Articles from Sunair

Magnatex Magnetic-Drive Sealless Pumps: Trusted by the Best 

Written by Sunair Co. | Aug 15, 2022 5:17:11 PM

When it comes to transferring aggressive fluids that are difficult to seal, magnetic drive sealless pumps are a highly effective, dependable option for an extensive variety of applications and industries.

Magnatex Pumps is known for producing high quality magnetic drive sealless pumps specifically designed to meet some of the most demanding requirements in the processing industry to ensure the highest level of performance, efficiency, and reliability.

Sunair is proud to supply a wide range of Magnatex Pumps products for a variety of pumping solutions.

What is a Magnetic Drive Pump?

Magnetic drive pumps are a type of sealless centrifugal pump. They have separate drive and driven shafts, isolated from each other by a containment shell or shroud, with cylindrical banks of magnets affixed as an “outer magnet ring” to the drive shaft and an “inner magnet ring” to the impeller shaft. The pumped fluid is in direct contact with the inner magnet ring and contained within the containment shell and casing, without use of mechanical seals or dynamic gaskets, and the containment shell is rated to the full working pressure of the pump. When the pump is energized, the outer and inner magnets and shaft assemblies rotate synchronously, separated by the containment shell between them. The impeller shaft assembly features hydrodynamic thrust bearings, shaft sleeves, and bushings of a material like carbon or silicon carbide, which are cooled and lubricated by a small amount of pumped fluid that is directed from the pump discharge and circulated throughout the inner magnet, shaft, and bearing areas.

Benefits of Using Magnetic-Drive Sealless Pumps

Because they have no mechanical seals, magnetic-drive pumps are leak-free. They are therefore especially effective at transporting fluids that are corrosive, toxic, carcinogenic, noxious, flammable, volatile, oxidative, valuable, extremely hot or cold, and even radioactive.

Mechanical seal related issues drive a majority of pump maintenance activities; so, eliminating these components in instances where appropriate magnetic-drive technology may reduce maintenance activities and downtime, thus resulting in longer operating life, improved production output, and enhanced worksite safety since personnel need not intervene with a magnetic-drive pump as frequently as they do a mechanically-sealed pump.

Mechanical seal and seal support system cost and complexity should also be considered. Seals and systems designed for aggressive fluids can be expensive to procure and maintain, frequently adding significant cost to a complete pump solution. Plant personnel must invest time and resources into selecting and engineering a seal system. Seal systems will often incorporate telemetry that requires power and connection to a plant’s DCS. They can also require utilities like electric power and plant nitrogen, or they might require a hookup to a flare or leakage containment and collection system.

Whenever evaluating the efficacy of their seals and systems, a plant should equally consider the alternative magnetic-drive sealless selections.

Sunair can help a plant conduct a sealed-to-sealless technology comparison by using standard tools that can help predict the ROI and payback for an investment in sealless magnetic-drive technology.

What Makes Magnatex One of the Most Trusted Magnetic Pump Manufacturers?

Since 1985, Magnatex Pumps has specialized in producing the highest-quality magnetic drive models by utilizing rugged, reliable, field-proven designs and materials to achieve maximum performance and longevity for their products. The streamlined designs of Magnatex pumps facilitate ease of maintenance, require no motor and base plate alignment (most of their pumps are close-coupled), and reduce unscheduled downtime—for the lowest overall cost of ownership on the market.

Magnatex is an ISO 9001:2015-certified supplier of ANSI and sub-ANSI magnetic drive pumps, as well as ANSI mechanically sealed centrifugal pumps and gear pumps. ANSI and magnetic-drive pumps conform to ANSI B73.1 and B73.3 dimensions. Sub-ANSI sizes are also available for efficient operation in low flow applications.

Magnatex magnetic-drive sealless pumps are available in metal alloy, polymer-lined non-metallic, and thermoplastic (polypropylene or PVDF) versions. Magnatex’s flagship non-metallic model MTA lined pump uses PFA (perfluoroalkoxy tetrafluoroethylene), which is the highest-quality polymer liner material available. While all liners are permeated over time, the denser and thicker the liner, the lower the permeation rate and longer its lifespan. PFA outperforms all other widely-available lining materials in this regard. For this reason, the Magnatex model MTA with PFA liner can handle even the most corrosive pumping applications.

Magnatex uses their high-pressure transfer compression molding manufacturing process to bond the liner to the casing armor. This high-pressure process is highly effective at eliminating air bubbles between the liner and casing armor, producing a dense polymer liner with highly uniform thickness and surface finish, with an exceptionally strong bond between the liner and casing armor.

High-pressure compression molding is superior to the more commonly used roto-molding process, which is performed at atmospheric pressure, producing a thinner, less dense, more permeable lining with less uniform surface finish and more susceptibility to air bubble formation which affects liner adherence to the casing armor.

Magnatex pump casings additionally feature recessed dovetailing that creates an additional mechanical attachment between the liner and ductile iron casing armor. Magnatex’s liner system overall produces more robust and durable components. It is also particularly effective in services that are under vacuum, because the vacuum condition works to separate the polymer lining from its casing.

Magnatex’s superior design and composition ensure its pumps perform optimally for longer, and make them invaluable in processing industry applications that can’t risk leakage, including:

Magnatex also produces an unlined, mechanically sealed ANSI pump – the Magnatex 3596 series – which is manufactured to meet the latest ASME B73.1-2001 standard. Available in 29 unique sizes, the 3596 series also interchanges part-for-part with Goulds’ 3196 series pumps. Finally, Magnatex’s internally geared PDL series pump is available in sealless, sealed, or packed box configurations, and their model RVP is capable of interchanging with many common Viking pump sizes. These machines are available for a wide range of applications in various materials of construction and driver configurations.

Why the Best Suppliers Choose Magnatex Magnetic Drive Pumps for Their Clients

Sunair supplies equipment from the most reliable, industry-leading pump manufacturers. We carry the full line of Magnatex magnetic drive pumps—proven to deliver the best operational performance, with longer pump life.

For the best operational performance, your facilities demand the best equipment. Sunair is proud to partner with Magnatex to distribute the most dependable magnetic drive pumping solutions in the industry, for whatever your pumping operations require—all backed by our factory-authorized service center.

From installation to repair and servicing, Sunair has you covered. To learn more about our premium line of Magnatex magnetic drive pumps, contact Sunair today!