How to save on pump running costs

A substantial cost of running a pumping system comes not from the hire or purchase price, but from the amount of diesel used to run the pumps.

If you are running a pumping system for more than one day – fuel consumption should be a key consideration in your pump selection.
A significant factor in the cost of running a pumping system comes not from the hire or purchase price – but from the amount of diesel used to run the pumps. With pumps often running 24/7, the costs can quickly add up when using a thirsty pump and it’s critical that options are explored before diving in.

Unfortunately, many people base their pump hire or purchase decision based on the price of the pump and don’t take into consideration the ongoing running costs. With fuel prices adding to the equation – the difference in running costs between pumps can be enormous and end up costing you an arm and a leg if you make the wrong decision.

With margins and competition for jobs becoming so tight these days, companies need to look at how efficiencies can be found to reduce operating costs. National Pump and Energy decided to do the leg work for you and even our experienced team were pretty amazed at what we found.

We pitted six different 6″ pumps against each other to see which pump offered the best cost saving efficiency.
Which option would keep the dollars in your pocket, simply by choosing the right pump?
In our line up, we had all of the usual suspects, industry favourites and comparative models from Sykes, Selwood, Pioneer, BBA and SPP.

Table of Pump Diesel Consumption Comparison

NPE compares Wellpoint Pump fuel consumption.

Running at manufacturers BEP, the difference in diesel used was astonishing!
The difference between the best and worst performing pump was more than 364% more diesel used per hour.

The BBA Pumps PT150 was well and truly ahead of the pack using only 1.4 litres an hour, performing 150% better than the closest performing pump and an incredible 364% better than the worst performing pump in the field which chewed up 6.5 litres an hour.

Here is the math. By choosing to use the BBA PT150 over the worst performing in the range, you will save yourself more than a staggering $1,100 a week if your pump is running 24/7!  Based on a diesel cost of $1.30 a litre, the BBA PT150 costs $306 a week to run compared to $1,420 for the competitor pump.

BBA PT150

$1.30 x 1.4l/h = $1.82/hour

= $43.68/day ($305.76/week)

Competitor Pump

$1.30 x 6.5l/h = $8.45/hour

= $202.80/day ($1,419.60/week)

These savings we seen first hand recently by the large contracting company, Georgiou Group, when they trialed the NPE supplied BBA Pump to look for improvements in efficiencies across their work sites.

Georgiou were interested to see how the latest wellpoint dewatering model from BBA compared to their existing fleet.  Feedback from Georgiou was more than positive with the PT150 out performing their current pumps in overall performance, sound levels and ease of operation and most importantly, cost savings. Trials proved that the PT150 was a clear winner and an obvious choice, using just a fraction of fuel compared to alternative brands.

So, next time you are thinking about your pumping package, make sure you think about more than the daily hire rate. Better yet, call the pump, power and compressor experts at NPE.  We will sort it our for you.

© National Pump & Energy 2024

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