Industrial pumps manufacturer Verder Pumps South Africa has launched the Verderflex iDura – a new range of pumps – during the 2020 Electra Mining Connect week online event, hosted from 7 to 11 September.

The iDura pumps range is a plug-and-play version of the existing Dura hose pumps range and includes a single- or three-phase IP66 outdoor-rated inverter as well as integral hose burst detection technology.

Verder Pumps South Africa MD Darryl Macdougall explains that the iDura range spans the Dura 5 to Dura 35 pumps range, which are used extensively in mining applications such as dosing reagents, and lime and flocculation dosing in mine water treatment. The iDura range of pumps is also useful in sampling applications, general wastewater treatment and various other chemical dosing applications.

“The idea was to give the customer a pump that is packaged for maximum flexibility by including a pump motor gearbox and variable-speed drive, making it simpler for customers to use while reducing costs,” he says.

Every iDura has built-in flow-rate flexibility, which Macdougall believes is a key benefit. “This enables users to easily increase or decrease the pump’s flow rate using the inverter’s controls to accommodate normal production variations,” he says.

He explains that flow rates can be changed using the inverter’s potentiometer because every iDura is pre-programmed with the nominal flow rate for its size and shows the pump’s flow rate. “This eliminates the need to calculate what speed is needed for a target flow rate.”

The iDura series consists of six pumps that deliver maximum flow rates from as low as 22.5 ℓ/h to 2 744 ℓ/h.

Additionally, the prewired hose burst protection system uses the same display to show when it has automatically stopped the pump, thereby eliminating additional controls and wiring.

The iDura’s control panel includes forward and reverse pumping direction controls.

“These features can save time by clearing blocked feed lines, which, in turn, can help save money by recovering valuable chemicals, or they can simply help speed up an infrequent hose changeover,” Macdougall explains.

The iDura forms part of a pumping system that can intuitively encounter problems. The iDura can provide helpful diagnostic information by showing the absorbed power, the current being drawn, the inverter frequency and the pump speed.

T

he Modbus remote terminal unit and controller area network bus digital communications are options on the iDura. This also allows for the iDura to be connected to the customer’s supervisory control and data acquisition system for Internet of Things integration and remote monitoring capability.

Macdougall says that one of the key selling points of the iDura is its ease of use, which is particularly beneficial in scenarios where staff might not have the required skills levels.