What is the retirement age for a pump?

Like people, most liquid ring vacuum pumps retire after 30 or 40 years.  They get tired or their skills become surpassed by the younger generation.  The NASH Hytor #6 pump, however, worked for 82 years before being removed for repair!

The Nash #6 pump worked on the pulp dryer machine, on a top felt Uhle box, at Simpson Tacoma Kraft Company. The plant was built in 1928 by the Union Bag Company, and the #6 was there from the start.  During its 82 years, the #6 pump has seen the company change hands a number of times, but it kept on doing its job.

Retirement comes eventually of course, and the Nash #6 pump has gracefully given way to a Nash Vectra XL. The former could have kept on working with bearings replacement, but the Vectra will give the same reliability with more efficiency. Its long-time companions remain hard at work at the paper mill – including the pump on an identical Uhle box system.

Rotor of Nash #6 pump after 82 years of work!

Do you have an old Nash pump still running?

Nash is running a contest to see what other pumps have been working hard for many years. The person who submits the oldest pump will WIN A GPS NAVIGATOR! Your pump doesn’t have to be 82 years old, it just has to be older than the other contest entries.

See contest details here > (pdf) <