short set pumps range to about 50 ft. (15 meters) in overall length, minus the drive motor. Deep set pumps can extend hundreds of feet (or meters) into a well or sump. The designation as short set or deep set is somewhat arbitrary, depending on the working height of the available crane to lift the machine. A short set pump could be handled as a single piece (again, less the motor). But if the length of the pump exceeds the working height of the crane, then field disassembly is necessary – usually referred to as a deep set pump.

Topics covered include:

• Documenting the condition of the machine
• Overhead clearances
• Reinstalling the pump
• Tests

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