Replacing a part is not always the best solution. One company is providing a unique coating solution that can extend the life of pumps.
When a pump fails in a utility plant, the clock starts ticking on downtime, budget overruns, and operational headaches. But what if the solution isn’t a replacement? What if the right coating system could rewind the wear, rebuild the performance, and reset the clock?
Welcome to the world of rotating equipment rebuilds, where polymer-ceramic coatings transform the maintenance of asset-intensive industries. At the forefront is Chesterton’s ARC coating technology, designed to rescue, reinforce, and futureproof pumps and fans in harsh conditions.
From scrapyard to service: A new rebuild philosophy
The legacy mindset for degraded pumps or fan housings was simple: replace worn metal. However, this incurs costs, delays, and repetitive problems.
Today’s method is smarter. Coating rebuilds restore structural integrity, reclaim hydraulic efficiency, and offer greater resistance than the original design. It’s not just about running old assets, it’s about improving them.
Where hydraulics meet high performance
Let’s start with ARC 858. This coating isn’t just tough, it’s smart tough. Formulated to smooth internal surfaces of pumps and flow equipment, it reduces turbulence, enhances flow, and resists erosive wear from suspended solids or cavitation.
Maintenance teams use ARC 858 to resurface volutes, impellers, and casings, where micro-erosion affects performance. Operators experience immediate efficiency improvements, achieving up to seven per cent energy savings and significant extensions in mean time between failures (MTBF). In environments where reliability equals revenue, such metrics are crucial.
But what about the equipment that looks too far gone?
The ARC BX series offers heavy-duty rebuild composites to quickly and permanently replace lost metal. Whether volutes are corroded or fan blades eroded, BX coatings fill, reinforce, and restore the geometry for safe operation. Rather than new parts, teams adopt a new mindset: restore and strengthen with a material that firmly bonds and lasts longer than welded overlays or epoxy fillers.
Ready for the worst-case scenario
Pumps handling abrasive slurries or aggressive chemicals often require coatings with high wear resistance. In one mining application, a tailings pump lost more than 12 millimetres of material in six months. A repair using ARC MX1, BX2, and a topcoat of ARC 855 extended the pump’s service life to more than 12 months. Repairs were minimal, with pumps returned to service within 72 hours, resulting in annual savings of approximately $13,700 per unit.
More than a fix: Engineering for reliability
ARC coatings redefine asset management, replacing reactive patchwork with engineered resilience. When pumps and fans utilise ARC technologies, it’s a strategic upgrade- transforming worn components into high-performance assets for today’s industrial challenges.
This isn’t just a repair. It’s a redesign, with reliability in mind.
For more information, visit chesterton.com or email enquiries_apac@chesterton.com
