Winter has truly set in for us in Adelaide and with this, we are seeing a strong demand for pump technician callouts across the metro Adelaide suburbs and the Adelaide Hills.
The rain started a lot later this season and many of our clients have not thought to clean out their stormwater pits this has caused many of the pumps to get blocked, typically from leaves and gum nuts.
Pumping Systems
Today many of the pumping systems which we install have a device that will help avoiding air locking of the pumps discharge line. It is very important to ensure that if you are attempting to clean out the pump pit you ensure once this is done that the pump has maintained its prime.
Air locking issues are a common fault we get called out to and sometimes can be super tricky to fix. One helpful key point is that a pump has a non-return valve installed and a barrel union. If these two items have been installed it makes it easier for us to get the air lock out of the line and get the pump working again.
Sewer Pumps
Another area of pumps which we get year-round callouts for is sewer pumping station faults. Today with many houses being built on sloping blocks it requires the installation of a sewer cutting pump. The cutting pump can get blocked from time to time due to the wrong thing being flushed down the drain pipes. What will typically happen if this occurs is the pumping station will go into alarm mode (high-level float alarm will turn on).
Most of our clients across Adelaide will then contact our pump team and make an appointment for their pump to be fixed. If how however the pump has been in alarm for too long it can cause electrical fusion of the motor (dead pump). If you have home insurance majority of these policies will cover the replacement of the pump (many home owners are not aware of this).
Recent Case Study
In a recent project completed at a motorcycle service agency in the city, we have just replaced a diaphragm pump. This pump is used to remove dirty water from an in-ground pit that holds dirt, oil, petrol and grease and transfers this into an oil separation device.
Given the age of this pump, it was deemed more economical to have the complete pump changed over including the sensors. Performing a job such as this requires the work of a qualified pump technician and a licensed electrician.
For the team at Mayfair Plumbing this is a fairly text book style of job and something which we can perform relatively quickly.
Grundfos
It was quite interesting to also see a Grundfos pumping station installed in Indonesia recently while holidaying in Bali. The same style of control box is used, just the pipe work is different (see photo attached).
In locations such as Indonesia and Canada, they use a material called ABS pipe. Whereas in Australia we use high-pressure PVC and HDPE pipe systems for our pumped discharged lines to sewer. Although the electrical power systems are slightly different the overall installation is very close to that of what we use here in Adelaide for all our major commercial projects.
Many of the commercial pumping systems in Adelaide’s multi-storey buildings were installed and maintained by a company called Reynolds Electrical over the past 30 years. The owners of this company have recently retired, and we are getting many phone calls to assist with the maintenance of their pumping systems throughout Adelaide’s CBD. It is with this increase of work that we have now upgraded our premises and are at the forefront of becoming Adelaide’s largest pump servicing agent in South Australia.
Trained Pump Technicians
Pumps are a unique field to work in and there are not too many companies who are trained and equipped to take on such tasks daily. Mayfair Plumbing has a dedicated team that works closely with thousands of customers across South Australia maintaining and installing pumping solutions.
We also offer out-of-hours emergency pump services for when your pumps need urgent attention. Next time your pumps are not pumping think Mayfair Plumbing and call 0429361819 or send an email to plumbers@mayfairplumbing.com.au.