Engineers who design industrial plants, lift stations, rail loading stations and similar facilities bear equal responsibility for safety and design functionality. As the safety-first design philosophy becomes more prevalent, hazardous location rating requirements appear more frequently in project specifications. To meet these parameters, Tsurumi offers the AVANT Series of FM-approved submersible pumps and mixers, which ensure safety through their quality in construction, manufacturing and performance.

A pump must undergo a series of tests to determine if its design meets construction requirements. These tests are conducted by FM Approvals or another nationally recognized testing lab for hazardous location product certification. Tests such as the cord pull and impact tests ensure that potential wear and tear will not compromise the pump’s ability to prevent or retain an explosion. Locked rotor and running overload tests intentionally raise the motor’s temperature to establish its compliance with the hazardous rating’s temperature class (T-Code). Finally, flame propagation tests verify the flame path effectively prevents the explosion from escaping the pump into the surrounding atmosphere. In these tests, the pumps are surrounded by a specified hazardous gas and intentionally ignited.

Once testing and evaluation are complete, the pump model will be certified for use in the tested hazardous location and within temperature limits established by the T-Code. However, pump manufacturers must consider additional requirements, including properly marking the pump and affixing permanent, visible nameplates containing manufacturer information, serial numbers, hazardous location ratings and several warning statements related to hazardous location operation. The manufacturer will additionally be quarterly audited to ensure the previously certified pump’s quality is being maintained and a quality control program is in place. This program entails pump assembly, record keeping, documentation control, etc.

While this article is not intended to be a comprehensive guideline, we consider it important to have a basic understanding of the hazardous location certification process. Certification for Tsurumi’s AVANT Series is secured through demonstrated quality in construction, manufacturing and performance. Similar to the engineers designing plants and lift stations, Tsurumi prioritizes the safety of our equipment as much as we emphasize its performance.