Why The Beast Is the Best Pump for Your Heavy-Duty Needs

If you have heavy-duty pumping needs, you don’t want to waste your time with a pump that may not be capable of handling abrasive or viscous fluids or fluids containing solids or packable materials. You want a rugged, clog-resistant heavy-duty pump that won’t need to be serviced all the time. You want The Beast from SANDPIPER.

The Beast, otherwise known as the SPB20 2” (50 mm) AODD Heavy-Duty Flap Valve Pump, is a descendent of the first AODD pump manufactured by Warren Rupp — the founder of SANDPIPER’s parent company Warren Rupp, Inc.

Rupp wanted to develop pumps unlike anything else on the market — pumps that would perform in harsh conditions when others couldn’t. That’s how the company came to develop several innovations that would differentiate its heavy-duty pumps for years to come, including: 

1. A flap valve that allows larger solids to pass through it
2. Top suction and bottom discharge, allowing the pump to use gravity to its advantage

In addition, Warren Rupp heavy-duty pumps are known for their thick casting walls, chamber materials, and injection molded parts, making them durable in the harshest of conditions.

Decades after Warren Rupp debuted these pumps, SANDPIPER engineers further improved the heavy-duty flap valve pump design with detailed customer feedback. The new iteration — The Beast — launched in April 2022.

Why The Beast Is the Best

The Beast improved Warren’s Rupp’s original heavy-duty flap valve pump in several ways to decrease operational downtime.

• The Beast’s flap shape and flap area geometry prevent solids from accumulating and flush them out, so they don't hold open the flaps.
• The Beast’s flaps are available in chemically resistant 316 stainless steel. Other material options are available, allowing them to be used with harsh chemicals.
• Metallic Beast pumps are available in aluminum, cast iron, and stainless steel. The non-metallic Beast pump is currently available in polypropylene. Lightweight options like aluminum and polypropylene are ideal for applications that require portability, such as underground mining applications.

Heavy-Duty Applications Where The Beast Is the Best

Although The Beast is a great solution for pumping a broad range of chemicals and fluids containing solids, it was designed for and tested with several of our toughest applications in mind: mining, chemical, and meat/poultry processing. Each of these can include a combination of slurries, partial solids, and compactible materials that push other pumps past their limits.

SANDPIPER tested The Beast in blood transfer, chemical plant, and coal mining applications, and those pumps have been operating well for more than a year without any problems, whereas prior pumps often needed weekly servicing. 

Mining

AODD pumps have consistently proven to be the best pumps in the mining market because they:

• Are able to handle the combination of slurries and solids better than other pumps
• Have unmatched portability and safety since they don’t need electricity to operate
• Handle variable volumes of fluid better than centrifugal pumps

But even for the best AODD pumps, mining was a challenge. In mine face dewatering specifically, when coal dust gets into the groundwater before entering the pump, the dust packs up and acts like a solid. It may build up underneath the flaps and hold them open, preventing them from closing and functioning properly. 

The Beast’s innovative flap design ensures packable solids flush through the pump and won’t hold the flaps open. Plus, the non-metallic version of The Beast is lightweight and portable, so mine workers can maneuver it as needed. It’s also easy to maintain, featuring a removable end cap that gives users access to the flap for easy cleaning without the need for disassembly. The Beast can be repaired in minutes. Finally, the non-metallic version of The Beast is the most air-efficient pump of any 2” pump available, adding to its appeal. 

Chemical

The chemical sump market, a common application for heavy-duty flap valve pumps like The Beast, also faces the challenge of frequent clogs. Debris and environmental contaminants often enter groundwater and build up under the pump flaps, preventing them from closing.

The Beast’s ability to prevent clogs — due to its flap shape and ability to flush solids through — minimizes this issue. Additionally, chemical plants are known for pumping harsh, dangerous, caustic, and abrasive fluids, which may cause problems depending on the materials of your pump. The Beast comes in metallic and non-metallic versions and its flaps are able to be made from a variety of materials. Many options are available for pump users in the chemical market.

Meat & Poultry

Rubber flaps used in conventional flap valve pumps lack durability. They wear out over time in heavy-duty conditions like pumping animal blood, which may be abrasive and contain solids. To improve flap performance in animal blood applications, SANDPIPER replaced a flexing piece of rubber with a metal pin. Now the flaps last as long as ball valves would, if not longer. 

In slaughterhouses, ball-valve pumps have been the norm due to a lack of awareness about flap technology. Those that have switched to flap valve pumps like The Beast have seen their maintenance needs decrease dramatically, saving hours of work and increasing productivity.

Are you looking to upgrade the heavy-duty flap valve AODD pumps in your operation? Or would you like to learn more about the benefits of a flap valve pump over a ball-valve pump in a specific application? Don’t hesitate to reach out to a SANDPIPER applications engineer or contact your local authorized distributor today.