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Difficult Pumping Applications from
Blackhawk Environmental Company
Innovative Anchor Pump Repair Program Elevates
Efficiency at Major Metropolitan Landfill/Remediation Site
A major Industrial District/Recycling Disposal Facility,
located in Illinois, consists of a landfill plus remediation
site encompassing hazardous waste, biosoil and leachate remediation
and a gas recovery plant for the wastes generated by the population
of the southeast Chicagoland metropolitan area. Established
more than 33 years ago, the landfill covers approximately
750 acres. Three men monitor the pumps for 150 wells, including
31 Blackhawk Pneumatic Anchor Pumps®, at the site. Gradually,
as the older equipment wears out, the site is replacing virtually
all its pumps with Anchor Pumps because of Blackhawk’s
innovative top head drive design and user-friendly pump repair
program.
"The reason why Anchor Pumps are such an excellent choice
for us revolves around a major design feature of the pumps.
Not only are they ideal for pumping hot, dirty, slimy materials,
especially leachate and landfill gas condensates, Anchor Pumps
are designed with the entire pump drive mechanism, including
the controls, on top of the wellhead, so we can see at a glance
whether the pump is working or not. Of course, everything
that needs maintenance is outside the well, too. With Anchor
Pumps, it only takes 3-1/2 minutes to change out the motor
and swap it with another. All our other pumps are in the well
and that means we have to pull out as much as 110 feet of
pump in order to fix the problem," said Tony Brooks,
Leachate Technical Supervisor.
"We keep spare pumps, motors and parts which we can
replace ourselves, such as exhaust valves, filters and the
like, on hand at all times. When something major occurs, such
as problems with the seals or air cylinders, we have a repair
plan that we developed with Blackhawk," Brooks continued.
“The problem pumps are picked up right away and they
call the next day with an answer. They are returned within
a week. Blackhawk jumps on the problem right away. The turnaround
is fast. When the pumps come back, they have been completely
disassembled and redone. They're like brand new. I like working
with Blackhawk and have for years. They are efficient, easy
to work with, and a no-nonsense company.”
The landfill bought its first Anchor Pump from Blackhawk
4-½ years ago to tackle a small problem well with a
6" PVC pipe. Seeing how well the Anchor Pump removed
the extremely oily and silty leachate its other pumps couldn't
handle from this well, the operators immediately saw the potential
to put more Anchor Pumps to work in the field. "All of
our Anchor pumps are extremely versatile, reliable, easy to
maintain, and have good draw down. When I suggest an improvement
or a change, Blackhawk incorporates it into our pumps. We've
changed the limit switches, added oilers, different exhaust,
and more. One time Blackhawk changed the air cylinder in one
pump and didn't mention it until two years later. When asked
about this pump, I said we hadn't had a problem with that
one. Little things like that make my job easy," said
Brooks.
Blackhawk's Anchor Pumps feature the pump inlet at the bottom
of the pump, so that the pump acts like a syringe, extracting
the product from the bottom of the well with every stroke
for highly reliable and consistent pumping, whether the pumping
action is clean or dirty. The positive displacement action
resists slowdown or stoppage even in the most sticky, gritty
or oily situations. There are very few moving pump parts in
the well to cause problems. Because Anchor Pumps have the
controls on top, they're very easy to install, inspect, troubleshoot,
and maintain. They can be installed vertically or horizontally,
and operate when a well is wet or dry. Additionally, with
the mechanical drive mechanism outside the well, no power
cords enter the well.
Blackhawk Environmental Co. specializes in manufacturing
quality pumps and controls for demanding pumping applications.
Blackhawk pumps can be powered pneumatically or electrically
and can work in hazardous or potentially hazardous environments.
For more than a decade, Blackhawk pumps have been successfully
operating in a wide range of pumping applications across the
United States. Blackhawk pumps are custom manufactured in
a variety of sizes and designs depending on the application.
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