Most commercial and industrial properties throughout Adelaide will have some form of pumping system installed. These pumps could transfer stormwater to the street during a storm or even transfer the stormwater throughout the building for reuse in toilet cisterns and irrigation systems.
Storm water plays a big part in the operation of commercial buildings’ operating infrastructure, and this must be carefully looked after by an experienced pump company such as Mayfair Plumbing.
Sewerage Pumps
Another example of pumps used in commercial applications is for the transfer of sewerage when the building has fixtures installed below the invert level of the street sewer mains.
Take for example, buildings in Adelaide’s CBD, which have offices below street level all these properties require a sewer pumping station to lift the waste back up to the SA Water sewer mains in the street.
Commercial kitchens will also use smaller versions of these pumps to transfer their greasy waste into their grease arrestors before the clean waste is delivered to the SA Water Street mains.
Dewatering Pumps
Hotel and apartment blocks located along Adelaide’s coastline in the suburbs of Glenelg, Henley Beach, West Beach and Somerton Park have car parking located below the water line of the ocean and require the constant use of de-watering pumps to avoid flooding of these basement-style car parks.
These pumps need to be of high quality due to the sand and saltwater they are dealing with every minute of the day. Even during the construction of Lights Landing and Marina Pier at Glenelg during the early 2000’s dewatering was required to allow concrete footings and pylons to be poured.
Circulating pumps are another popular style of pump used to transfer water not necessarily waste water. Examples of their uses can be hotels, gyms, office complexes, apartment blocks, shopping centres, aged care facilities and hospitals. In these types of properties, there are often plant rooms where the hot water is made by large-scale commercial gas hot water systems.
The hot water is then transferred around the building or various levels of the building using circulating pumps to push and pull the hot water to its draw-off points and return it to the plant room for reheating.
What Makes Up An In-ground Commercial Pumping System
Many different parts make up a minimal-maintenance pumping system. Below we are going to outline what is involved with the operation of a pump system in Adelaide.
- Starting it is important to have a correctly sized chamber to hold the pumps. Typically, a commercial pumping system will house two pumps, and you don’t want the pumps short cycling and that is why a larger chamber rather than a smaller one is desirable.
- Accessibility to the pumps is very important. Pumping stations do require regular maintenance and getting the pumps without too much trouble is ideal. Having heavy-duty stainless steel chains installed inside for lifting is a good idea and points of disconnection to lift the pumps out of the chamber are important to note as well.
- Dual pumps with a reliable control box. The advantage of having two pumps operated by a controller is that it allows each pump to operate alternatively and if the demand is high on the pumps, it can allow both pumps to run at once during peak periods of rain typically. Another advantage to the dual pumping system is that if one of the two pumps fails you still have a pump in operation till a pump plumber can attend your property in Adelaide.
- A brass non-return valve. A solid non-return valve will play to key role in the operation of your pumps. Firstly it will stop the pumps continually pumping their discharge over and over again (short-cycling) and secondly it will help your plumber work on the pumps without having to fill the chamber with what could potentially be hundreds of litres of waste first.
- Floats inside the pumping pit. These are telephones between your pump and the control box. Typically, there will be 3 floats inside the pit. The first two floats are the run and run-off floats which tell the pumps to turn on and off. The third float is the fault float. It will firstly tell both pumps to run at once if the water level gets high enough, but if after the set period it is still in the active state it will set the alarm siren and beacon off. If you ever notice your pump in the alarm mode it will require urgent help from a pump technician.
Programmed Maintenance For Pumps
At Mayfair Plumbing we have a dedicated division located in Adelaide that works solely on commercial and residential pumps daily. We offer after-hours pump servicing across all of Adelaide. We offer our clients to be set up on regular maintenance schedules depending on their requirements.
For example, a residential pump in a back yard sump might only get serviced once a year whereas a petrol station or hotel would most likely be scheduled for quarterly inspections and servicing. If you notice the red alarm light flashing, you should call for service on your pump immediately.
Pumps are a unique field and do require a trained eye to look over them and diagnose just what the issues. It is also very important that when you do look to have your pumps replaced the specifications need to be correct for the conditions in which the pumps are going to be working. Things that should be considered are:
- Power input is it single-phase, three-phase or petrol-driven
- Head height and vertical length of discharge line
- Size of discharge pipe and material
- Location of isolation valve and non-return valve for future maintenance
- What will the pump be moving? Clean water or dirty water with solids. If the pump needs to move solids what size and material is it likely to be?
- Brand and are parts available off the shelf if required
With all the above points considered an informed decision should be able to be made as to which pump is going to suit the replacement of the burnt-out pump. When you are next considering a plumber or electrician to help with your pump repairs call Mayfair Plumbing on 0429361819.
