One thing that can be confusing when looking through Crane’s wastewater products is seeing very similar pumps in both blue and green. The blue products are generally sold under the Barnes name, while the green versions are under Deming. In several of Crane’s newer wastewater platforms, the two brands share the same basic pump technology while maintaining their respective brand identities. Crane’s SyFlo line, for example, is specifically offered in both Barnes blue and Deming green. That same relationship exists in some of the larger wastewater products we are going to look at. Crane launched the Barnes SITHE and Deming chopper families together, and the newer envie³ platform uses Barnes and Deming chopper and solids handling wet ends with the same air filled motor technology.

For this overview, I want to spend the most time on the products that best show Crane’s solids handling and wastewater capabilities: 1. SITHE and Deming Chopper Pumps Oil filled and air filled chopper pumps for demanding wastewater and solids handling applications. 2. BLADE Grinder Pumps Higher head grinder pumps for municipal, commercial and other wastewater applications. 3. SyFlo Solids Handling Pumps Crane’s newer high efficiency solids handling platform using scroll and vortex impeller designs. 4. Barnes SH and Deming Solids Handling Pumps Larger conventional solids handling pumps for applications where chopping or grinding is not required. 5. EcoTRAN Low Pressure Sewer Systems A complete pressure sewer package using grinder pump technology for residential and decentralized wastewater collection. 6. The Rest of the Crane Pumps Portfolio A broader look at Crane’s self priming, split case, end suction, inline, dewatering, effluent, sewage, sump, packaged system and other pump offerings. Crane currently lists product categories spanning everything from chopper and grinder pumps to split case, regenerative turbine and condensate pumps.

When clogging becomes a recurring problem, a conventional solids handling pump is not always enough. Crane’s SITHE chopper pumps are designed for applications where rags, wipes, fibrous material and other difficult solids can collect, wrap or plug a pump. Instead of simply trying to pass those materials through the impeller, the SITHE uses a patented open center chopping system to reduce them before they move through the pump. Crane uses 440C stainless steel chopper blades and specifically designed the inlet to remain open rather than creating another place for stringy material to collect. Crane currently offers the SITHE platform from 5 to 125 HP, with 3 inch through 10 inch discharges, flows up to 5,000 GPM, and heads up to 275 feet. That gives the same basic chopping concept a very wide operating range, from smaller wastewater stations to much larger municipal and industrial applications.

Oil Filled SITHE The traditional SITHE uses an oil filled submersible motor. The oil serves as both a lubricant and a means of transferring heat through the motor housing. These pumps are available in standard and explosion proof configurations and can be installed on guide rail systems or freestanding arrangements. The oil filled SITHE makes sense where the pump is going to remain submerged and the application calls for a conventional submersible arrangement.

Air Filled SITHE with envie³ The air filled envie³ version takes the same basic SITHE chopping hydraulics and combines them with Crane’s premium efficiency air filled motor and closed loop glycol cooling system. That cooling system is important because it allows the motor to operate without depending on the surrounding wastewater for cooling. As a result, the pump can operate submerged or in a dry pit, and Crane offers both vertical and horizontal installation arrangements. Crane also offers several mounting arrangements, including traditional submersible installations, vertical dry pit stands, concrete adapters, fixed horizontal mounts and a cart system that allows the rotating assembly to slide back while leaving the volute and connected piping in place. The envie³ platform uses an IE3 premium efficiency motor and is also available with additional monitoring on larger frames, including winding protection, bearing temperature, seal leakage and vibration sensing.

Same Chopping Hydraulics, Different Motor Options Choosing oil filled versus air filled does not mean giving up the SITHE chopping system. The chopping mechanism and wet end remain focused on the same job: reducing troublesome solids before they move through the hydraulic section of the pump. The main difference is in the motor design, cooling method and the types of installations each configuration can support. That gives users two very different installation options around the same basic solids reduction technology.

