Case Study — City Water Treatment
From Shutdowns to Sleepless Nights — to 365 Days of Flow.
Inside a California water plant, one Graco SoloTech™ hose pump and Liberty CES turned an impossible chemical into a year-long success story.
Quantified Benefits
Reversible clearing + single-roller action.
Single compression / revolution. Less heat. Less fatigue.
10 incidents avoided × 3–5 hrs × 2 techs.
Conservative $1k/hr × 30–50 hrs.
The Frequency of Failure → The Flow of the Fix
A municipal plant’s calcium hydroxide kept hard‑setting on every pause. James Riggins stepped into the gap — and engineered it out of existence.
Before SoloTech: when flow stopped, concrete happened.
A municipal facility used calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)₂) for pH control. Its nasty habit: when it stops moving, it hardens like concrete.
- Outages/pauses → slurry crystallizes inside hoses and valves.
- Within hours: a chalky mass locks the pump solid.
- Restarts = line openings, hose cuts, flushes, and overtime.
- Multiple pump brands/types failed within months.
In plain language: the chemical kept killing pumps. Every outage froze the line; every freeze meant hours of digging, cleaning, and new parts.
In the gap: James reframed the problem.
Everyone treated it like “make the pump tougher.” James saw a chemistry + mechanics mismatch. Ca(OH)₂ doesn’t just clog; static = solid. Eliminate stagnation and friction — don’t just swap brands.
Dead zones, valves, and multi‑roller friction created hot spots/air pockets that hardened to stone.
Keep it moving. One path, one squeeze, reversible flow. Clear without opening the system.
SoloTech™ 30: single‑roller, 360° compression — motion by design.
- One roller • one hose • one squeeze per revolution — less heat, no localized fatigue.
- Thick‑wall engineered hose (EPDM/NBR) for abrasive, alkaline Ca(OH)₂.
- Reversible — clear lines instantly when flow stops.
- Self‑priming & high suction lift (≈29–33 ft) for reliable restarts.
- No valves, seals, or glands to crystallize shut or leak.
- Variable‑speed control — gentle dose or quick flush on command.
“We just swap the hose maybe once a year now. No clogs. It just moves calcium like toothpaste.” — James R.
Want engineered results like this?
Call James Riggins. He’ll spec it, solve it, and stand behind it — every application, every problem. The West’s go-to spec + supply partner for chemical handling & water systems.
Work with James
- Application-first spec. He matches chemistry to mechanics — no guesswork.
- Field-proven installs. Controls, materials, grounding, containment — done right.
- Accountable partner. From quote to startup to hose change #1.
Product used: Graco SoloTech™
- 125 PSI pressure rating — built for viscous/abrasive slurries.
- Single-roller, 360° compression — one squeeze/rev → 4–6× hose life.
- Up to 17.7 GPM — steady, high-volume chemical feed.
- Reversible & self-priming (to ~33 ft lift) — clear lines in seconds.
- Caustic & crystallizing fluids — ideal for Ca(OH)₂, lime slurries, and more.
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