PFC News - Volume 9
October-November 2003

Welcome to PFC News!
In this issue you’ll find:

New Product: GE Osmonics Z.Plex
New Product Highlight: Milton Roy: PrimeRoyal and MacRoy
Shop Talk
Did you know...
Employee Profile
Maintenance Tips
PFC Quiz

Sign Up For PFC News!
Receive PFC News via email or mail.
Click here for more information.

Past Issues
June - July 2003
April - May 2003
February - March 2003
December - January 2003
October-November 2002
August-September 2002
June-July 2002


Congratulations to Michele Saddiq of Water Cooling Corporation who was last edition’s quiz winner! Thank you to all those who entered our contest.

#1 For what application is the ROsave.Zs intended?
#2 Up to what pressures can the Milton Roy Metallic Diaphragm and packed plunger pumps handle?
#3 What is Mark Brule’s nickname?
#4 What applications are gear pumps best suited?

Submit your answers to http://www.pfcequip.com/quiz.html or email sales@pfcequip.com or fax to 763-425-1132.

All correct submissions will be placed in a drawing for this issue's giveaway.




New Product...Milton Roy: PrimeRoyal and MacRoy

PrimeRoyal & MacRoy
The Two Extremes of Milton Roy Products

Milton Roy Products offer a broad range of engineered pumps and accessories to service a host of industries and applications. The two product lines that serve as product boundaries are the MacRoy D and the PrimeRoyal Pump offerings. These products reach the extreme ends of flow ranges generally required in metering pump applications.

The MacRoy D, part of the MacRoy family of pumps, is a mechanically-actuated diaphragm device for use in low to mid-range dosing applications. With a variety of wetted end materials, they are well suited to aggressive or otherwise difficult chemical dosing requirements. Available liquid-end materials are 316SS, Alloy-C and CPVC. Their low cost and long life expectancy provide a solid offering for industrial and municipal applications. With pressures up to 175 PSI and flows ranging from 0.2 gph to 115 gph, the MacRoy D is a solid, low-end pump, applicable to a myriad of requirements.

As an example, the MacRoy D is well suited for dosing sodium hypochlorite and other gas-bearing liquids (such as hydrogen peroxide). Degassing valves located directly on the head are available on some models with external degassing valves applicable for others. The MacRoy D is also available in the 3-A sanitary version suitable for food, beverage and pharmaceutical applications. The versatility of this product provides you with a viable and adaptable product offering, exceeding most if not all of the competition.

For output control all MacRoy Ds come with a manual micrometer. As an option, MacRoy Ds are available with variable speed drives, both in AC and DC voltages. Since a standard c-face motor can be used on the MacRoy, options for heavy industrial motors as required for the specific applications are available. Also, the MacRoy configures very well to the RoyPak Systems Package in one or two pump configurations.

The PrimeRoyal is a hydraulic metering pump that can be considered a power pump, as well as in its current form. Engineered for offshore and other hostile environments, its strength and durability are matched by its accuracy in providing properly metered material to the process stream. The PrimeRoyal can be specified for flows up to 2100 gallons per hour with pressures exceeding 20,000 PSI.

Most of the current PrimeRoyal applications are methanol injection on oil platforms and catalyst injection in refinery operations. They are also quite appropriate in supporting chemical applications where exact dosing of additives is required in large quantity reactions. Variable stroke and speed adjustments are optional on the PrimeRoyal along with signal interface to an external controller. Its metallic diaphragm assists in the pump’s durability and is applicable to many stressful applications and environments.

The MacRoy D and PrimeRoyal represent the boundaries for a full range of durable and respected products engineered through Milton Roy. A line of engineered special products augments these standard offerings, where these standard offerings can be custom tailored to any application. Contact your PFC Equipment representative for more information on Milton Roy range of products.










Did You Know?
  • The Milton Roy Metallic Diaphragm and packed plunger pumps can handle up to 20000 PSI and the HPD diaphragm pumps up to 5000 PSI.


  • At 600° F the Milton Roy packed plunger pumps keep on pumping.


  • Liquid CO2 pumps using a Gylon diaphragm pump.


  • The new Milton Roy degassing valves are designed to work with Sodium Hypochlorite applications.


