In November 2013, the Deragger II from Clearwater Controls successfully trialled in America, at Western Avenue Pumping Station, California. Results were instant. Within the first week alone, the Deraggers prevented nine wastewater pump blockages, while electricity consumption reduced by around 4.5%.
The Deragger II – a small (35mm wide) din rail mounted, state-of-the-art wastewater pump management system – has already been adopted by water utilities and house builders throughout the UK since its launch in 2011.
With its sophisticated technology and advanced pump protection, this patented device delivers real-time monitoring and ragging prevention to ensure a clean impeller at all times.
By preventing blockages from forming at the pump station, it eradicates the time-consuming and costly necessity of manually lifting pumps. In addition, this easily retrofitted award-winning device reduces wear and tear on the pump due to unbalanced loads.
Western Avenue Pumping Station falls under the remit of Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (LACSD), the largest municipal on the west coast of America, which safeguards the health of around 5.5 million people. Due to its significant pumping capacity, Western Avenue is LACSD’s trial site for new technologies.
Prior to the Deragger II trial, the station ragged up around four times a month across two 37.5kW (50HP) pumps. These pumps, controlled via a Siemens Variable Speed Drive (VSD), were unable to perform anti-ragging on their own, resulting in the need for regular lifting and cleaning of the pumps to minimize environmental impact.
The trial involved clipping a Deragger II to both VSDs to provide real-time anti-ragging. Installation took less than a day per pump, without the requirement to replace the starter or VSD.
Mark Pettit, Senior Engineer at LACSD, commented: “We are averaging about one automatic deragging a day roughly. I feel this is a great product and application.”
LACSD now intend to install Deragger IIs on the remaining three pumps at Western Avenue. News of the successful trial has also generated interest in the nearby area.
