Engineers at water management specialist Sykes Group have again raised the bar with a new pump designed to last longer and boost productivity when working in the world’s toughest mines.
Launched at the Queensland Mining & Engineering (QME) Expo in Mackay on 24 July, the Sykes XH200 is the latest product in the new extra high head pump range developed to operate in harsh mining, quarry and rental environments which demand both high water flow and pressure requirements.
The switch from standard cast iron components to 316 stainless steel front and rear wear plates and impeller – plus a clever new bearing bracket set-up featuring damping properties, delivers pumping efficiency of 73%, as Sykes Engineering and Pump Training Manager Gert Inja explained.
“Our analysis of exhaustive field trials told us that the standard cast iron impeller and plates corroded before they wore out, and so left room for improvement in terms of longevity and performance in harsh Australian mining conditions – widely believed to be among the most abrasive in the world,” he said.
“As well as the switch to 316 stainless steel as standard and the introduction of the new bearing bracket, we’ve selected a drive coupling to cover power requirements and resonance conditions (ie torsional vibration) to suit any pump and engine combination. This also makes the pump unusually robust as well as helping to reduce fuel consumption, emissions and maintenance costs. It enables the pump to deliver 180 L/sec of flow @ 150m.
Also seen for the first time at QME will be an MVDS120P7 compressor from the Italian-designed and made Rotair.
Powered by Perkins and supported throughout Australasia via the Sykes Group branch network, Rotair’s rotary screw compressors are the product of 40 years of dedicated engineering and production from one of Europe’s best-known family businesses.
As has been the case in key European markets, the rapid growth of the Rotair brand in Australia is expected to reflect the quality and reliability of the clever patented air-oil filtering process and ground-breaking screw system. It means that despite being compact and quiet, the units can easily match the output and reliability standards expected of the market’s more mature brands.
Head of global sales for Sykes Group, Paul Sowerby said:
“We tell ourselves that this business is all about analysing the customer’s needs and devising a solution to meet them, and air compressor technology has been niggling away at us for a while.
“Bringing such a clever solution into a range of Sykes Group lighting towers, pump and power generation products from which we already sell over 5,000 units a year worldwide, means all the safety and performance achievements which the Rotair engineers have developed are wrapped up in best-practice technology which we’ve been perfecting over 20 years. It’s a hell of a cocktail, and is really going to raise the bar.”
From the Sykes Group generator stable comes the P500-550 and XD12.5; which have been chosen for the show to give a feel for the spread of options available from the FG Wilson dealer.
“After 20 years at the cutting edge of mobile lighting and de-watering technology, we realised that the biggest concerns for mining operators were fast, fuss-free access to world class brands – from a central supplier who can support them,” added Sowerby.
“Including FG Wilson generators within our bundle of world class brands means miners no longer have to try to source and manage core equipment from different suppliers and suffer the frustration of inconsistent product support promises.”
Gas, diesel or bi-fuel, the FG Wilson line-up ranges from 10kVA – 2200 kVA and extends from open and enclosed generating sets for standby use, right up to power modules with the ability to operate as complete power supplies for entire mining operations. The popular XD Rental Series is a modern, robust range of generating sets, specifically designed for rental applications, ranging from 12.5 to 1250 kVA.
And for added peace of mind, every FG Wilson generator is backed by the Sykes Group genuine parts, service and warranty promise.
Allight mobile lighting towers have dominate domestic mining equipment markets for almost 20 years.
The Sykes Group QME stand will also feature MS6k-9 and LED mobile lighting towers.
