COVID-19 Thoughts.
A friend of mine who gave up Facebook for the 40 days of Lent came back and posted “I’m back – did I miss anything?” Obviously she was kidding about the very serious news story that is everything right now– the Covid-19 pandemic. How do you put something that affects so many people (everybody?) in so many countries into perspective? It isn’t easy. My boys are 8 and 12 years old and are struggling to make sense of their school year, Little League baseball season, Boy Scouts events, play dates with friends and everything else they know and love being cancelled. I told them that in my almost 50 years on this planet I have never been through anything like this – nothing even close.

Like everyone at this time, I am figuring the situation out day by day and trying to sort through fact and fiction. The hardest part is that the details are changing daily and what was believed / true last week, isn’t necessarily true this week. I haven’t spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself about the pandemic’s impact to me or my family or Hydra-Tech Pumps, because everyone and every business is facing their own Covid-19 challenges. I know of weddings postponed. I know a fair number of high school and college seniors who don’t know if they’ll have a graduation. A couple of weeks ago I learned that a woman who was a year ahead of me at my high school died in New York City of corona virus. She was a year older and without any known “underlying conditions”. What I had believed to be true before, that “only people over 60 and those with preexisting conditions are dying”, was clearly not true. The odds are not good for people over 60 and no matter your age, everyone is anxious. Everyone who has an elderly relative or friend is anxious. Everyone who has an elderly relative or friend in a nursing home is especially anxious.

I know of businesses that are struggling and might not survive. A friend’s business had to lay off more than half of their double digit workforce in mid-March when Covid-19 was just starting to heat up. They are an essential business but they serve the restaurant and hospitality industry who are hit hard right now. The social distancing and shutting down of non-essential businesses is a necessary thing, I don’t disagree. But doing this is an economy and business killer.

In mid-March, I’m sure your work and personal email inboxes like mine were full of emails from anyone you have ever done business with letting you know whether they were open or not and reassuring you that they were doing the necessary things required to remain open. At Hydra-Tech Pumps we have our masks on and have moved to daily cleaning of high-touch surfaces. We continue to answer the phone and help customers when they call. It’s tough out there unless you have a warehouse full of hand sanitizer, N95 masks or toilet paper. As the death toll rises and we hopefully are close to hitting the peak (maybe?) of the curve we’re trying so hard to flatten, keep this in mind. We have to stick with the plan and the masks and the social distancing – not something we are accustomed to but something we’re certainly getting a lot of practice with. And we’re all in this together. Everyone, everyone has had something or many things in their life turned upside down by the pandemic. If your business is down but your people (family, friends, coworkers) are healthy and haven’t been touched by coronavirus then consider yourself blessed.

Written by Jeff Whittaker - VP, sales and marketing

Pump Applications-
Are you missing out on any of these?

When we describe to a friend (who probably doesn’t have a clue about our products) where our hydraulically driven submersible pumps are used, the general description usually goes something like this. “Imagine there is a body of water and you need to bring in a temporary solution to get the water out – that’s where our pumps are used. Our pumps are rarely permanently installed – instead they are brought to a location (sewer line that needs bypassed, pond / lake / river etc.) and set up to pump for a finite period of time and when the job is done our equipment goes back to the shop.” An oversimplification but the layman probably wouldn’t appreciate all of the applications where our pumps can be used.

At our website we have a list of applications where our pumps have been used – doesn’t cover everything our units have been asked to do, but gives you a pretty good idea as to what kind or pumping jobs can be accomplished with a Hydra-Tech Pumps hydraulic power unit and pump system.

We’re always available to discuss your application if you aren’t sure. Give us a call and we’ll be happy to help you figure out if we have a pump that will do the job for you. It is always a good idea to have the following information before calling to discuss the application with us:

  • Flow Required?
  • Total Dynamic Head? If we can help you determine TDH, know the desired flow, discharge pipe diameter, discharge pipe material and style, discharge piping length, and head.
  • Are you pumping clear or dirty water? If dirty, what kinds and sizes of solids will be present? If not water what will you be pumping? What is the temperature of the fluid you will be pumping?
  • Do you have hydraulic power available? What is the maximum flow and pressure you can supply to the pump?

With this information we can help you select the right pump for the job from 58 different hydraulically driven submersible pumps. Have a look at that application list and see if there aren’t a few on there that might open up some sales / rental opportunities for you. We’ll be here to help you when you need us.

Pump of the Month - S6V / S6VAL
Hydra-Tech’s S6V(AL), 6” hydraulic submersible wastewater pump is lightweight, compact and able to pass large solids and stringy materials. This versatile top discharge pump is designed specifically to fit through a 21” manhole making it ideal for sewer by-pass jobs. 

The S6V(AL) pump handles hydraulic inputs up to 30 gpm at pressures to 3000 PSI and will continue to move water at heads up to 70 feet. Beyond water, the S6V(AL) can handle semi-solids measuring up to five inches. The pump volute is available in cast aluminum or ductile iron, and the impeller is stainless steel. When compared our ductile iron model, the aluminum is 33% lighter which aids in preventing lifting problems and injuries. Combined with our HT50 to HT75 power units, the S6V is capable of flows up to 1600 GPM.  


Hydra-Tech Pumps | Nesquehoning, PA | PH: 570-645-3779 | www.hydra-tech.com