Introducing Viking Pump’s NEW Generation of Pumps

by John Hall - Pump Consultant

As a masterclass in engineering design and manufacturing flexibility, Viking Pump has re-designed its heavy-duty alloy pumps, both steel and stainless steel, in the most ingenious ways. These new models reduce price and lead time by significantly reducing the number of casings and brackets for manufacturing simplification, while simultaneously providing more options for porting and shaft sealing, all while adding many great new standard features.

Best of all, the new pumps are interchangeable, both dimensionally and performance-wise, with Viking’s existing steel 123A, 4123A, 223A, and 4223A series, and the stainless steel 127A, 4127A, 227A and 4227A series, and the 724 and 4724 series which they will mostly replace.

The new modular pumps have similar model numbering to the previous generation, but end in “C” instead of “A.” See the full range of Viking Heavy Duty pumps below (fig. 1), with the new modular pumps shown in red.

			Size
Material	Jacketing	Series - Seal Type	F	FH	G	H	HL	K	KK	L	LL	LS	Q	QS	N	R	RS
Steel	Non- Jacketed	123C - Packed				✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Non- Jacketed	4123C - Mech. Seal				✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Jacketed	223C - Packed				✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
		4223C - Mech. Seal				✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
		323A - Packed													✔	✔	✔
		4323A - Mech. Seal													✔	✔	✔
	Max. Flow	GPM				15	30	75	100	135	140	200	300	500	600	1100	1600
	Max. Flow	m³/h				3.4	6.8	17	23	31	32	45	68	114	136	250	363
	Max. Speed	RPM				1750	1750	780	780	640	520	640	520	520	350	280	280
Stainless Steel	Non- Jacketed	127C- Packed				✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
		4127C - Mech. Seal				✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
		1127C - O-Pro® Seal*				✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Jacketed	227C - Packed				✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
		4227C - Mech. Seal				✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
		1227C - O-Pro® Seal				✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
		327A - Packed													✔	✔	✔
		4327A - Mech. Seal													✔	✔	✔
		724 - Packed	✔	✔	✔
		4724 - Mech. Seal	✔	✔	✔
	Max. Flow	GPM	1.5	3	5	10	20	50	65	90	110	160	200	320	600	1100	1600
	Max. Flow	m³/h	0.3	0.7	1	2.3	4.5	11	15	20	25	36	45	73	136	250	363
	Max. Speed	RPM	1750	1750	1150	1150	1150	520	520	420	420	520	350	350	350	280	280

*Speeds with some O-Pro® seal models are derated vs. packed or mechanical seal models. Max O-Pro® speed on H & HL are 760 RPM, N is 280 RPM and R &RS are 225 RPM

Fig. 1 – Viking Heavy Duty models with new Modular pumps shown in Green.

Addressing the Big Question: Why?

Why would Viking Pump change its highly successful range of alloy pumps? The existing series are workhorse internal gear pumps used across the chemical, general industrial and food processing industries.

But with literally tens of thousands of possible configurations, it was difficult for Viking distributors to predict and inventory exactly what their customers would need. So if a pump user wanted a particular configuration they either had to wait for a bespoke pump or were forced to accept tradeoffs - a pump with whatever feature set was available in stock at the local distributor.

That meant that most alloy pumps were built to order, and building unique one-off pumps is inefficient, even for a vertically-integrated manufacturer like Viking Pump with its own foundries. Lead times were usually longer than customers wanted and were even more pronounced for European and Asian customers due to ocean shipping, which was unacceptable.

So through modular design, Viking Pump distributors can now inventory key components and build up whatever configurations their customers need, greatly reducing lead times while simultaneously reducing prices and adding new features.

LL127C - Complete Shaft

Stainless Steel

The stainless steel pumps are primarily used for:

Corrosive chemicals (e.g. acids and bases).
Any process where the pumps will be flushed with water or steam (e.g. sugar processing).
Low-hazard food processing (e.g. edible oils).
Very low temperature processes to -120⁰F / -85⁰C (e.g. silicone oil in freeze dryers)
For use outdoors in very cold climates.

Steel

The steel models are generally used for:

Flammable or hazardous liquids (e.g. fuels, petroleum and petrochemicals) where thermal cracking of iron would be a concern in the event of a fire-fighting water deluge.
Very high temperatures to 800⁰F / 430⁰C (e.g. heat transfer fluids, pitch, polystyrene) where iron or stainless steel is not suitable.

You can find details regarding the new modular pump designs in future blogs covering their key components: the new ProPort™ casings and the new U-Plus™ brackets.

About the Author

John Hall has held marketing, sales, and technical management roles for several pump manufacturers, including 23 years at Viking Pump before retiring in 2023. He holds a B.S. in Technical Communications and an MBA in Marketing Management from the University of Minnesota.

Introducing Viking Pump’s NEW Generation of Pumps

Addressing the Big Question: Why?

Stainless Steel

Steel

About the Author

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