The introduction of the revolutionary VSX (vertical
split-case excellence) pumps scheduled for February 2006 culminates from more than three
years of intense planning and design that began with Bell & Gossett’s innovative
Voice of the Customer (VOC) program.
As a leading manufacturer and marketer of HVAC pumps, Bell & Gossett created an
ambitious program interviewing hundreds of its customers about what needs were most
important to them. More than three hundred (300) interviews were conducted with
consulting/specifying engineers, contractors, building managers, wholesalers,
distributors, and other industry experts located around the world.
In addition to gaining extremely valuable input on a variety of pump-related issues, one
message came through loud and clear: Industry users wanted a split-case pump that provided
features and benefits not currently available from any existing pumps in the marketplace.
Among the key customer suggestions that were gathered for a new pump were the following
product benefits: • Pumps
capable of meeting the unique demands of today’s hydraulic requirements
• Design versatility to
accommodate different piping layouts
• Products that take a smaller
footprint
• Speedier installation
• Couplings that are more
forgiving of misalignment and capable of variable speed operation
• Inexpensive remote pump
monitoring capability
• Maintenance-free Armed with this
VOC feedback, Bell & Gossett engineers utilized internally developed software coupled
with an advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) process to design a series of pumps
that exceeds these customer requests.
The new VSX pump platform addresses these VOC requirements by including the following
product features:
• Unique
Hydraulic Platform Design
• Three
different Suction and Discharge Flange Orientations for Installation Versatility
• Hydraulically
designed for cooling tower, chiller and a wide range of additional applications
• Groutless
Base Plate for speedier installation
• Wireless
24 / 7 worldwide pump monitoring and alarm notification
• Wireless
motor and pump (inboard & outboard) monitoring of bearing vibration (3-axis) and
temperature, suction or discharge pressure, RPM.
• Alignment-friendly,
variable speed capable coupling
• VSC
and VSCS models in space saving footprint
• One-Piece
Unitized Mechanical Seal
• Maintenance-free
bearings
• The
unique platform design utilizes common parts across the three model groups to simplify
parts stocking requirements, general maintenance and speedier repair
In addition to the specific requests outlined above, the new VSX pump features a unique
"Plug-n-Play" capability that allows simple field modifications for various
mechanical seals, external flushing capability and wireless monitoring capability. In
addition, the VSX offers the first built-in power generator to power the sensors and Data
Module, so that external power wiring is unnecessary.
"The VSX is truly a pump designed by our customers - the end users," said
Karl Buscher, Vice-President Marketing for ITT Fluid Handling Division. "They told us
they wanted an innovative pump that provides a variety of important performance features
not currently available to the HVAC marketplace, so we created it."
Bell & Gossett has named the introduction of the new series of pumps
"Revolution X" because they believe it changes the way pumps have been designed
for the last 50 years. "Until now, pump flow was maximized by pushing extreme
velocities through the same 50-year-old pump volute and matching existing pump size to
chiller and tower needs", said Steve Schmitz, Sr. Product Line Manager for Bell &
Gossett. "When we engineered the VSX, we first identified customers’ chiller and
tower hydraulic needs, and then we designed the pump sizes to meet these and other
specific needs".
Other features of the VSX pump include:
• Flows from 500 - 15,000 GPM
• Heads from 30 - 425 feet
• Working Pressures of 175 and 300
psig
• ANSI Flange Ratings of 125 and
250 lb.
• Temperature from 0 to 300
Degrees Fahrenheit
• Internally Self-Flushing
Mechanical Seals
• ANSI / OSHA coupling guard
The "Revolution" will officially begin in February of 2006, but the seeds of
the revolution started with the Voice of the Customer (VOC) process three years earlier.
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