For many years, Northwest Pump has partnered with PSG, a Dover Company, to provide our customers with the industrial and petroleum pumping equipment they need. PSG, A Dover Company, has many internationally acclaimed pump brands including Wilden, Blackmer, & Griswold. However, many in the US may not recognize its more popular brands coming out of Europe: Almatec, Abaque, & Mouvex. These brands have been offered sporadically through the US, but now Northwest Pump is proud to announce that along with being the PSG west coast distributor, we are now the master distributors for these brands from Alaska to New Mexico, including Hawaii. So, what does Northwest Pump as master distributor for these brands look like? Here is everything you need to know.
What does a Master Distributorship mean for you?
As your PSG west coast master distributor, Northwest Pump has been able to offer eight of its core brands in our territory. What has now changed is Northwest Pump is now importing Almatec, Abaque, and Mouvex directly from their manufacturers in Europe. While we are the primary importer of these brands, Northwest Pump will support other PSG distributors within our territory when they acquire Abaque, Almatec, & Mouvex products. The only change these distributors will experience is the point of contact for these pumps.
Northwest Pump will be the primary point of contact for technical support, customer service, and service & warranty needs. This means for anything related to product information, basic application support, availability or order status, as well as warranty claims will go through Northwest Pump. PSG will continue to provide more advanced technical support through its branded websites, distributor portals, and product selection tools.
What do these brands offer?
Almatec designs AODD pumps for specialized applications such as chemical processing, pulp & paper, battery production, and semiconductor construction. To prevent untimely corrosion, Almatec offers its pumps in three main materials polyethylene (PE), polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE), and stainless steel. Learn more about Almatec here.
Abaque specializes in peristaltic hose pumps. The main benefit of these kinds of pumps is the pumped fluid will not be exposed to air. Abaque pumps are perfect for water/wastewater, mining, chemical, and sanitary applications. Learn more about Abaque here.
Mouvex is a familiar brand at Northwest Pump. It offers eccentric disc pumps designed specifically for hygienic applications. This brand has pumps for applications ranging from paint to cosmetics, as well as wine & beer to fruit slurries & yogurt. Learn more about Mouvex here.
Next Steps
Interested in seeing what these pumps can do for you? Contact your nearest Northwest Pump branch here. Need repairs on your current PSG equipment? Our service team is vendor certified for your needs. Request service directly here for immediate assistance.
When it comes to food production, there are strict standards during the manufacturing process to maintain safety standards. With smooth internal surfaces & ease of cleaning, sanitary pumps meet these requirements to protect against bacteria and other contaminants. Northwest Pump offers several sanitary pump options for many different applications, whether it be for a thick yogurt slurry or freshly pressed oil.
Do all pumps in a plant need to be sanitary pumps?
No, not all pumps in a food production plant need to be sanitary. A sanitary pump is only necessary when it is in direct contact with food products. Grundfos, for example, does not offer sanitary pumps. What it offers instead is pressure-boosting equipment as well as pumps to clean out the sanitary equipment already present in a facility.
What makes equipment sanitary?
3-A symbol from the International Association of Milk, Food, and Environmental Standards
The FDA regulates Food Contact Substances (FCS) ranging from the pumping equipment processing the food, to the coverings on an at-home coffee machine. The key feature of sanitary equipment is a smooth surface that can be easily cleaned. Manufacturers of sanitary pumps can offer easily disassembled pumps to increase the ease of cleaning, depending on the brand. A sanitary pump will typically be made of stainless steel 316A, or alternatively will be made of a non-porous plastic. The International Association of Milk, Food, & Environmental Standards also has a symbol called 3A to show when a pump meets these classifications. This and the FDA logos will appear on pump literature when the product meets these requirements.
Are sanitary & hygienic the same thing?
The main difference between hygienic and sanitary equipment is in their applications. The FDA classification for sanitary pumps must meet higher standards for consumer product manufacturing. Hygienic pumps on the other hand, are for high-volume transfer applications for food & beverage, cosmetics, and even pharmaceutical processing.
