Food Grade Air Diaphragm Pump Case Study

A large soda bottling syrup plant saved $26,806 and resolved multiple challenges by switching to the ARO SD20S FDA compliant diaphragm pump.

In March of 2019, ARO began working with a large soda bottling syrup plantto resolve a number of long time challenges.


The Problem

The customer’s current pumps were failing and required a complete rebuildevery 30-90 days. This issue was costing the customer over 12 hours of pumpmaintenance per year and a tremendous amount of downtime.

While this casestudy focuses on soda, these same pumps are suitable for brewery, corn syrup,bakery and many other food and beverage applications.

The ARO food grade diaphragm pump helped a large soda bottling syrup plant to resolve a number of long time challenges.

DISCOVERY

  • Graco® FDA pumps only lasted 30-45 days before complete rebuilds.
  • Wilden® FDA pumps only lasted 45-90 days before complete rebuilds.

Pump repairs caused countless hours of production downtimeand over 12 hours of collective repair time for the three pumps that were running in the syrup plant.

TRIAL TESTING

On July 13, 2019, an ARO SD20S food grade air diaphragm pump was placed in production for a test trial on the same linesand at the same rate of production as the previous competitive brands.

RESULTS

After 580 days — over a year an a half of operation — the ARO pumprequired its first maintenance. This pump outperformed the competition in four key areas:

  1. Downtime - one maintenance requirement in 1.5 years versus 19 for the competition
  2. Safety - 50% quieter
  3. Efficiency - 20% less PSI
  4. Production - more gallons per minute (GPM)

TOTAL CUSTOMER SAVINGS

$26,806 over 1.5 years

SD Series Diaphragm Pumps

ARO FDA compliant pumps, a part of our EXPert Series (EXP) line, are designed to transfer fluid for the food andbeverage industries efficiently and safely. Our pumps typically yield 20 to 30 percent better flow rates than other products available on the market, ensuring the material is transferred carefully. Because every ounce of fluid is treated gently, the shelf life is oftenextended and product quality maintained.

All ARO EXP pumps feature

  • Patented “Unstallable” unbalanced air valve design, which avoids stalling issues associated with other pumps
  • Exhaust valves that divert cold exhaust air from ice-prone components, which prevents freezing and downtime
  • Ability to pass even large shear-sensitive solids without degradation or heat build-up
  • The ability to run dry, which eliminates the risk of pump damage
  • Gentle pumping action that will not froth or separate fluid, improving end-product quality

ARO FDA Stainless Steel Diaphragm Pump

Operating Data SD10X-CSS-SXX-A 1" Pump SD20X-CSS-SXX-A 2" Pump
Startup Pressure 25 PSI (1.723 bar) 25 PSI (1.723 bar)
Dry suction lift 16.49 ft. H2O (5.02 m) 18.25 ft. H2O (5.56 m)
Wet suction lift 31.4 ft. H2O (9.57 m) 31.4 ft. H2O (9.57 m)
Flow Rate 54 GPM (204.4 lpm) 195 GPM (738 lpm)
Displacement per/cycle @ 100 PSI (6.895 bar) 0.258 GAL (0.976 liters) 1.3 GAL (4.9 liters)
Max. Solids Passage 0.125 in. (3.175 mm) 0.25 in. (6.35 mm)
Fluid Inlet/Outlet 1-1/2” Tri-Clamp 2-1/2” Tri-Clamp