Thermoplastic bearing manufacturer Vesconite Bearings is tendering for the supply of the largest Vesconite pump bearings that it has ever supplied.

Vesconite Bearings is pleased to announce the successful testing of its Hitemp 160 machined bushings in a demanding application in South Korea. The client, a prominent industrial entity, carried out testing by fully submerging the bushings in an oleum (fuming sulphuric acid at 30% concentration) up to a temperature of 80ºC while utilising an Alloy 20 Stainless Steel shaft on a sump pump.

There are times when a simple pump design and less maintenance are preferred by pump users, especially in messy dirty wastewater applications. Such was the case with one wastewater plant operator in South Africa, which was being called in every couple of weeks to remove, disassemble and clean wastewater pumps at one or other of the facilities that the company maintains.

Labyrinth seals can now be ordered from Vesconite Bearings using client specifications. This follows the supply and successful use of Vesconite labyrinth seals by several large pump original equipment manufacturers in multiple labyrinth seal designs over the past 10 years.

In the coming months, a Turkish geothermal plant will be installing Vesconite’s high-temperature bearing material known as Hitemp 160. Specially designed for pump bearings, this new material may be used in the high temperature range of 160 – 200ºC depending on the chemicals in the solution.

Vesconite Hilube bowl, stuffing box, suction and line-shaft bearings continue to operate in a condensate pump in the US ten years after installation.

Vesconite’s Hitemp 160, a no-grease-needed bearing material able to operate up to 160°C (320ºF), and even up to 220ºC (430ºF) depending on the application, offers a major advantage to many pump manufacturers.

An engineered polymer traditionally used for bearings has reduced fire risks on solvent extraction (SX) plants. The polymer, Vesconite, has been installed by SAM Engineering on base plates upon which its centrifugal pumps are mounted.

A pump containing three sleeve bearings made from a new bearing material, Hitemp 160 − which can operate to temperatures up to 160°C and is resistant to abrasive material − has been tested in a pump that has received South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) certification.

Independent tests by a major pump manufacturer prove corrosion-free Vesconite Hilube wear rings safely allow reduced running clearances and improve pump efficiency.