Our Sanitary Products
Northwest Pump offers sanitary & hygienic pumps for a variety of applications. Our main vendor for sanitary pump equipment is PSG, a Dover Company, through its Wilden, Mouvex, and Abaque brands. We now also offer vacuum pumps through Atlas Copco, for canning and other sanitary applications. In addition to these pumps, Northwest Pump now offers food-grade valves, fittings, and other ancillary pumping equipment through Dixon Valve & Fitting. For food-grade lubricants, we have partnered with A.W. Chesterton Company. Finally, for food-safe compressed air, Northwest Pump offers oil-free compressors through Sullair.
Next Steps
Need a sanitary pump for your facility? You can contact our experts here, email them at sales@nwpump.com, or call 1-800-452-PUMP to discuss your application needs. Looking for service on your current sanitary pumps? Reach our service team here, email them at service@nwpump.com, or call 1-866-577-2755.
Over the last few months, our Industrial service team has been working on revitalizing the Portland branch’s in-house pump shop. The end goal of this project is to build the most respected industrial pump repair shop in the country. Northwest Pump is committed to servicing your industrial equipment needs, and now we will expand our capabilities even further.
Learning from the best
Our team realized the best way to start this journey was to look at other renowned pump shops across the United States to compare what they have, to where we want to be. With help from A.W. Chesterton, the team was able to visit pump fabrication facilities in the south-eastern US. This helped us know not only the type of equipment they utilize, but also the layout of the shop as well as the technical know-how our team needed to consider.
What to expect from the new pump shop
When the renovations are finished, Northwest Pumps’ repair shop will be assembling pump packages in-house. The packages will have Chesterton seals or packing as needed and be engineered with customer need first. We will also be able to increase production in compressor packages manufactured in-house as well.
In addition to assemblies, the shop will add an inside overhead crane to expand our capabilities when working with larger turbine pumps. The shop is also upgrading its dynamic balancer for more precise insights on the balance of the impellers that we work with.
What is new?
In the time since the trip, our shop has upgraded its tool boxes for increased capacity & ease of use. Those visiting our Portland branch for any will calls should notice the warehouse now starting to make space for upcoming pump assemblies already. As we begin the process of updating the shop, we expect no impacts to repair times.
Next Steps
Stay tuned for updates through social media or sign up for our service newsletter to receive them monthly below.
Looking for maintenance on your industrial pumps? Request an appointment here.
Secure your competitive advantage and increase profits with Gilbarco’s Encore 700 EMV Fuel Dispenser – your best dispenser investment for today and tomorrow. With a familiar ATM-style customer interface, the highly secure CRIND provides enhanced, upgradable security that supports EMV and contactless payment technologies.
Forecourt Payment and Merchandising
Encore 700 S gives you field-proven tools to inform, persuade, and motivate your fuel customers to come inside your store and buy higher-margin goods, through:
Flexible content management options, with the industry-leading Applause® Media System
Superior on-screen image clarity, video resolution, and video performance
Supports mobile payment applications
Capability to support EMV Contactless payment
10.4″ color screen for maximum impact
Aging Equipment Is Expensive
Parts, service, and labor costs are increasing. It’s time to invest in an asset that pays you back. Save your cash and finance EMV technology upgrades at below-market rates.
Forecourt Payment Security: FlexPay™ IV is the industry’s most secure payment platform for fuel dispensers. The FlexPay IV CRIND provides the easiest and most integrated secure payment solutions.
Forecourt Engagement: Encore 700 S gives you field-proven tools to inform, persuade, and motivate your fuel customers to come inside your store and buy higher-margin goods.
Dispenser Fueling Security: Offers customizable security options such as custom locks, door entry detection sensors, reinforced lower panels, or encrypted pulsers.
Dispenser Remote Management: Gilbarco’s cloud-based service, Insite360 Encore, allows subscribers to remotely connect to their dispensers and perform several straightforward and complex tasks.
Secure. Connected. Profitable.
The stakes have never been higher when it comes to security on the fuel island. Gilbarco’s FlexPay systems and contactless payment technology make EMV upgrades and mobile payments easier and more cost-effective.
Self-Managed Media To Drive Forecourt Engagement
Boost your business and drive fueling customers inside your store with valuable solutions that enhance your digital strategy on the forecourt. Encore’s media solutions engage your customers at the pump, improve brand loyalty, and increase your bottom line.
