How Singer Trim Minimizes Cavitation Damage

Set in the foothills of Canada’s Rocky Mountains is the City of Airdrie. Without a water supply, Airdrie purchases its water from neighbouring Calgary. Virtually every night, the City of Calgary pumps water into Airdrie’s reservoir. The reservoir consists of two 218,000 cubic metre (7,698,597 cubic ft.) tanks. Then, Airdrie pumps water into its distribution system so the city’s 38,000 people have water throughout the day. Pumping water at 5,310 g/m (335 l/s) with pressure beginning at 60 psi (4.1 bar) and dropping to atmosphere, it’s no wonder the reservoir fill valve had to be replaced regularly due to serious cavitation.

“We inspected the reservoir fill valve every year for damage due to cavitation,” says Kelly McKague, City of Airdrie’s facility operator. “The valve was completely eaten away so we had to replace it every 18 months because of wear and tear.”

When McKague met with Summit Valve and Controls Inc. at a trade show, he was fascinated to learn about Singer Valve’s anti-cavitation trim. “On display was the exact valve we had in the reservoir,” says McKague. “That caught our attention and then they told us about Singer’s anti-cavitation trim.”