Where SITHE Fits SITHE chopper pumps are designed for demanding wastewater applications including municipal collection systems, wastewater treatment plants, raw sewage, sludge service and industrial wastewater. The product becomes especially interesting when a facility is repeatedly pulling pumps because of clogging. Instead of treating every clog as an isolated maintenance problem, a chopper pump addresses the solids before they enter the hydraulic section. That is why I think SITHE is one of the most interesting products in Crane’s wastewater lineup.

A grinder pump solves a different problem. Where the SITHE is designed around larger wastewater flows and chopping troublesome solids before they pass through the pump, a grinder pump intentionally reduces solids into much smaller pieces so the wastewater can be moved through smaller piping and against higher system pressures. The Barnes BLADE is Crane’s larger grinder platform, covering 3 through 15 HP, flows up to 155 GPM, and heads up to 242 feet. Crane offers both vertical and horizontal discharge arrangements and positions the BLADE for municipal, commercial and light industrial wastewater applications. The BLADE uses Barnes Slicerator radial grinding technology with a vortex impeller. The grinder is designed to handle troublesome materials such as plastics, ropes, diapers, cloth and other materials commonly found in modern wastewater streams. This makes the BLADE worth looking at when an application needs significantly more head than a typical sewage pump while still dealing with material that does not break down easily.

Not every difficult wastewater application needs a cutter or grinder. Sometimes the better solution is simply a solids handling pump designed to resist clogging while maintaining good hydraulic efficiency. That is where Crane’s newer SyFlo platform fits. SyFlo uses scroll and vortex impeller designs intended to balance clog resistance with hydraulic efficiency. The current line reaches up to 1,050 GPM, 160 feet of head, and 15 HP, with 3 inch and 4 inch discharge sizes. SyFlo also uses Crane’s air filled motor technology and can operate at partial submergence. Crane offers the pumps in both Barnes blue and Deming green, which makes SyFlo a good example of how the two wastewater brands overlap within Crane’s current portfolio. This is the product I would consider when the goal is passing solids reliably and efficiently rather than intentionally chopping or grinding them.

Crane also has a much larger conventional solids handling platform for municipal and industrial wastewater applications. The Barnes SH and corresponding Deming solids handling pumps are available with both oil filled and air filled motors. The oil filled SH platform reaches up to 9,000 GPM, 262 feet of head, 12 inch discharge, and 125 HP. The air filled envie³ solids handling platform reaches up to 5,500 GPM and uses the same type of IE3 air filled motor and glycol cooling arrangement found on the air filled SITHE. That allows submerged or dry pit installations and gives users vertical and horizontal mounting options. These pumps give Crane a conventional large solids handling option for applications where the waste can be passed through the pump without needing to be chopped or ground first.

At the other end of the wastewater system is EcoTRAN. EcoTRAN is Crane’s packaged low pressure sewer system for residential wastewater collection. Rather than relying entirely on gravity sewer piping, an underground grinder station collects wastewater at the property, reduces the solids, and then pumps the wastewater under pressure toward a municipal or private treatment system. The current EcoTRAN system uses a 2 HP Barnes grinder pump and is rated for flows up to 28 GPM and heads up to 200 feet. The system uses a polyethylene underground basin and includes features intended to simplify installation and maintenance, including adjustable risers, multiple inlet locations and top access to the discharge valve. EcoTRAN is particularly interesting because it shows how Crane’s grinder technology can become part of an entire wastewater collection system rather than simply being sold as an individual pump. Low pressure sewer can be useful where conventional gravity sewer becomes difficult or expensive because of terrain, groundwater, rock, long distances or development layout.

The products above are only part of Crane Pumps & Systems. Beyond chopper, grinder and solids handling pumps, Crane’s portfolio includes self priming pumps, sewage ejectors, effluent pumps, sump and utility pumps, dewatering pumps, end suction pumps, inline pumps, column sump pumps, condensate pumps, regenerative turbine pumps, split case pumps, mixers, control panels, lift stations and packaged systems. Those products are spread across Crane brands including Barnes, Deming, Burks, Prosser, Weinman and Crown, allowing Crane to cover applications far beyond wastewater alone. Rather than trying to cover every one of those product families in a single article, I would rather come back to many of them individually later and take a closer look at where they fit, how they work and what applications they are best suited for.