Next Steps
It’s time to enhance customer engagement and scale your digital transformation with robust loyalty and content management options. Learn more about the Encore 700 EMV Fuel Dispenser by contacting sales@npwump.com, calling 1-800-452-PUMP, or finding your nearest location here.
A crucial step in preventative maintenance in pumps is finding and using the correct seal for the job. Mechanical seals are used to seal the rotating shaft in pumps and other equipment. With so many mechanical seal designs on the market, it can be difficult to identify which kinds to use. A.W. Chesterton Company’s mechanical seal design utilizes 5 design principles to maximize its sealing capabilities. These principles have been refined by Chesterton since the company brought its first mechanical seal to market in 1970. After all the lessons learned from successes and failures, they have determined the Five Key Features that a mechanical seal should have to reduce unplanned maintenance and downtime. To provide the greatest mean time between failures (MTBF) and avoid downtime, they utilize these five design principles in their sealing devices.
Protected Springs
Spring protected from fluids | Image provided by A.W. Chesterton Company
Typically, within early mechanical seal designs, the springs were submerged within the fluid. However, this can lead to trouble when fluids with dirt or other contaminates interact with the springs. When the contaminates collect within the spring, it cannot correctly maintain the alignment necessary for a complete seal. Chesterton’s mechanical seal design protects the springs within the mechanical seal from the fluids being pumped.
Balanced Design
The second design feature and open secret of Chesterton’s mechanical seal design is balance. On the mechanical seal, there are two main sides, the fluid side, and the atmospheric side. To prevent moisture from leaking out of the seal, both sides put equal pressure on each other to trap the fluid. Many seals will often see that the fluid side exerts greater pressure than the atmospheric side. Not only does this reduce the quality of the seal, but it can also ruin the pump with time. Balanced seals reduce the seal ring area on which the hydraulic pressure of the liquid in the pump acts. This allows for better lubrication that results in lower heat generation, face wear, and power consumption. Balanced seals will generally have higher pressure ratings than unbalanced seals.
Non-fretting
Non-Fretting Seal | Image provided by A.W. Chesterton Company
Fretting on a pump shaft refers to the way that a material is worn away on a shaft by an elastomeric material. An example may be a 316 stainless steel shaft sleeve that is damaged by a Viton O-ring. Stainless steel protects a shaft from corrosion by forming a chrome oxide layer on the surface. The dynamic O-ring wears that protective surface away and it then reforms. Over time the chrome oxide gets imbedded into the O-ring and works like sandpaper removing even more material. The result is a groove worn into your expensive sleeve and a leaking mechanical seal. Chesterton seals utilize designs that have any dynamic O-rings operating against a non-metallic surface, usually the sacrificial face.
Additionally, some manufacturers offer seals that are self-fretting, rather than shaft-fretting. What this means is that these seals do not fret or damage the shaft, they harm seal itself. While this protects the pumps, the O-rings still work against metal, reducing the lifespan of the seal itself.
Monolithic Seal Faces
Inserted vs Monolithic Seal Face | Image provided by A.W. Chesterton Company
Some mechanical seal designs utilize an inserted seal face, typically made of carbon or graphite inserted into a metal holder. However, the disadvantage to this technique is these non-metallic materials often react to heat differently than the metal of the seal. The result is the face of the seal is easily deformed- leading to leaks and early replacement of the seal. Proper mechanical seal design uses monolithic seal faces without using a holder and inserted face. By using Finite Element Analysis (computer modeling), Chesterton’s monolithic seal face designs are made more efficiently than ever.
Stationary Design
Rotary vs Stationary Seals | Image provided by A.W. Chesterton Company
Mechanical seals can either use rotating or stationary springs. With rotary mechanical seals, it is important that the stuffing box face is perpendicular to the shaft for the faces to stay closed. There will always be some resulting misalignment from installation and parts tolerances so this alignment cannot be assured. To compensate for the misalignment, the springs must adjust each time the shaft rotates to keep the seal faces closed. At motor speeds this adjustment happens thousands of times per minute (for 1800 rpm, 3600 adjustments occur) which is not only difficult to accomplish, the springs will fatigue and fail causing seal failure. Rotary seals are simple in design which makes them inexpensive
In contrast, a stationary seal is designed in such a way that the springs do not rotate with the pump shaft; they remain stationary. Because the springs do not rotate, they are unaffected by the rotation of the shaft or how fast the shaft rotates. The springs do not need to correct or adjust with each rotation; they adjust for misalignment only once when installed. Chesterton uses this as the fifth design requirement, and this provides greater life to their mechanical seals.
