Cast iron pump bowl

A Cast Iron Pump Bowl Is Installed in the Wrong Service... 

After several years of operation, conditions warranted the replacement of a pump bowl. The plant warehouse did not stock spare ductile iron pump bowls and none were accessible. A resourceful maintenance supervisor realized that there were a few other large pumps within the plant and they located one. Unfortunately, they chose a cast iron pump bowl which is very desirable for certain sodium chloride (table salt) brine services, but it is totally unsuited for large volumes of highly flammable materials. 

A cast iron pump bowl is installed in the wrong service... 

Cast iron is undesirable (and prohibited by certain flammable liquid codes) because a brittle fracture can lead to a massive leak. Some months after this mistake, the unit received a loss prevention audit and as a result the pump bowls were replaced with ductile iron units. This same audit prompted the installation of remotely operated emergency shut-off valves around these pumps. 

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