Pump rental company Integrated Pump Rental introduced the SlurrySucker dredge unit into its rental fleet at the end of last month.

This pumping solution, which makes it easier to remove silt and built-up sediments from process water ponds, return water ponds and other water storage areas, will be available on long- and short-term hire.

The units were designed and engineered locally by Integrated Pump Rental and are available in two sizes. The smaller, or SlurrySucker Mini, is capable of extracting 120 m3/h of slurry/water mixture, equating to 30 to 40 dry tons an hour. Double this extraction volume can be achieved with the SlurrySucker Maxi, which will remove between 70 to 80 dry tons an hour. The SlurrySucker Mini has a 100 mm discharge and the SlurrySucker Maxi a 150 mm discharge.

The mini dredge unit will be predominantly used for desilting smaller dams or tanks where sediment build-up has occurred, while the maxi unit is suited for use in larger dams or water storage facilities.

Manufactured using locally produced components, the SlurrySucker dredge units incorporate pumps from the Grindex slurry and dewatering range. This means that lead times are significantly reduced in terms of complete units as well as the requisite parts, as the need to import components has been eliminated. Selection of the pump will be determined by the dredging operation at hand and could include either Grindex dewatering pumps where agitation of the slurry is required, or Grindex slurry pumps where there is a need to remove slurry from ponds or dams.

Integrated Pump Rental GM Lee Vine explains: “During the developmental stages, computational fluid dynamics [was used] to optimise and validate the design, and the innovative dredge head design is a unique selling point. This provides customers with the assurance that the performance of the SlurrySucker and its engineering integrity are maximised.”

Integrated Pump Rental will provide full turnkey rental solutions which include the installation, commissioning, operation and decommissioning of the pumping unit.

The dredge unit can be used on plastic-lined dams without causing any damage to liners. This is important from an environmental perspective as there is no risk of the liner being cut and water leaking out. The SlurrySucker dredge unit has a variety of advantages, including that it can be operated by only one person.

Another advantage is that the dredging operation can be performed without any downstream processes having to be halted. When other traditional methodologies are used to dredge water storage ponds, the dam or pond has to be taken off line and this shutdown can be costly in terms of production.

Additional Products
Integrated Pump Rental also introduced pump flotation devices (PFDs) into its rental equipment line-up. These are also available for sale. The company supplies three different sizes of PFDs with carrying capacities of 250 kg, 600 kg and 1.2 t. In the event that a heavier mass needs to be suspended, a number of PFDs can be used in series to accommodate this situation. A PFD is used to suspend the pump during pumping operations.

Further, the company also introduced hose flotation devices (HFDs), which are available in 4 inch, 6 inch and 8 inch sizes.

HFDs are used to suspend hoses during pumping applications where either pontoons or barges are used and the hose needs to be suspended above the water, or where hosing is laid across the water instead of around the perimeter of the water.