East Richland County Maintenance Superintendent Jack Morin was frustrated with the
poor performance of the solids handling pump in the Hughes Lake lift station. The pump
was clogging up to three times a week and requiring inconvenient service calls from his
maintenance crew. They tried several different approaches to solve the problem, but every approach resulted in more wasted time and money.

The county first attempted to run the existing pumps backwards by reversing the power
leads in the control panel, but the pump continued to clog and then the terminals in the
control panel were stripped and needed to be replaced. The county then attempted to
replace the submersible solids handling pump with a shredder pump. This solution did
provide temporary relief, but soon after the station continued to experience frequent
clogging.

Pumps, Parts & Service, Inc. (PP&S) a Crane Pumps & Systems’ distributor visited with Morin and recommended they try a Barnes 4SHVB non-clog 10 HP pump with vortex impeller manufactured by Crane Pumps & Systems. PP&S offered a special arrangement with the county where they could try the pump for 90-days. If at any time during the 90-day period the county was not satisfied with the Barnes 4SH pump’s operation PP&S would remove the pump from service at no cost to the municipality.

In October, 2011 the Barnes pump was installed onto the existing rail system, alongside
the shredder pump. The ANSI/ISO slotted discharge flange design allowed the pump to
be installed without any special flange adapters. At the end of the 90-day trial period, the county was extremely satisfied with the station’s performance
and purchased the Barnes 4SHVB vortex pump.

The lift station has not experienced any clogging since installation and has greatly reduced the maintenance time spent at the location.