Worthington Simpson Pump Repair After Owner Could Find No Spare or Replacement Parts
An old Worthington Simpson pump for which spare and replacement parts no longer exist is kept operational thanks to a repair which removed heavy corrosion from inside the head, sealed multiple pinhole leaks in the casing and strengthened the weakened metalwork.
Case Study Overview
Site Engineering company
Location Warwickshire, UK
Repair Type Corroded and leaking pump repair
Products Superfast Steel Epoxy Putty, Liquid Metal Epoxy Coating
Pump Defect
Worthington Simpson were a British pump manufacturer founded in 1785. For almost 200 years, they supplied pumps for most municipal waterworks in the United Kingdom. They later worked with the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.
In 1967, Worthington Simpson merged with American companies Wagner Electric and Studebaker Corporation, becoming a subsidiary of Studebaker-Worthington.
The demise of Worthing Simpson as an independent entity has made finding replacement parts for their historic pumps virtually impossible. Repair and refurbishment are therefore the only option to keep systems operational.
GEM Integrated Solutions are an electrical and mechanical engineering company based in Warwickshire, England, specialising in motor and pump repair.
They were asked by the owner of a now-obsolete Worthington Simpson pump to refurbish the heavily corroded pump head, for which spare parts no longer exist.
GEM disassembled the pump and shot-blasted the inside to remove rust, dirt and grime. But when the pump was pressure tested after repair, it was found to be leaking.
Corrosion had weakened the interior casing of the head so much that shot-blasting it created multiple pinholes, through which water could now spray out. GEM had never known a pump to be degraded to such a degree.
SylWrap Solution
After an initial attempt to patch weld over a pinhole failed, GEM used Superfast Steel Epoxy Putty to fill all the pinholes in the pump.
Small amounts of putty were cut from two 114g Superfast Steel Sticks, mixed by hand and then pressed flat onto the casing over every hole.
Superfast Steel hardened within 10 minutes, after which Liquid Metal Epoxy Coating was applied to completely seal the casing and give the metalwork inside robust protection against corrosion.
Three coatings of Liquid Metal were painted onto the casing. Once cured, they provided a 3mm thick reinforced metallic layer totally covering the interior of the pump.
Outcome
The repair made by GEM removed all traces of corrosion from inside the pump. Every pinhole leak was sealed so that water was contained when the pump went back into service.
Most important of all, the weakened inside casing now had a robust metallic shield which increased its wall thickness and protected it against future attack and degradation – significantly extending the lifespan of the pump.
Follow Up
It will now be many years before the inside casing shows any sign of corrosion and needs refurbishing again – much to the delight of the client, given the non-existence of replacement parts.
GEM were also happy to have discovered Sylmasta products for the ease and speed with which they seal leaks and protect parts and surfaces against corrosion.
Products Used
Superfast Steel
Fast working epoxy putty which cures in 10 minutes to quickly seal small holes in metalwork
Liquid Metal
Brush applied epoxy coating forms robust metallic shield against corrosion
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