Auxiliary pump housing cracked on the old Erie Sand Sucker near Toledo

Happened about two weeks ago during a routine maintenance pull. The cast iron housing on the number three pump split along a weld line, dumping about 200 gallons of slurry into the bilge before we caught it. We had to fabricate a steel band clamp on site to get through the shift. Has anyone found a good source for older Erie parts, or are we better off getting a whole new housing machined?

2 comments

2 Comments

mitchell.daniel15h ago

Rough break on the sand sucker. Those old cast iron parts can be a real pain to track down. Have you tried reaching out to any of the marine salvage yards up on the Great Lakes?

claire95814h ago

Mitchell's point about salvage yards is a good one, it's a real skill to find parts for old machines. I see this everywhere now, from fixing my own lawnmower to watching folks restore old cars. We've gotten too used to just ordering new things, and the knowledge of how to hunt down and repair what we already have is fading.