Pumping a flooded quarry is a tough task, which is why Mawsons Seymour turned to Toolkwip Pumps for the job.
Located in north central Victoria, Seymour and its surrounding area is no stranger to flooding.
According to the Victoria State Emergency Service, heavy rains around the town often cause flash flooding in low-lying areas.
In October 2022, a major flood filled the pit at a sand quarry. Mawsons Seymour quarry manager Ned Mazurek told Quarry that the team at the site needed to dewater it through its lagoon system and evaporation and needed a pump to extract the water.
“As the water got deeper, the pump would need to deal with head issues,” he said.
The solution came from local pump supplier Toolkwip, who quickly supplied a Selwood D160, a high-quality, compact draining pump ideal for quarry applications.
Designed and manufactured in the United Kingdom, Selwood provides dewatering solutions for the civil construction, mining, and quarry sectors. It offers high-efficiency centrifugal force for high-volume fluid transfer.
Mazurek said the pump’s fuel efficiency and price suited the quarry’s needs.
“The overall package looked good for us, and with Toolkwip being just up the road, they could keep it serviced,” he said.
“It’s been great. We’ve put 10,000 hours on it and it’s working great.
“It’s very easy to use. We’ve worked with Toolkwip pumps before, and they are all straightforward to use.”
One of the key features is the ability to control the pump via an app.
This allows the site to monitor the pump and remotely turn it on and off, freeing quarry staff to spend their time on more productive tasks.
In addition, a float system and fuel watchdog mean the pump can automatically start and stop if it detects low fuel or low water levels.
The overall size of the Selwood D160 pump is 245cm long by 152cm wide and 174cm high. The compact machine is capable of quietly pumping 390m³ per hour.
Mazurek said the low-noise nature of the pumping was vital for the quarry, which is located near Seymour.
“When we needed to run the pumps overnight to dewater the pit, noise was an important factor,” he said.
“Being able to minimise that was a massive issue for us. The pump is so quiet that if you’re on the other side of the hole, you might not even be able to tell it is running.”
Super service
Mazurek said the pump is also easy to maintain with staff able to change filters and oil from one easy-to-access spot.
Toolkwip pumps sales representative Brenton Mauger said this ease of maintenance was a key feature.
“It doesn’t require any fancy tools, you can service them with a basic tool kit,” Mauger said.
“They’re so well built that all you need is a bit of preventative maintenance.”
Toolkwip Pumps is the authorised distributor of the complete range of Selwood Pumps in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania. The company maintains a full inventory of pumps and parts, as well as providing full-service support which includes an in-house rebuild capability.
Some pumps can be heat-treated to make them more robust, which makes them suitable for tough environments such as quarries.
Mauger stated that the company has a team of expert service technicians for both on-site and in-workshop repairs.
“We have service technicians across the east coast and workshops in Queensland and Victoria,” he said.
“We test everything in our workshop before it gets sent out to site and work with our customers to make sure they have the right tool for the job.
“The Selwood pumps are the very best on offer. They’re hand assembled to a very high standard and always outperform.” •
For more information, visit toolkwippumps.com.au
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