Yes, Romtec Utilities can supply a crane for use on any package lift station. Romtec Utilities provides portable Thern Davit cranes that help assist in lowering pumps into the wet well. There are various sizes of cranes available that can be specified to handle the weight of the pumps for the lift station. Mounting the crane takes some engineering and Romtec Utilities offers several options including a custom base that mounts to the edge of the top slab. Romtec Utilities can additionally provide coatings or stainless steel in order to meet the environmental requirements of each specific job site.

Yes, Romtec Utilities offers hatches with several different traffic ratings. The three main levels of traffic ratings we offer are H-20 occasional, H-20 full traffic loading, and H-20 aircraft loading.

Yes, Romtec Utilities provides both fiberglass and concrete lift stations. We provide prefabricated fiberglass wet wells in various sizes for both vertical and horizontal applications in wastewater, stormwater, industrial water, and clean water. Romtec Utilities also provides fiberglass lift stations in double-wall leak-proof wells with leak detection and/or leak sensing.

Yes, Romtec Utilities includes lifting rail assemblies for any pump required. We provide complete stainless steel rail systems in any size for any size pump. These lifting rail systems can be integrated into any sump configuration, such as concrete, fiberglass, round, or rectangular. The lifting rails can also be designed for any type of manhole. Romtec Utilities will always make sure that the lifting rails proposed will meet the requirements for the mechanical and configurations elements of a package lift station.

Yes, Romtec Utilities does design lift stations with ladders in the wet well, valve vault, or meter vault; however, Romtec Utilities does not always recommend installing a ladder into the wet well. There are added dangers associated with confined spaces filled with liquid. Instead, a crane can be used to pull components out of the wet well eliminating the need to enter the sump. Any ladder into the wet well, meter vault, or valve vault needs to meet OSHA requirements.

All concrete wet well components are designed to be lifted and set in the excavated hole by use of anchors and ring clutches supplied by Romtec Utilities. The installation contractor will excavate the hole for the wet well, place the base rock as specified by the site engineer, provide a safe OSHA approved cave-in protection method (shoring, and provide a crane of adequate size to lift and set the heaviest piece. The excavation contractor and/or his subcontractor (the company supplying the crane) must provide appropriate lifting cables, straps, chains, and any necessary connection devices to attach the cables to the crane and the ring clutches. Any of the cables, strap, or chains to be used during the lift must be a sufficient length to avoid putting excess pressure on the upper concrete joint, which can potentially damage the concrete. Using a spreader bar on the cables can greater reduce this risk. The base slab is lifted into the hole first and leveled as necessary. All the subsequent risers are lifted into place while sealing the barrel joints, and finally, the top slab is set.

A typical sump or wet well will include the concrete or fiberglass barrels; an access hatch; an inlet line (piping) with a deflector panel or drop bowl; the pumps, guide rails, elbows, and discharge piping; and the level sensing devices.

A barrel gasket is typically an isoprene tube (synthetic rubber) with its own lubrication that is placed between two precast concrete barrels. The gasket helps seal the manhole from water intrusion or leakage at the joints. Barrel gaskets are also made from other materials so that they can be used with different water types and water chemistry. Barrel gaskets are used in conjunction with tape coating and a concrete sealant to seal the joints in the manhole or sump.

A deflector panel is made of HDPE panels, stainless steel brackets, and mounting hardware. This panel is attached to the inside of the wet well in front of the inlet pipe. As water flows in, the panel diverts the incoming flow to the bottom of the wet well. High or moderate flows of cascading water can damage the pumps and other in-well system components, but a deflector panel protects these elements by redirecting the inflow. In the case of low flow systems, Romtec Utilities will supply a drop bowl to serve the same purpose.

A drop bowl is an assembly made of PVC and mounting hardware. It appears similar to a funnel or bowl mounted on top of a vertical pipe. The device is mounted to the inside wall of the sump slightly below the inlet pipe. The bowl collects the inflows of water or sewage and diverts the flow to the bottom of the sump. This function helps protect the pumps and other in-well components that could be moved out of position by flowing water. For higher flows of water or sewage, Romtec Utilities also supplies deflector panels to divert the inflow downward.

Series 435 Tnemec Perma-Glaze is an epoxy coating that is factory applied after sandblasting and priming with Series 218 Tnemec Mortarclad. It serves as a deterrent to abrasion and Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) off gassing. This allows the concrete and steel components of the wet well to last longer.

Conseal is a sealant used to help seal the joint to joint connection of precast barrels in manhole structures and vaults. The Conseal used by Romtec Utilities is a butyl rubber sealant. This sealant is water tight and very resistant to shrinking, hardening, or oxidizing. Conseal is applied around the perimeter of the top joint’s lower lip on the lower barrel. A seal is formed when an upper barrel is stacked on top of a lower barrel. Conseal sealant is used in conjunction with a barrel gasket and tape coat to seal joints in concrete manholes supplied by Romtec Utilities.

Tape coat is a material used to help seal pre-cast concrete barrel joints in manholes. Tape coat is applied around the outside of each barrel joint to prevent leakage at the joint connection. Tape coat is a cold applied, self-adhering tape that helps bond the joints together. Tape coat is used in conjunction with barrel gaskets and Conseal sealant to seal joints in concrete manhole structures supplied by Romtec Utilities. Additionally, the tape coat used by Romtec Utilities is also environmentally friendly.

Romtec Utilities typically designs lift stations with a bright orange safety grate built into the hatch. The two piece safety grate lies underneath the hatch doors as a secondary fall protection for the well. Lifting the safety grate is assisted with compression springs to alleviate most of the weight.

Romtec Utilities determines between a deflector panel and a drop bowl by looking at the inflow rate to the wet well. In most situations, inflow rates below 200 gpm can be handled by a drop bowl. When inflow rates are higher than 200 gpm, the drop bowl size required to catch the inflow encroaches on other elements in the wet well. Pulling out the pumps for maintenance is one such activity that limits the space available for a drop bowl. This is done by sliding the pumps back up the guide bars they were installed on. If the drop bowl is too big, the pumps can’t be removed from the wet well. A deflector panel will typically be used in situations where the inflow rate is higher than 200 gpm. A deflector panel is a large sheet of heavy-duty plastic that is mounted to the wall of the wet well. The deflector panel succeeds in reducing in-well turbulence with high inflow rates while requiring a smaller footprint than a drop bowl.

Deflector panels and drop bowls are both used to reduce the amount of turbulence in the wet well. Turbulence can have several adverse affects on the lift station. First, unimpeded water, cascading down onto the pumps, can damage them over time. This is especially true with pump cables, which are normally mounted on the top of the pump. If the water breaks or interrupts the connections, power can be cut from the pumps. Cascading water also creates a “waterfall effect,” where air is pushed down into the water. The air in the water can then get pumped, significantly increasing the overall pump wear – especially on the impeller. The air bubbles leave pocking marks on the surface of the metal as they get passed through. Another problem cascading water creates is faster off-gassing in sewage. Excess hydrogen sulfide gas will eat away at the concrete in the wet well. Finally, cascading water disrupts the water’s surface, making it difficult for level sensing devices to function reliably. Floats are especially sensitive to this when controlling functions like pump starts and stops. Waves and turbulent conditions can incorrectly trigger the devices to start or stop pumps cycles. Deflector panels and drop bowls are two low-cost solutions that drastically reduce or eliminate the impacts of cascading water.