Feddon Mechanical uses duplex Vortex pump systems for restroom additions at large Florida medical warehouse

Feddon Mechanical installs two heavy-duty Sanicubic 2VX lift stations to tie into existing, conventional plumbing lines, accommodating additional restrooms for HCA Healthcare HealthTrust warehouse staff.

Problem

LAKELAND, FLORIDA — HCA Healthcare, an American for-profit operator of health care facilities, utilizes the HealthTrust supply chain to improve facility operational efficiency. HealthTrust delivers integrated performance improvement, including supply chain capabilities, to healthcare providers.

The HCA Healthcare HealthTrust location in Lakeland, Florida, functioned as one large warehouse before the decision was made to section off an end of the building to accommodate offices, restrooms, and break rooms for the staff. To scope the project, the organization contacted Feddon Mechanical LLC, an award-winning plumbing and mechanical contractor from St. Petersburg, Florida.

The project landed in the lap of project manager Nate Hefner. HealthTrust previously installed one restroom and two connecting restrooms in different sections of the warehouse. The new project scope required tying these new restrooms into the existing sanitary sewer, with the furthest restroom roughly 850-feet away from existing sanitary sewer access.

“The original spec included grinder pumps to be excavated 6-feet deep and 4-feet wide down in the ground to then pump up across the warehouse,” explains Hefner, “But before we pulled the trigger on that, we decided to reach out to Saniflo to see what they had to offer, since we had an existing relationship with our local sales representative.”

Solution

After confirming that they could accommodate the electrical components to operate the Saniflo systems, the Sanicubic 2VX duplex lift station came out on top as the unit that could adequately handle the flow and distance of the plumbing system. The decision was made to install two Sanicubic 2VX units to handle the wastewater coming from three new single user restroom facilities.

Part of Saniflo’s Vortex Series, this powerful 1.5-horsepower pump system provides above-floor drainage for multiple plumbing fixtures for an entire commercial structure, thus eliminating the need for costlier and less convenient pit installations.

A Sanicubic 2VX can discharge wastewater 36-feet vertically with a 2-inch diameter pipe or 20-feet using a 4-inch pipe. The unit can handle large-diameter solids and sanitary products entering the system.

Two Vortex impellers within the Sanicubic 2VX alternately handle wastewater to distribute the work equally. Each pump has an overload stage that signals when the incoming rate is higher than the discharge rate, activating the opposite pump until the rate normalizes.

In addition, if one pump fails, the alternate pump can handle the workload until the unit is serviced. Each pump can handle up to 125 gallons per minute (GPM), using a 2-inch pipe; or 137 GPM using a 4-inch pipe.

Here’s a breakdown of each Sanicubic 2VX installation at HCA Healthcare in Lakeland, Florida:

A few steps into the facility, a single restroom, including a toilet and sink, was installed just inside of the garage doors to serve as a facility easily accessible to the truck drivers. The Sanicubic 2VX was installed in a closet created specifically for the pump on the other side of the bathroom.

• The 2-inch discharge pipe uses the middle inlet on the top of the Sanicubic and runs roughly 32 feet vertically and approximately 760 feet horizontally before entering the top of the second Sanicubic of the next restroom.
• The wastewater from the toilet and sink enters the Sanicubic via the side inlet.
• The vent pipe utilizes the top left inlet and is run through the roof.

The second Sanicubic 2VX was installed inside the garage doors by the offices. Offering two side-by-side restrooms with a sink and toilet in each, one for males; the other for females.

• Wastewater from the two restrooms discharges into the side of this second 2VX.
• Wastewater from the first Sanicubic enters this second unit via the discharge pipe using the top right inlet.
• All the wastewater within this second unit discharges through a 2-inch pipe that runs approximately 26 feet vertically and approximately 80 feet horizontally into the conventional plumbing system of the pre-existing restrooms.
• The left inlet is the vent pipe that also runs through the roof.

In addition, an air compressor was set up in the warehouse, which contains an automatic drain to remove moisture. A Sanicondens Best Flat condensate pump was installed on the floor in the warehouse to neutralize and pump condensate away from the compressor.

The discharge runs approximately 12-feet vertically and roughly 50-feet horizontally through a ⅜-inch hose, discharging to the exterior of the building into a flower bed.

Results

According to Hefner, both Sanicubics and the Sanicondens Best Flat have operated without a hitch at HealthTrust Lakeland.

“Using Saniflo products that were readily available and didn’t require long lead time was cost-effective, compared with the equipment initially specified,” explains Hefner.

Furthermore, the facility contacted Feddon Mechanical and Saniflo to pursue a service agreement for routine preventative maintenance on all three units, allowing Feddon Mechanical to further expand their commercial service division.

“From blueprints and documents to installation and maintenance, we’ll be able to offer our clients the full package,” says Hefner.

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ABOUT SANIFLO
SFA SANIFLO U.S.A. – whose parent company originated macerating plumbing technology — offers a complete line of waste and drainage pumping systems for residential and commercial applications. Saniflo developed its innovative, “above-floor plumbing” technology more than a half-century ago and has led its commercialization worldwide. Today, the company markets macerating technology through 24 subsidiaries in 50 countries and has sold more than seven million units worldwide since 1958. Saniflo markets through independent sales agents throughout North America, and the product line is currently available at distributor and dealer locations throughout the United States and Canada.

For more information, contact Saniflo at 1-800-571-8191. Or visit the Saniflo website at saniflo.com.

For editorial assistance, including photography, contact John O’Reilly c/o GreenHouse Digital + PR: 708-428-6385 or [email protected].