Robust Pump™

Heavy-Duty Manual Pump, Self-Priming & Siphoning, BuILT for Tough FIELD & Industrial Applications

Originally designed for the rough work environment of field maintenance crews doing manual draining of gas pipeline drip separator tanks, Robust Pump’s heavy duty design and chemical resistant components also make it suitable for industrial applications such as:

• Liquid transfer from larger containers

• Small spill cleanup

• Manual emergency backup pump

• Liquid removal from hard to access places

• Quick draining of service boxes

Robust Design Made in the USA
This thick walled aluminum and stainless steel hand pump was designed and field tested in partnership with maintenance crews from a major natural gas company. Chemical resistant seals and valve components and other heavy-duty components are resistant to gas line condensates and other petrochemicals. Robust Pumps perform reliably in extreme winter and summer temperatures. Our materials are sourced from US manufacturers and are fabricated in our Buffalo New York facility.

Utility Specific Features

Chemical & Condensate Resistant – Seals, valve components

RUGGED DESIGN–Thick walled and machined aluminum and stainless steel takes rough treatment

Long-Life Durability – Tested to over 20,000 cycles

Integrated Unit – No additional pieces to hunt for and connect

Ergonomic – Easily used with heavy gloves; short stroke eases use

Easy to Maintain – Easily disassembled for access to internal components

Standard Specifications

Self-priming (2 to 4 strokes)

Siphons after priming when outlet is positioned below end of intake

Flexible discharge hose: Cut to 15” standard - ID .8” OD 1.1”

Intake Coupling: 3/4” NPT

Ergonomic bicycle pump style plunger

Inlet screen     

Max. Temp: 120 deg. F, (49 deg. C)

Min. Temp: 33 deg. F, (1 deg. C)

Works in any orientation

Flow per stroke: .13 G (.5 L)

Max Pumping height (head): 14 ft (4.26 M)

Stroke Length: 17 in (.43 M)

ROBUST Accessories

Common Accessories

Robust Pumps come with a 3/4” NPT threaded coupling on the intake and a 3/4” thick hose on the output. Any standard threaded 3/4” pipe fitting should fit the intake and any standard 3/4” tube/hose fitting should fit the output hose. Since most fittings, adapters and couplings are already being mass produced Robust recommends getting them from known and trusted industrial suppliers, such as the ones linked to the right. For any compatibility concerns contact us.

Field Proven

National Fuel Gas Utility Division Reduces Costs and Speeds Draining of In-Ground Drip Separator Tanks

The Situation

National Fuel is an integrated energy company with a utility division that distributes natural gas to large parts of New York and Pennsylvania.  The company has a culture of continuous improvement which generates ideas from all parts of the company. Their idea tracking system noted that field maintenance crews were dissatisfied with an off-the-shelf plastic hand pump being used to drain in-ground, drip separator tanks connected into their distribution pipeline network.

Drip separators are used throughout the gas industry to maintain moisture levels within specifications.  Over months, drip separators can collect from a cup to a few gallons of water. Field maintenance crews as part of regular checking of the gas lines use a hand suction pump to suck the collected moisture from the separators for eventual environmentally safe disposal. The hand suction pumps are a fast, simple and convenient approach to removing the small amounts of moisture which collect.

The Problem

The problem was that the light weight plastic hand pumps used to suck out the water often plugged with small particles and were not very durable. In addition, the centralized tool maintenance group noted that the pumps were not repairable, and therefore had to be discarded.  As a result, field crews needed extra time to drain the drip separators, and the cost of replacing the broken or plugged plastic hand suction pumps was adding up.

The Solution

National Fuel engaged Sharp Tooling Company located near their headquarters in Buffalo New York to design, fabricate and test a hand suction pump which addressed the issues they were experiencing the off-the-self plastic pump.  National Fuel specified their operational requirements, and left it up to Sharp Tooling to design the pump.  National Fuel especially wanted a hand suction pump that could handle small debris, was sufficiently durable to handle typical rough handling by field crews, and was repairable if issues did arise.

In a joint effort with the National Fuel team, Sharp Tooling designed, prototyped, tested and iterated the design of the manual suction pump.  Made from heavy-duty aluminum and stainless steel with chemical resistant internal parts, it’s compact, easy to use and gets the job done. Its durable design stands up to rough handling, while being easily repairable. Sharp Tooling has branded their new self-priming, suction and siphoning product Robust Pump, and is offering it to gas distribution companies throughout the U.S.