When considering the essential equipment required for a mining operation, fire pumping systems come pretty high on the list.
As specialist Australian pump suppliers since 1975, Kelair Pumps Australia’s fire pumpsets are favoured by major mining companies including Rio Tinto, BHP, FMG and Glencore and are installed in mining operations across the country.
Kelair Pumps offer fully equipped and tested turnkey containerised systems.
Fully compliant to each mine site’s individual requirements, Kelair’s fully packaged fire pumpsets meet the requirements of AS2941 and come complete with fully piped and valved suction and discharge manifolds ensuring that installation is fast simple and meets all WHS standards.
Kelair supplies diesel and electric pumpsets for fire hydrant, sprinkler, combined hydrant / sprinkler, deluge, foam, water mist and hose reel applications in end suction, horizontal split case, multi-stage, multi-stage multi-outlet, vertical turbine and gear pump configurations.
All packaged units are delivered to site and Kelair offer on-site commissioning and testing together with on-going field support and maintenance for the life of the product.
Jacking pumps
The fire hose reel and jacking pumpsets are electrically driven with a flow range 0.5 l/s to 50 l/s – with larger units provided on request.
These units boost water pressure to fire hose reels or the system ring main as and when it is needed and perform the task of maintaining the system pressure against minor leaks.
Built to AS2941, the jacking pumps are supplied as a complete package.
They are built on a galvanised base frame and are automatically controlled by either pressure switch or VSD.
The units include a suction check valve, a special two-way valve and a discharge isolating valve.
They are automated for starting and stopping, in contrast to the main pumps which, after an automatic start will continue working regardless of condition until they are manually stopped or run to destruction.
Safety features
The manual-stop-only on the main pumps is designed to ensure they continue working non-stop once they start.
It is important that readings such as oil pressure drops or perhaps a faulty water pressure sensor does not interfere in its function during a fire event.
Kelair Pumps Australia national technical manager Jeff Greely said that the jacking pump will ensure the main pumps do not start up in response to minor leaks.
Leaks in the system are not always detected, especially in sprinkler systems that may be concealed under a false ceiling.
These systems have a limit on the flow rate, for example a jacking pump on a sprinkler system cannot discharge more than 4l per minute.
“The theory is, if you have a leak that is higher than 4l per minute, it is no longer a leak and it is doing water damage to the facility,” Mr Greely said.
If the major pumps respond to the leaks by starting up, they will continue pumping until the point of destruction.
The jacking pump allows the system to avoid that scenario and is programmed to turn off automatically when the pressure is stabilised.
The main pumps
Kelair offers fully compliant AS2941, factory tested, fully-packaged fire pumpsets complete with fully-valved suction, discharge manifolds and by-pass line.
All packaged systems come with simple installation instructions for on-site technicians, backed by Kelair’s field service team.
Every main electric and diesel pumpset is factory tested as a completed assembly to the requirements of ISO9906 Grade 1U and AS2941.
Diesel pumpsets include a 90-minute full load test.
Each unit comes fitted with corrosion resistant galvanised baseplates, quality, stainless steel vertical multi-stage pumps and 16 bar rated pressure tanks.
Heat exchanger cooled engines allow the units to operate in higher ambient temperatures with reduced levels of room ventilation compared to radiator or air cooled engines.
Quality universal jointed drive shafts are fitted drastically reducing damage to couplings and pump bearings due to incorrect coupling alignment.
In addition to fully compliant Australian Standard pumpsets, Kelair Pumps are also able to supply UL Listed and FM approved pumpsets complying to the requirements of NFPA20.
Full customer support
Kelair Pumps is committed to offering full support to customers from the initial project conception consultation to installation and beyond, providing on-going routine maintenance performed by a highly skilled team of service technicians.
Operating 24 hours, seven days a week, Kelair has a comprehensive service division that covers its entire range of products, both on-site and in-house.
The company also offers routine maintenance packages.
Kelair provides fully-compliant units, CAD drawings and technical specifications.
As well as specialised fire pumpsets, Kelair Pumps Australia specialises in a large range of industry applications including pumps for process and chemical applications such as nickel, gold, lithium, coal and copper, as well as specialised homogeniser pumps for blending ammonium nitrate and chemical dosing systems, petro-chemical applications including API 610, bulk diesel transfer, peristaltic pumps for paste plants, AODP for mine dewatering, reagent chemicals, truck wash chemical dispensing, workshop lubricant dispensing systems, bathhouse detergent dispensing systems, flocculant dosing building services pumpsets and environmentally friendly sewage treatment plants.
