BLOG | DriveOn® Engine Driven Pumps

DriveOn^® is a concept developed by BBA Pumps for engine driven pump sets. Working in close collaboration with the engine manufacturer, we have made innovative adjustments to the oil sump and filters. This allows our customers to pump for many more hours without having to stop for maintenance work.

For portable pumps, it’s the diesel engine that acts as the deciding factor to determine the number of operating hours between service intervals. Most engine manufacturers recommend 500 hours. For Tier 4 Final pumps with DriveOn^® technology, the service interval has been extended to 1500 operating hours. This results in:

• Reduced costs on oil, filters and labour;
• With extended service intervals, higher uptime rates are achievable;
• Improved working conditions for mechanics through ergonomic adjustments;
• DriveOn^® pumps make an important contribution to a sustainable environment.

The history behind the first DriveOn^® pump  

The first portable pump with DriveOn^® was introduced in 2007. Working together with the engine manufacturer, BBA Pumps developed a new concept for the PT wellpoint pumps. On average, these dewatering pumps run many hours per year, they are real workhorses. Based on the recommended maintenance intervals prevailing at that time, our customers had to schedule maintenance work for every third week on average.

Portable pump fleet owners were looking for ways to save money without sacrificing longevity (Lowest Cost of Ownership). At the time, it was becoming increasingly difficult to find well qualified mechanics. Additionally, greater emphasis was starting to be placed on respect for people and the environment.

Our innovative DriveOn^® concept was the perfect answer to these challenges and was greeted enthusiastically by the market. The technical adjustments that BBA Pumps made were tested and certified by the engine manufacturer, backed with factory guarantees.

Since then new DriveOn^® pump models have been added to the range and today thousands of pump sets with this unique concept are supplied worldwide.

Cost Savings with DriveOn^® pumps

Due to the worldwide price differences of engine oil and labor costs, it is impossible to make a universal savings estimate as each use case differs. However, using the numbers below, every pump owner can easily calculate their financial benefit.

As an example, we can take a BA100K D193 sewage pump with an average lifespan of 30.000 operating hours. With this as a base you can estimate the possible cost savings:

• 66% reduction in oil changes (20 times instead of 60 times)
• 25% less total oil consumption (200 liters versus 270 liters)
• 40 times less filter kits required (20 filters kits instead of 60)

Don't forget to also include the indirect costs due to lost productivity, loss of rental income and transportation costs in your cost saving calculation!

Focus on ergonomics with DriveOn^® pump sets

Mechanics really enjoy working with DriveOn^® pump sets. The reason for this is the BBA Pumps focus on innovative ergonomics. The filters, drain and filling points of both the engine and the pump have been made easy to access. You can see for yourself the difference between 'back then' and the current design by watching a short explanation video that we have made.

DriveOn^® pumps contribute to a sustainable environment

DriveOn^® pump sets use less oil and filters, which directly contributes to a cleaner environment. In addition, far fewer road journeys to service the pump are required. This includes reduced transport of the pumpset from the job site to the workshop and far fewer trips for your maintenance engineers driving many kilometres in service vans to remote pump locations.

Which pump sets have DriveOn^®

BBA Pumps is still actively extending the range of pump sets with DriveOn^® technology. We currently have officially certified and standardized the following 4 Tier Final pumps for a 1500-hour maintenance interval:

PT150 D185 for well point dewatering
BA100K D193 for sewage pumping
BA150E D285 for multi-use pumping
BA180KS D315 for sewage pumping

Impressive DriveOn^® statistics

Perhaps A maintenance interval of 1500 operating hours is hard to imagine, but the numbers below help to understand it’s truly impressive nature:

If a passenger car travels at an average speed of 45 mph, the distance traveled after 1500 hours would be 67,500 miles. Just imagine driving so many kilometers until your next maintenance!

When the diesel engine runs at a speed of 1700 revolutions per minute. Then after 1500 operating hours the crankshaft has rotated more than 150 million times!

Based on an average pump flow of 1750 US gpm, then the total amount of liquid pumped between the maintenance intervals is over 158 million US gallon!

Written by Henno Schothorst