At some point, we’ll stop talking about the U3. But today is not that day. Following up on our last couple of posts, today we take a look at five MORE reasons to love other than the front-loading seal. So let’s take a closer look!
Seal Part Commonality
At Triplex, we frequently audit facilities and assess their spare parts inventory. Typically, a disproportionate amount of the inventory is seal parts. And yet, end users never seem to have the right seals on hand. With the U3, we have far fewer parts that need to be changed out with both o-ring and mechanical seals and more part commonality. In fact, for the most common pump sizes we see (models 30, 40, 45, 60, and 130), the replacement seal parts are the same! That means fewer SKUs for you!
Modular Jacketed Cover
As we’ve mentioned previously, the Universal 3 is by far the most Universal Universal pump ever created. This is further amplified by the bolt on design of the cover jacket. This allows any pump to be quickly and easily converted to a jacketed cover simply by bolting on the water jacket and adding and additional L gasket. For customers who stock backup pumps, this allows you to streamline your inventory and simply bolt on the jacket attachment when required.
Drop In Replacement
The Universal 3 pump is also a drop-in replacement for the most common sizes (models 60, 130, 180, and 220) requiring no piping or base modifications if you decide to convert from a U1 or a U2. Even for the smaller sizes, the port-to-port dimensions are the same, only requiring the pump to be adjusted backwards by about 0.50”. And at Triplex, we slot the bases we supply, so if you have a base from us, there’s a good chance you can drop any size U3 right in.
Shorter Shafts Reduce Overhung Load, Improve Seal & Bearing Life
When we get a pump in for repair, it’s usually because the bearings have failed and the shafts won’t turn anymore. This requires what we call a “standard” rebuild. A standard rebuild includes front bearings, rear bearings, lips seals, oil seals, grease seals and product seals. While there a few different things that can cause the bearings on a PD pump to fail, one of the more common reasons is shaft deflection. This is especially common in high pressure applications, with the rotor being the overhung load causing the deflection.
Because of the U3’s unique seal design and location, U3 shafts are actually shorter and stouter, reducing the overhung load and extending seal and bearing life.
Laser Marked Parts Ensure Factory OEM Aftermarket Parts
About once a month, we get a call from a customer who’s having trouble installing seal faces they’re sure are SPX OEM or have a gear case that failed shortly after a rebuild. Inevitably, they end up sending the pump to our facility for inspection and we often find the issue is the use of non-OEM parts for repairs. This is especially common for grease seals, which many bearing houses think can be readily swapped for what they have on the shelf. To make matters worse, many times customers don’t even know they’re using non-OEM parts! They’re just using what the general MRO rep put on the shelf.
With the Universal 3, SPX has gone to great lengths to prevent this by clearly labeling and marking common parts with the SPX logo and part number. This is especially helpful with rotors, which are often mixed and matched throughout a plant, making it very difficult to figure out that using the undersized rotor is the reason you’re pump isn’t giving you the same performance we’d expect.
So there you have it- ANOTHER five reasons, not named a front-loading seal that make the U3 not only the most Universal pump ever, but the leading ECP pump in the sanitary space. As always, if you have any questions about your Universal 3 pump, please contact a Triplex Sales Engineer today!