  • The Centrac B controller has been redesigned to include standard features such as Remote Enable, High Pressure Alarms, Faults, Run, and other customer contacts. It is also rated for NEMA 4X.


  • The PrimeRoyal drive has four times the capability of the MilRoyal C.


  • The redesigned LMI Series AA pump extends product life with a new face cover and convenient added features.


  • Williams and Linc products are now produced at the Milton Roy facility in Ivyland, PA.


  • The Milton Roy test stands for the mRoy and Williams lines that have been updated to the latest flow meter technology with .10% accuracy capability.

Mark Brule

What Mark Brule enjoys the most about his position in the PFC Equipment Shop are the diversity and change in daily routine, and his skills expand far beyond that of a typical Product Engineer.

Not only can "Maestro" (as he is called around the office) design and draw your new system, he can then go into the shop and actually build it. From simple combinations of pumps and motors to unique and challenging systems, Mark has the tools available to create a unit for your requirements. This unique range of skills makes Mark vital to the operation of PFC Equipment.

This 18-year veteran is also called the Grundfos King, because of his warranty certification and vast knowledge of Grundfos products. Mark’s distinct training and hands-on knowledge of Grundfos pumps helps him to troubleshoot not only a Grundfos problem, but most of your system problems.

Remember to call Mark if you need an answer to a Grundfos question, a new system design or to troubleshoot a current problem. And tell him, "Happy Birthday," as December is his birthday month.





New Depth Filter Technology Boosts Filter Life and Dirt Holding Capacity

Z.Plex filter technology--a significant new approach to filtration media manufacturing results in considerable end user cost reduction

A new filter technology developed by GE Osmonics (NYSE: GE) for manufacturing polypropylene melt blown depth cartridge filters allows end users to reduce fluid processing costs and increase operating efficiency. The technology, called Z.Plex™, produces filters with up to 100 percent greater filter life and dirt holding capacity than conventional melt blown depth filters at equivalent competitive efficiencies. The cost savings come largely from the ability to use fewer filters to fulfill the same processing needs due to the significantly improved filter performance.

Proven in multiple field trials, filters produced with Z.Plex technology are substantially out-performing competitive filters at equal efficiencies (removing equal percentages of same size particles). In addition to longer filter life, filters produced with Z.Plex technology decrease pressure drop by up to 50 percent, which saves energy costs. The new technology enables end users to reduce filter change-out costs, equipment downtime and waste hauling and disposal.

"We will revolutionize the filtration industry with an advanced technology that produces cartridge filters with up to twice the filter life and dirt holding capacity of competitive filters," said Roger Miller, general manager, GE Osmonics Filtration & Separations Group. "This development was built on decades of filtration industry know-how and years of research. Our research and development prowess goes back to pioneering a technique to manufacture true graded density filters over 20 years ago."

In order to produce filters with substantially improved dirt holding capacity, Z.Plex technology was engineered to produce greater void volume than current melt blown filter technology. More void volume means more space to trap dirt particles, which leads to longer filter life and cost savings. Increased void volume is achieved with smaller diameter fibers and an innovative three-dimensional fiber matrix that maintains structural integrity while greatly increasing filter capacity. To allow increased layer spacing for more void volume, GE Osmonics engineered "Z-fibers" that transverse the layers and provide critical structural support.

In addition to improving filter performance, Z.Plex technology allows for flexibility in designing filters to specific applications and efficiency grades during the manufacturing process. At this time, GE Osmonics is offering two versions of filters produced with Z.Plex technology: the ROsave.Zs™ filter for reverse osmosis pretreatment applications and the WellPro.Zs™ filter for deep well protection applications. Additional filters tailored to specific applications will be introduced later in 2003.

For further information on GE Osmonics’ Z.Plex technology, call your PFC Equipment representative today!





What Pump to Select and Why — Part 2

As previously discussed, the most common pump configuration is horizontal end suction, single stage centrifugal pump. This design has proven to be the least expensive to purchase, operate and maintain, and is typically readily available. This configuration is the choice for water-like fluid transfer applications. But not all pump applications will call for a centrifugal pump.

Typically products with a viscosity of 750SSU (Saybolt Seconds Universal) will require a positive displacement pump. Progressing cavity pumps, gear pumps, diaphragm pumps and plunger pumps are all considered positive displacement. To determine which design to use, it is best to determine which designs will NOT work for your application.

