Pump coupling foot - what is it?
A coupling foot for pumps, also sometimes called a coupling elbow (as it has an elbow part that changes the direction of flow), an auto-coupling for submersible pumps or a coupling for submersible pumps, is an inseparable element of every modern sewage pumping station. Thanks to the coupling foot for mounting and dismantling the submersible pump in the tank, we do not have to enter it every time. This is very convenient and much safer for operators because it does not expose them to inhaling the aggressive sewage environment or entering the tank using ladders or manhole steps that are damaged by time and corrosion.
Construction of the coupling foot
The coupling foot consists of two main elements, one of which is called foot or basis is permanently mounted to the bottom of the tank using screws or anchors and the second element is called pump hook or pump connection it is lowered together with the pump along pipe guides. The pump hitch is responsible for correctly positioning the pump on the coupling foot and ensuring the tightness of the connection between the sewage pump and the discharge pipeline.
Responsible for holding the pipe guides at the top of the tank upper guide bracket, it allows you to keep the guides in place at an appropriate distance from the fittings and other components of the pumping station.
Good coupling foot for sewage pumps
Good coupling foot for submersible pumps is characterized by a precise (tight) connection of the pump with the discharge (outflow) pipeline. Any leaks in the connection cause leaks and, worst of all, serious pressure losses, which we really want to avoid because the pumps are selected precisely for specific operating conditions (pressure and efficiency). Such tightness can only be ensured by very precise machining of the contact surfaces between the foot and the hitch, and it can be further improved by the use of a rubber seal.
Which coupling feet for which sewage pumps?
Many pump manufacturers use individual types of connections in pumps and coupling feet to protect against the use of substitutes for their pumps. This makes it necessary to use pumps from only one manufacturer in the pumping station, which ensures a monopoly. Such action makes it impossible to use other pumps, cheaper, more expensive, with different parameters or simply better at a given time. For example: X pump manufacturer he sells the pump at a promotional price, knowing that in some time he will be able to earn a lot on servicing these pumps, because the customer will have no alternative and will always have to use his pump in the pumping station. You can protect yourself against this by using special adapters or adapters between pumps from other manufacturers and the hitch or coupling foot. Pump manufacturer X. There is also another option, cheaper and more convenient, namely application universal coupling feet, whose structure allows the installation of many types of pumps from different manufacturers.
USS 50 universal coupling feet
Since there are a huge number of pump manufacturers on the market, no coupling foot system can meet all of them, for example due to the types of flange and threaded connections. However, there are solutions that allow you to connect a large number of pumps from different manufacturers and this is one of such solutions The company's Universal Coupling Foot EM4IS - foot USS 50. Thanks to the use of a solution registered in the Patent Office, it is possible to attach pumps with different pitch diameters (hole spacing) in the flanges of submersible pumps to one hitch. Thanks to the auto-connector for submersible pumps EM4IS USS 50 the subsequent operator or user (who bears the costs of using the pump system) is not forced to use pumps from only one manufacturer.
Get to know the auto coupling for USS 50 pumps
Clutch foot USS 50 was created for various connection flanges, primarily for pitch diameters DN50 PN6 and DN50 PN10. Additionally, the USS 50 coupling flange allows connection to pump flanges with nominal diameters from DN32 through DN40 up to DN65 PN6. All types of spacing for four holes from a pitch diameter of 90mm to a pitch diameter of 130mm, with smooth diameter adjustment.
A big advantage of the USS 50 coupling foot is the soft EPDM gasket placed between the pump flange and the hitch, which goes through and seals the connection between the hitch and the foot. This allows you to eliminate losses in pressure and pump efficiency caused by contamination of contact surfaces (which is easy to happen in sewage).
An additional advantage of the foot is its material design: the base, i.e. the foot, is made of hard-to-corrode gray cast iron, the catch is made of flexible ductile cast iron, and the upper support of the guides, most exposed to corrosion, is made of 304 stainless steel. All screw connections are class A2 (302 stainless steel) and the gasket is made of sewage-resistant EPDM.
Unlike many manufacturers of pumps and coupling feet, the USS 50 foot has two 3/4 inch guides with a wide spacing that prevents the pump from rotating when pulling out and lowering. The pump always hits the foot securely and engages properly, sealing the connection. The hook additionally has a special centralizer that prevents the pump from moving on the foot due to vibrations, even when the pipe guides are removed.
Upper guide support USS 50W instead of typical cast iron pins, which in most pumping stations "ring" during pump operation and quickly corrode, the foot EM4IS USS 50 has rubber EPDM bushings with screws which, when tightened with a wrench, swell, filling the space inside the guides, stiffening them and permanently attaching them. At the same time, these sleeves make it possible to compensate for differences of several millimeters when cutting stainless steel guide tubes.
The whole project is complemented by a universal connection flange for the discharge pipeline, which includes places for screws for flange connections from DN40 PN6 to DN65 PN6 as well as a 2-inch internal thread for threaded connections, e.g. GW2"xPE63 screw fittings.
Application of Universal Coupling Feet EM4IS USS 50
The mentioned coupling alloys are widely used in sewage, rainwater, process and technological pumping stations. Wherever the user or investor wants to be able to decide independently about the choice of pumps, which are the heart of every pumping station.
If you want to use threaded pumps, we recommend useful flange-threaded adapters from the series AKG 50, which perfectly fit the USS 50 foot.