Yerseke has been a typical Dutch fishing village since the 15th century, it’s a place where you can fully experience and taste the fishing life. Fishing for mussels and oysters is an important source of income here, and it also plays a major role at a national level.
Potappel Techniek – a local company specialised in pumps and pumping systems – recently installed a Cornell 4STX on board the YE-84 fishing vessel in order to pump out bilge water from 3 different holds. This was particularly exciting, because a Cornell self-priming pump had never been used in Europe before.
The Challenge
The main challenge was the existing pipe system aboard the vessel; with long suction lines with sharp bends and just a very short discharge pipeline. “From installation point of view this is always tricky”, according to Wouter Potappel, owner of Potappel Techniek. “In addition to these complications, we were also dealing with the issue that only air was being sucked at the end of the pumping cycle.”
The skipper, Dick Moerland, stated that they had tried several pumps, but encountered the same problems over and over again, the mechanical seals quickly broke down. “In one instance the seal only lasted for a single day”, says Dick. Some of the important factors that had to be taken into account when selecting a pump:
– The pump should have good suction volume capacity and not be susceptible to cavitation; – The pump should be capable of running dry for short periods of time; – The Oosterschelde tidal basin (part of the North Sea) is a salt water environment and some dirt will obviously be sucked in from time to time; – Capacity isn’t a major concern, 100m3/hr is more than enough.
The Solution
In 2013, Cornell globally launched a series of self-priming pumps. This passed without too much initial attention in Europe, but the specific characteristics of the Cornell 4STX now offered the perfect solution to the user’s specific challenge. The large, completely ductile iron pump casing delivers good suction capabilities and is untroubled by the mixture of air and water. Cornell uses the well-known Cycloseal® system for the mechanical seal – this makes the pump resistant to running dry.
The Result
To best understand the results for yourself we have made a video and posted it on YouTube so you can see and hear just how quietly the pump runs. No sounds of cavitation and no vibrations, according to a satisfied skipper who can now go back to fishing for oysters without any cares!
“The pump runs incredibly quietly, you just don’t hear it, unlike the other pumps we have tried.” “The Cornell processes a lot of water even though it only has a small electric engine – the holds aboard are empty in no time!” Based on this success, Cornell Pumps Europe has made the decision to include the STX-series in the European stock program and according to the Product Manager Henno Schothorst: “These self-priming wastewater pumps have so many purposes that we see an exciting range of diverse applications. For example, these pumps are also installed in sewer systems all over the world.”
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