Pump protection pioneered

In response to the mining and quarrying sectors’ concerns over pump and engine damage in situ, 6959 Pioneer Pump has devised a solution to protect its customers’ pump-sets.

Based on Pioneer Pump’s original Rock & Rain protection, consisting of a painted carbon steel roof over both the engine and the pump, the new design aims to provide added protection to the sides of the pump-set, reducing repair costs and increasing equipment longevity.  

“The design has a bolted cage area around the suction spool; two doors on one side of the pump-set (with easy access to the pump and the engine via a simple lock), and two doors on the other side (again, with easy access to the pump and the engine),” says the company.

Each door has a bolt, which can be secured with a padlock to ensure the doors are properly fixed to the frame and that neither the pump nor the engine is exposed to external voluntary or involuntary damage.

“Damage to the equipment on site can occur in various forms: as a result of torrential rains and falling rocks; contact with other machinery operating in the mines and quarries; rarely but also possibly, animals, as well as theft or vandalism. And while the original roof only protected the top part of the pump, the new bars and grids are giving the sides of the pump-set extra protection from the above threats.”

Pioneer Pump has not provided added protection to the back end of the pump-set because 395 Caterpillar engines have protective stone guards and angle grills. After careful analysis, Pioneer’s technical design department deemed that a cage around the rear of the engine would not provide necessary added value to the pump-set’s safety.