Wastewater Pumping | Metropolitan Industries

March 15, 2013

Metropolitan ready for trade show season

At Metropolitan Industries, the month of March signals the start of our trade show season.

As leaders in the residential, municipal, commercial and mechanical water and wastewater industries, we attend a number of trade shows covering these sectors throughout the year.

March is our busiest month, as we attend three major conferences.

Throughout the time leading up to these shows, we have been actively developing and preparing new products and displays to showcase to attendees.

As is always the case with our new product offerings, they are designed to incorporate the latest technologies to help make heating, treating and moving water easier and more efficient than ever before.

We will exhibit at the following shows in March:

Illinois Section AWWA WATERCON
Monday, March 18 to Thursday, March 21
Crowne Plaza Hotel – Springfield, Ill.

WATERCON is the Midwest’s largest water and wastewater conference. We will be exhibiting at booth 503, presenting our newest water and wastewater products.

Illinois PHCC Expo
Friday, March 22
12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Drury Lane Conference Center – Oakbrook Terrance, Ill.

The Illinois PHCC Expo is Illinois’ premier trade show for plumbing, heating and cooling contractors. Representatives from Metropolitan’s commercial and mechanical divisions will be exhibiting the many new products and capabilities they have added since last year at booths 96, 97 and 98. Also present will be our Ion|StormPro® display trailer, complete with many new additions made to the product line.

SMACNA Chicago Trade Show
Monday, March 26
1:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Drury Lane Conference Center – Oakbrook Terrance, Ill.

The SMACNA Chicago Trade Show will feature the finest vendors in the industrial, commercial, institutional and residential markets specializing in heating, ventilating and air conditioning, manufacturing, energy management and maintenance, and more. Metropolitan recently made a concentrated effort to expand its mechanical heating expertise and our new skills will be presented at booths 85, 86 and 87.

For more information regarding these shows, please contact a Metropolitan representative at 800-323-1665 or sales@metropolitanind.com.

November 20, 2012

MetroMail™ monitoring system included in recent lift station retrofit

MetroMail™ is an economical option for customers seeking basic monitoring equipment.

Metropolitan Industries recently completed a stand-alone version of MetroMail™, the company’s very own alarm notification system. The company will receive alarm notification via text message and/ or email through the internet.

When implemented to monitor any pump or electrical system, MetroMail™ has the capability to send email alerts to notify users of equipment status or problems, and can assist customers in avoiding potential disaster when troubles arise.

“Users can configure MetroMail™ to send an email at an interval completely configurable by users out through the device’s Ethernet jack and through the Internet,” said Metropolitan Industries software engineer Joe Burza. “In other words, if you have your laptop on you or you’re carrying a device with email capability, you can receive a message that a problem with your pump has occurred instead of waiting for the water to back up and start flooding.”

MetroMail™ features eight optically isolated dry inputs accepting 10 to 30 volts of AC or DC power. The unit’s status light tells users whether the unit has power, is properly configured and is sending emails, whereas network lights indicate LAN activity and connectivity. Its onboard web server allows for the configuration of messages, addresses and other settings via any web browser.

A MetroMail™ unit was recently installed at a jail located in northwest Indiana. Metropolitan was contacted by Keough Mechanical for the project, who wished to upgrade the existing lift station due to clogged pumps reported by detention center officials.

The lift station in need of attention was responsible for all of the sanitary waste from the facility. Detained members knew of its function and would routinely disrupt the operation of the pump system by flushing items that would typically be disposed of in a garbage can.

After Metropolitan salesperson Keith Girup made a field visit with the owner and contractor to discuss the problem with the operators and evaluate the obstacles associated with the retrofit upgrade, it was determined that an impeller change would be the most suitable solution to significantly reduce and potentially eliminate the clogging issues.

While Metropolitan was helping solve the mechanical issues the facility faced, new controls with email notification were also proposed.

In order to provide this notification, Metropolitan included MetroMail™, which contacts personnel by email in the event of a lift station alarm condition. An operator interface with Internet connectivity via a cellular modem was also included.

These control features allow for quick response during an alarm condition with 24-hour supervisory ability.

MetroMail™ offers customers a cost-effective option for basic monitoring equipment when more expensive options are not practical. Its convenient size also gives customers the flexibility to monitor equipment when space is a concern.

For more information regarding MetroMail™, please contact Keith Girup at 800-323-1665, ext. 264 or sales@metropolitanind.com.

September 7, 2012

Indiana high school makes significant upgrades to pump system

The new pump station was designed for ease of installation and a proficient transition from old system to new system.

When Arsenal Technical High School made the decision to upgrade an old submersible dry pit pump system, the Indianapolis, Ind.-based institution called upon Metropolitan Industries to renew its system through both effective and convenient means.

“Metropolitan built a triplex self-priming pump system that closed in a house and contained a generator inside,” said national salesperson Tim Laskowski. “The packaged unit essentially sits on top of the existing wet well, which made the installation process very efficient. All in all, the transition from the existing system to the new system was very convenient for the customer.”

