Flushing Strainers are a development of the traditional basket strainer. In the Flushing Strainer, debris strained from the line flow is collected in the strainer basket, the base of which is connected to waste by means of a flushing valve. When the basket needs emptying, the flushing valve is opened. This causes a small portion of the line flow to be diverted to waste, carrying with it whatever debris has accumulated in the basket. The flushing valve is then closed, and line flow returns to normal, with the basket now cleared. No interruption of flow. No use of tools. No downtime. No mess.
The wedge wire strainer basket fitted to the Flushing Strainer can be supplied at filtration ratings down to 150 micron, and is of strong, robust design suitable for arduous duty. Naturally, inherent in its design, the Flushing Strainer works best where the debris to be filtered is rigid particles such as scale, sand rust etc, and will be less suitable for duties where the debris contains oil, algae or other substances likely to slime the filtration surfaces of the basket. The flushing valve can also be supplied in automatic operation format, with flushing intervals being determined by time or pressure drop across the basket, or both.
The units have been successfully applied in applications such as cooling water lines to and from cooling towers, protection of water reticulation systems of all types in steel mills, mines, refineries, sugar mills, pulp & paper mills, municipalities and general industry. They have also produced excellent results on duties such as gland and flushing water filtration on pumping systems, and in coarse clarification of fruit juices and syrups. Our clients include such companies as Saldanha Steel, Lonmin, Phalaborwa Mining Company, Laval, Hulletts, Sappi, Mondi, SAB, Helderberg Municipality and Batemans.