What is a pump lifting chain used for?
Pump lifting chains or pump chains are designed with the single function of retrieving under water pumps from their often extremely deep down, wet location.
Now allow us to quickly consider what a submersible pump is.
A submersible pump is what its title suggests, it is a pump to pump out water and other liquids from under the water level (submerged). They are commonly used in bore holes, wells, mines, water and sewage areas, industrial and slurry pumping, mining, seawater handling and in many cases fire fighters may use them. They may be positioned under water for prolonged periods, and can be permanently left in place in some areas.
Because these pumps are utilized at deep locations and often in hostile environments they require special apparatus to lift and lower them into position, a pump lifting chain is really the only answer.
So why are pump chains distinctive?
Pump lifting chains have a much bigger link every meter through the chain, this is to facilitate, gradual raising in one metre intervals, by fitting each larger link to the lifting machine.
Since submersible pumps are used in secluded locations and usually deep underground, for long periods the pump lifting chain is also left in situ, because seeing as the pump is beneath water, very deep down, it’ll need to be retrieved at some point for maintenance or extraction. The upper end of the chain tend to be firmly placed just below the surface, someplace where it will be simple to reach, to allow it to be attached to a lifting appliance. Some type of lifting system will be required to raise the pump, to begin with some form of hoist will be needed, this may perhaps be a simple chain block, lever hoist or electric hoist if power is obtainable; the hoisting device will clearly need to suspend from some type of frame in order for it to operate correctly, for this type of operation a tripod style framework will be positioned over the pump hole, to which the hoist is going to be fixed. Tripods are utilised as they may be moved and erected quite easily in remote and difficult locations. The raising of the pump will be a gradual and laborious task, but a necessary one. Because of the depth of the pump plus the rather low height of the tripod the pump cannot be raised in a single motion, it needs to be raised in 1 metre increments that correspond to the master links in the pump lifting chain; this technique is the only positive way to safely raising a pump. A sturdy bar will also be needed, this is to lay across the bore hole so that it can be pushed through a link to support the pump whilst the master link on the hoist is removed to allow the hoist to be lowered down to the next available link, this will be raised up as far as it will go and the process will start once more, and repeated until the pump is removed.
Owing to the fact that the pump lifting chain is going to be left in pretty hostile conditions, they need to be tough, the most common chain utilised for these are grade 80 or 316 stainless-steel otherwise grade 40 high tensile steel, obviously suited to different conditions. They’re regularly obtainable with different dimensions of chain links, these could be anything beginning with 4mm up to 26mm, and will come in most lengths. You should also think about a stainless-steel shackle to fix the chain to the pump itself, to offer long life within the dirty and wet conditions they will be used in.
To promptly summarise then, it is most clear that the use of a pump lifting chain is critical to hoisting as well as lowering under water pumps. The places where they are used tend to be deep, dark and narrow and so it would be either impossible or extremely dangerous for an individual to go to the bottom to retrieve the pump. Always purchase top quality products from respectable suppliers to avoid losing the chain caused by breakage or degradation on account of poorer quality chain. This would make the retrieval of the pump nigh on impossible, or at the very least tremendously difficult.