IMPELLER: The ESSCO cup style impeller was given thorough design consideration. Utilizing modern methods of manufacturing, ESSCO was able to produce impellers with a straight, accurate bore and keyway. Specification requirements using a tapered shaft with a flat section to act as a keyway, coupled to a soft lead babbitt material in the bore of the impeller, was improved upon with the use of a straight bore design. By using up to date manufacturing practices and methods a major complaint of maintenance personnel was alleviated. Another added design benefit was recessing the impeller bolt area to protect it from grit and debris. The ESSCO impeller bolt is protected from wear. ESSCO included extra thick tapered impeller vanes, deep vane pockets, extra sacrificial material in high wear areas, heavy duty rear impeller shroud and a contoured impeller face which matches the shape of the suction cove. All of these features insure the maximum impeller life.

IMPELLER BOLT PROTECTOR: As an added feature, ESSCO includes an impeller bolt protector on each pump. Even though the impeller bolt is located in a recessed area of the impeller, there was a potential for grit to cause wear on the bolt head making it very difficult for removal of the bolt. ESSCOmanufactures the bolt protector from the same material as the impeller to completely cover the head of the bolt. This protects the head of the bolt from the pumped material thereby insuring no damage to the impeller bolt.

WEAR PLATE: Located behind the impeller and in front of the stuffing box is a heavy duty wear plate. The wear plate is designed as a single monolithic piece to provide maximum protection to the stuffing box or optional mechanical seal housing. ESSCO does not use cast in soft metal inserts on the wear plate. Maintenance personnel complained about constant leaking around the inserts cast into other manufacturers wear plates. The problem was easily solved by simply not using inserts. The ESSCO wear plate is contoured to match the impeller back shroud which reduces the possibility of grit and sludge getting between the wear plate and the impeller shroud causing excess wear.

STUFFING BOX: The stuffing box is a two piece design, consisting of “stuffing box ring” and a “stuffing box cartridge”.