Chesterton 1510L in Action
Using these five design principles, Chesterton has updated its 150 seals to the new 1510 seal. The new design uses a monolithic seal face and changes where the dynamic O-rings are placed to be a non-fretting seal. Chesterton unveiled this updated seal in the US in September of 2022. However, Chesterton also has one additional add-on for this new seal. Starting at the end of October 2022, Chesterton will be releasing the 1510L. The 1510L has all the same design capabilities of the 1510, the difference between the two is the installation process. The 1510L utilizes a lock ring mechanism to simplify installation requiring the installer to tighten only one screw to connect the seal to the shaft.
Next Steps
To request a demonstration for the 1510L mechanical seal, click here. Learn more about Northwest Pump’s mechanical seals by contacting us here, emailing us at sales@nwpump.com, or by calling 1-800-452-PUMP.
For service on your mechanical seals by our Chesterton certified pump technicians, contact us here, email us at service@nwpump.com, or call 1-866-577-2755.
Starting on July 1st this year, Northwest Pump is now partnering with Wilo to become an authorized service provider for Wilo brand pumps. In addition to selling Wilo & American-Marsh, Northwest Pump will now add Scot Pump, Weil Pump, & QuantumFlo to our list of vendors. We are also bringing Wilo and Wilo brand pumps to our Fresno branch. Here is a guide to Wilo, their brands, and the products & solutions they offer.
Wilo Pumps & Other Products
Wilo offers centrifugal, sump, in-line, end suction, split case, and submersible pumps for HVAC, water supply, drainage, and sewage. Many of Wilo’s centrifugal pumps are also ANSI and NSF certified. Additionally, Wilo also provides circulators, boosting systems, pressure tanks, and individual parts for aftermarket repairs.
Wilo’s Other Brand Pumps
American-Marsh Pumps
American-Marsh offers end suction, process sump, self-priming, split-case, ANSI process pumps, and vertical and submersible turbine pumps. Besides their pump offerings, American-Marsh also sells mechanical seals, electrical motors, and other fire protection equipment. This brand serves industrial, municipal, agricultural, commercial, & fire-protection markets.
Diagram of Close & Flex-Coupled/Inline End Suction Pumps
Scot Pump
Scot Pump focuses on end suction single-stage centrifugal pumps designed for several applications. The uses range from industrial plants, temperature controllers, truck-mounted, marine environments, and outdoor rooftops, to name just a few. This manufacturer uses various materials such as iron, bronze, aluminum, and stainless steel.
Weil Pump
Weil specializes in centrifugal pumps. This brand offers submersible, grinder, sump, sewage, and dry well pumps, turbine condensate return pumps, booster systems, control panels, and other pumping accessory equipment.
QuantumFlo
QuatumFlo is the newest Wilo brand, and its focus is on packaged pumping systems. This brand not only manufactures pumps, it also offers software to maximize the efficiency of pump systems as well.
Next Steps
Did a product listed above catch your eye? Check out Wilo’s complete catalog with all four brands mentioned here.
Ready to inquire about Wilo pumps? Email our team for the next steps and other information by emailing sales@nwpump.com, calling us at 1-800-452-PUMP, or contacting us here. Does your Wilo brand pump need service? You can access our official Wilo service center pump shop by requesting service here, emailing service@nwpump.com, or calling 1-866-577-2755.
In the time since the trip, our shop has upgraded its tool boxes for increased capacity & ease of use. Those visiting our Portland branch for any will calls should notice the warehouse now starting to make space for upcoming pump assemblies already. As we begin the process of updating the shop, we expect no impacts to repair times.
Scot Pump focuses on end suction single-stage centrifugal pumps designed for several applications. The uses range from industrial plants, temperature controllers, truck-mounted, marine environments, and outdoor rooftops, to name just a few. This manufacturer uses various materials such as iron, bronze, aluminum, and stainless steel.
Weil specializes in centrifugal pumps. This brand offers submersible, grinder, sump, sewage, and dry well pumps, turbine condensate return pumps, booster systems, control panels, and other pumping accessory equipment.