Metropolitan removed the existing pumps that were no longer in function, left the wet well where waste collects, dropped the suction lines for the self-priming pumps, and packaged it all up in one convenient unit.

The system, which is designed to collect sewage and transport it to the appropriate destination, started out as a very small project that eventually turned large, incorporating a prefabricated steel building.

It total, Metropolitan supplied a complete station with pumps, motors, valves, fittings, wiring support bases and incidentals with the prefabricated steel building, which includes a simulated brick finish as an attractive design solution. A total of three pumps, each with a TDH of 33 feet and a capacity of 500 GPM were supplied. An 80 kW generator was also included with the package.

Metropolitan manufactured the entire system on-site and shipped ready for installation.

One of the differences between this particular unit and alternative solutions for enclosed structures was the implementation of the imitation brick, which was chosen to match the surrounding campus of Arsenal Tech.

“The material we used was very thin, almost like sheets of plywood, and was routed to look like brick,” said Laskowski. “It provided a very nice design solution and complemented its surroundings very nicely.”

Laskowski said the construction of the program went smoothly and that the customer was ultimately satisfied at the project’s conclusion.

“We actually had the engineers who specified the product at our facility in Romeoville, Ill.,” said Laskowski. “They were able to witness the construction process firsthand were very impressed by our work. We delivered and installed the new system without any problems.”

For more information please contact Tim Laskowski at 815-886-9200, ext. 255 or sales@metropolitanind.com.

June 6, 2012

Metropolitan Supplies Equipment Upgrades to Lift Stations

At Metropolitan, we can supply all equipment needed to keep your pump station functioning as efficiently as possible. Our adaptability and knowledge of new technologies give us the ability to supply the most cutting-edge equipment, which can extend the life of a system and save end users funds.

Metropolitan was recently chosen to supply all equipment associated with the upgrade of the existing stormwater and sanitary lift stations for the Joe Orr Road lift stations of Chicago Heights, IL. The new lift stations include a number of up to date accessories and were housed in a large prefabricated concrete building.

The equipment supplied by Metropolitan was housed in a large prefabricated concrete building that included both a control room and a generator room.

Metropolitan’s Keith Girup said a number of factors contributed to the customer’s decision to make the upgrades.

“The project was done to replace an existing dry-pit type sanitary lift station that was over 30 years old,” said Girup. “The design was chosen to eliminate the confined space environment as well as improve the operational efficiency, thus improving safety and reducing cost of daily operations.”

The stormwater lift station contains two Hydromatic model S4N300 submersible non-clog pumps, each with a capacity of 150 GPM at 20’ TDH. Each motor is rated at 3 HP, 1750 RPM, 230 volts and 60 Hz. One submersible level controller and five level switches to control on, off, override and alarm levels were also provided with the stormwater station.

The sanitary lift station contains two Hydromatic model S4MVX750 submersible non-clog vortex explosion pumps, each with a capacity of 375 GPM at 28.5’ TDH. Each motor is rated at 7.5 HP, 1750 RPM, 230 volts, 60 Hz and are explosion proof at Class I, Division I, Group C and/or Group D locations. One submersible level controller and five level switches to control on, off, override and alarm levels were also provided with the sanitary station.

The equipment supplied gave the customer the ability to operate both stations, creating a cost-effective solution for lift stations upgrades.

The prefabricated concrete building measures at 20’ L x 8’ W x 9’ H (outside dimensions). The building is comprised of a 36” x 84” single door for the control room and a 72” x 84” double door for the generator room. A Caterpillar 55 kW generator was also included.

Girup said the way in which the total system operates makes the application distinctive and efficient.

“This project is unique because the controls and generator are capable of operating the sanitary lift station as well as the nearby stormwater lift station,” said Girup. “By discussing the options and costs associated with also upgrading the stormwater lift station simultaneously with the sanitary lift station, the owner and engineer were able to make an educated decision to upgrade both lift stations and reap the benefits of twice the improved technology more cost effectively.”

Girup said Metropolitan’s involvement in the project can be attributed to a long standing relationship with the City of Chicago Heights, IL and project engineer.

“Metropolitan has been a trusted partner for the owner and engineer for many years and we were contacted at this projects’ inception,” said Girup. “We were instrumental in assisting with the design which included budget number preparation used for grant funding acquisition.”-

For more information please contact Keith Girup at 815-886-9200, ext. 264 or sales@metropolitanind.com.

June 23, 2010

Above Grade Solutions eliminate confined space procedures

By: Joseph Sanchez

According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, many workplaces contain spaces considered “confined” because their configurations hinder the activities of employees who must enter, work in, and exit them. A confined space has limited or restricted means for entry or exit, and it is not designed for continuous employee occupancy. Confined spaces include, but are not limited to underground vaults, tanks, storage bins, such as those used in wastewater pumping applications.

