posted by Rod McCoremick, Blog author, Fordia Powered by Epiroc
May 22, 2021
1) You can use one pump instead of two
Most geotechnical companies want a lightweight pump that is robust enough to handle multiple applications. In applications where a pump is pumping bentonite mixes, slurries, cement and grouting material, a progressive cavity pump will do the job. However, these pumps are not great when a project calls for coring. In coring, the pump must provide enough high pressure to flush the diamond bit properly and the typical cavity pump doesn’t have enough power to do so. An all-purpose pump like the Elepump KF-50M can be used on geotechnical and environmental work as well as coring jobs meaning you don’t have to purchase two pumps.
2) You can move it easily
Geotechnical drilling is often done in urban settings, basements, and other areas with limited space. The KF-50M is lightweight and it can be easily moved by two men. It has a much smaller foot print making it an ideal choice for underground rigs, fly rigs with small drill pads, or any drill rig with limited space on the deck.
3) It requires very little maintenance
When a pump is pumping slurries, mud and other materials, it usually needs to be opened often to change the valve seats and packing cups. A lot of junk can get caught in the valve seats and this can the pump to lose its prime and to start performing unpredictably.
Our customer had their pump had operating daily for nearly three years, without any problems. One of technical field support reps visited their shop to do an inspection and found that the pump was still running smoothly and there were no issues with the water head parts. With the exception of some wear on the cylinder caps, there was no visible wear on any of the valves or water head components. In comparison, other pumps would require daily or weekly removal of debris from the water head and valves.
Needless to say, our customer is pretty happy with the pump. With other pumps, when they hit high pressure, they can be more prone to leaking at the seals, and this is not the case for the Elepump KF-50M. After three years there have been no extra costs and no downtime. They have not had to touch it. You can read more about this case study here.