In applications where oils are being pumped, and you require continuous smooth flow, most application engineers will first consider gear pumps. If the product to be pumped is abrasive laden or has suspended solids, a gear pump will fail prematurely. In fluids with these characteristics, progressing cavity pumps are better selections. Progressive cavity pumps are ideally suited for pumping viscous, shear-sensitive and thixotropic fluids. A thixotropic fluid is a fluid whose viscosity increases with flow. In addition, progressive cavity pumps are also available in food grade materials. These are the pumps of choice for pumping products such as yogurt with fruit in it so that the fruit is not harmed by the pumping process. This configuration is also preferred for low emulsification applications, such as transferring oily water from separator treatment systems.

Gear pumps and progressing cavity pumps are ideally suited for some applications, but they will not tolerate being run dry. Most diaphragm pumps will tolerate dry running without damage. Diaphragm pumps are capable of pumping abrasive-laden viscous fluids and have excellent priming ability. This configuration is available with electric motor, gas/diesel engine and air operated drives.

Air-operated double diaphragm (AODD) pumps are available in many different materials and are built to withstand the most difficult fluid handling situations. By their design, these pumps emit a pulsing discharge. In applications where the pulsating discharge is not acceptable, pulsation dampeners manufactured with the same materials of construction as the pumps should be installed. Typically a pulsation dampener can reduce discharge pulsations by 80 – 90%. An additional advantage of AODD pumps is that by regulating the air inlet pressure, these pumps can be operated in variable speed applications. And finally, because they run on compressed air and not electricity, if grounded properly AODD pumps are considered explosion proof.

Piston pumps and plunger pumps are ideally suited for pumping clean, non-viscous liquids at higher pressures than most other positive displacement pump configurations. Most high pressure (above 1000psi) cleaning and spraying applications will require this design. For flows of 10 GPM or more, these pumps are most commonly belt driven, and may be gas-engine, diesel, or electrically coupled via a set of pulleys. Due to the high-pressure capabilities of this design, a pressure regulating/relief device must always be installed in this system.

There is a type of pump built with the correct materials of construction and performance capabilities for every fluid handling application. Contact PFC Equipment, Inc. to have one of our qualified, highly trained application engineers help you make the correct selection for your application.





Metering Pumps
The words "metering application" can be very ambiguous and misleading. In the pump industry these words typically mean the precise addition of a secondary fluid(s) into a primary fluid stream or tank. Yet, there are several different styles of pumps that can be employed to accomplish this goal. Before deciding which pump to use, we must first address the primary concerns of metering — accuracy and repeatability.

Most positive displacement (PD) pumps can accurately dispense a fixed amount of fluid into a primary fluid stream, if there is a way to count the revolutions or strokes made by the pump. Stroke counters and tachometers are two of the more common methods of counting cycles/revolutions of a pump. Most manufacturers of PD pumps will have published displacement per stroke or revolution. This assumes a 100% volumetric efficiency. And there is the rub. Depending on the quality of pump selected, each stroke or revolution may not deliver 100% of listed volume. In general, the higher the quality of pump, the more likely the displacement will be at or near the published volumetric efficiency. This leads to the next issue — repeatability.

Repeatability is typically measured in +/- %. This is to say that the output from any given stroke will be within some percentage of all other strokes. A good example of this is the standard industrial air operated double diaphragm pump. An AODD pump is a positive displacement pump with a known displacement per stroke or cycle. Unfortunately, the output of an AODD may vary by as much as 5% from one stroke/cycle to the next. In applications where precise chemical addition must be maintained (ex: the addition of food additives), the AODD would be a poor selection. Whereas in bulk chemical addition or batch treatment where the allowable range is wider, an AODD can be a very cost-effective solution. A good rule of thumb is that the more accuracy and repeatability required, the more expensive the pump will be. There are many excellent metering pumps with accuracies to 0.5% which can be selected for critical applications.

So, before selecting a metering pump for your chemical addition application, ask yourself two questions – 1) How accurate do I really need to be? 2) How repeatable does that accuracy need to be? By answering these two questions, you can narrow down the many choices there for metering pumps. Contact the application engineers at PFC Equipment, and let them assist you with the most cost effective solution to your metering application.