Custom Designed Pumping Controls By Metropolitan Industries, Inc

OSHA uses the term “permit-required confined space,” to describe a confined space that has one or more of the following characteristics: contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere; contains a material that has the potential to engulf an entrant; has walls that converge inward or floors that slope downward and taper into a smaller area which could trap or asphyxiate an entrant; or contains any other recognized safety or health hazard, such as unguarded machinery, exposed live wires, or heat stress.

The greatest danger facing the person entering a confined space is a lack of oxygen. Several breaths of an atmosphere holding less than 6 percent oxygen can disable in seconds and can kill in minutes. Either the volume percent of oxygen can be too little (less than 19.5) or other gases (such as carbon monoxide) in the confined space may interfere with the body’s uptake of an otherwise sufficient supply. Oxygen deficiency can also debilitate sensors: Thus, a space with very low oxygen levels can’t be tested for combustible gases since standard instruments for this purpose require oxygen to function. (The sensor actually attempts to ignite a sample of the atmosphere and can’t do so when the fuel/oxygen ratio is too high.)

Not only is it dangerous to operate in a confined space, but it is also costly and time consuming for municipalities to maintain according to Metropolitan Industries Service Manager Mike Schiazzano. He says a permitted confined space needs a minimum three-man crew with the following safety gear; two multi function gas monitors, tripod with safety retrieval line, safety harness, a fresh air blower, a fresh air tank with airline, respirator and escape pack. Training the crew to use all safety gear along with the retrieval equipment procedures is also an added requirement. He adds by eliminating the need to enter or work in a confined space a municipality can save time and money.

Solutions to Confined Space Applications

Above-grade applications eliminate the danger, costs and manpower issues associated with confined space applications. Installations typically consist of a small control and generator building installed next to wells below grade containing pumps. The pumps are easily accessible and can be easily removed and installed without entering well using guide rails.

Above Grade Stations Eliminate Confined Space Entry.

Costs and labor to maintain such an installation are minimal. Given that it is above grade and anything below grade is accessible from above, typically one person can operate the entire station reducing operating costs. Also further reducing cost is the elimination of the equipment and safety apparatuses associated with confined space entry.

Metropolitan Industries, Inc. specializes in the design and manufacture of above grade, lift station/control packages and recently completed two such jobs in Merrillville, Ind. that eliminated previous confined space applications.

Broadfield Lift Station

Working with Robinson Engineering and Contractor Hasse Construction, Metropolitan Industries, Inc. supplied a triplex, component lift station complete with a prefabricated building that houses the controls, valves and generator.

The triplex concrete lift station uses three, 50 HP, rated for a total 1442 gallons per minute (GPM) at 89.2 feet of total dynamic head (TDH). One submersible level transducer and four level switches control on, off, override and alarm levels in side the basin. Access hatches, a pump removal lift out system and guide rails allow easy access to pumps for maintenance without having to enter the 32’ basin.

To eliminate confined space entry, all controls, valves and a back up generator were housed in a prefabricated building measuring 19’ 3’’ long by 13’ 6’’ wide by 11’ tall building. The building itself was divided into two sections, one side for the controls and valves and the other side dedicated to just the generator.

On the control/valve side of the building, a triplex control panel with programmable logic controller and touch screen operator interface controls the system. The discharge pipe and valve assembly are located above grade inside the building for easy access.
The generator side of the building houses a Caterpillar 125kW, 3-Phase natural gas generator complete with accessories. A 400 amp automatic transfer switch allows for transfer to the generator during power outages.

Other features of the building include an HVAC system for climate control, high water alarm with dialer and battery back up, lighting and smoke detectors.

John Wood School Lift Station

The John Wood School Lift Station is another example of an above-ground application that eliminates confined space applications. This application called for a duplex component lift station again with a prefabricated control, valve and generator building. The duplex concrete lift station uses two 40HP submersible pumps, rated for a total 700 GPM at 113’ TDH. One submersible level transducer and four level switches control on, off, override and alarm levels in side the basin. Two lift-out hydraulic sealing flange assemblies allow pump removal for maintenance and repair without entering the sump.

Just as the last example, all controls, valves and a back up generator were housed in a prefabricated building but this one measured 18’ long by 13’ 6’’ wide by 9’ tall. The building as well was divided into two sections, one side for the variable speed controls and valves and the other side dedicated to just the natural gas Caterpillar generator inside.

Other feature of the building include an HVAC system for climate control, high water alarm with dialer and battery back up, lighting and smoke detectors.

Conclusion

Above grade applications eliminate the dangers and costs associated with confined space procedures. Towns and villages save money by eliminating the special safety gear and reducing the personnel required by OSHA on a service call. Municipalities will save time by eliminating the requirement of obtaining a “confined space permit” that designates what is to be done, when and by whom. No longer will the local fire and police departments need to be involved as sometimes the permits dictate. As demonstrated a “permitted confined space” requires special handling, equipment and a fair amount of extra time and work if all the rules are followed. Eliminate these hurdles with an above grade application.