Piggery reduces maintenance time and costs with wastewater pumps

BettaPork Piggery has been breeding pigs for over 30 years. A mid-size enterprise, the piggery raises the animals and then sells them to market.

As part of the piggery’s recycling philosophy, all pig waste is collected and broken down before being used as fertiliser on the grounds and turned into biogas to power the farm.

“We collect the pig waste in what we call sump pits,” explained Paul Brosnan, Owner/Director of BettaPork Piggery. “The effluent is then pumped from the sump up to a holding dam. It then moves progressively through a series of processes before the effluent is eventually ready to be pumped into biogas holding tanks to collect the biogas.”

The problem

To move the pig waste from the sump to the holding tanks, the piggery was using a few different types of pumps including submersibles. Located in the effluent pit, and needing a chain and lifting device to raise to the surface, these pumps were proving increasingly inefficient and costly to maintain.

“After we bought the submersible pumps, we quickly discovered that they have a very fine tolerance. The suction inlet/impeller started to block continuously and the pumps would run dry, resulting in the internals of the pump wearing and needing to be replaced on a regular basis.”

The solution

Brosnan started to search for a more efficient solution. Coincidentally, he works closely with a local business that uses a number of Gorman Rupp pumps in its processes, and highly recommended the brand. Brosnan contacted Hydro Innovations (authorised Australian distributor for Gorman-Rupp pumps) for a solution to the issues he had with the current pumps he had been using.

“Having purchased and used a number of different types of pumps in the past, we didn’t want to spend any more money on pumps that could not do the job. So, it was great coming across a supplier who was happy to stand by their product and prove it was the right pump for the job,” Brosnan said.

After reviewing the piggery’s requirements, Hydro Innovations suggested that Brosnan install a Gorman-Rupp T6A60S-B wastewater pump fitted with a 7.5 kW motor — a packaged unit that would provide both the flow and the pressure that was needed.

According to Garry Grant, General Manager of Hydro Innovations, the Gorman-Rupp T6A60S-B is a rugged and reliable self-priming centrifugal solids-handling pump. Very easy to maintain, the pump is capable of handling a 3″ solid (so it will pump a cricket ball) as well as stringy materials. In addition, if any choking does occur, the pump can be easily and quickly unclogged via the lightweight removable cover plate.

The design of the pump also allows users to adjust the clearance externally (in minutes) to ensure optimum performance without having to remove the pump from the system or open it. For major services, the removable rotating assembly can be replaced by simply loosening four bolts from the drive end of the pump, eliminating the need to disturb the pump casing or piping.

The results

According to Brosnan, “Within a few months of having the pump installed at the piggery we knew that it was capable. It moves more liquid than the previous pump and it’s extremely easy to maintain, which, for me, is the major bonus. The open impeller design makes it very simple to remove any blockages. You only have to loosen two bolts to get inside the pump and clear it, which only takes 15 minutes.

“And of course, an added bonus is that we no longer have to waste money purchasing a constant number of parts due to breakdowns,” Brosnan added.

So impressed was Brosnan with the performance of the Gorman-Rupp T6A60S-B, he purchased a second pump and is now considering a third.