When an industrial pump fails, production stops. It doesn't matter if it's a 5-horsepower booster pump on a cooling tower or a 1,200-horsepower vertical turbine on a refinery feed line — the equipment downstream of that pump is now offline, and the clock is running. Kelsey Machine Services has been repairing industrial pumps for forty years. We rebuild centrifugal pumps, vertical turbines, split-case pumps, and positive-displacement pumps to OEM specifications, with the precision balancing, hard-facing, and documentation that demanding process industries require.
Our pump repair process is comprehensive — every rebuild starts with a complete teardown and documented as-found inspection, and ends with dynamic balancing, dimensional verification, and a 24-month written warranty. We work on equipment from every major manufacturer including Goulds, Sulzer, Flowserve, ITT, KSB, and dozens of others. If your pump uses standard ANSI or API construction, our shop can repair it.
What sets Kelsey Machine apart is the same thing that's set us apart for four decades: we don't just rebuild what's in front of us, we figure out why it failed and address the root cause. Cavitation damage is often a system problem, not a pump problem. Bearing failures are usually about lubrication or alignment, not the bearing itself. We tell you what we find — and we put it in writing.
Types of Equipment We Repair
Centrifugal Pumps
Single-stage, multi-stage, end-suction, between-bearings, and split-case designs — every common configuration found in industrial process service.
Vertical Turbine Pumps
Deep-well, can-mount, and barrel pumps used for water supply, condensate return, and high-head process applications.
Horizontal Split Case
Double-suction split-case pumps used in high-flow, low-NPSH applications including water treatment and HVAC service.
Positive Displacement
Gear, lobe, screw, vane, and diaphragm pumps used for high-viscosity fluids, metering, and low-shear product transfer.
Self-Priming & Trash Pumps
Industrial and municipal pumps used for sewage, slurry, and intermittent-duty applications where reliable re-prime is critical.
Common Failure Modes We See
Cavitation Damage
Pitting and erosion on impeller vanes from vapor-bubble collapse. Often the result of insufficient NPSH-available, throttled suction lines, or running far off the BEP.
Bearing Failure
Premature bearing replacement is the most common pump repair we see. Causes range from misalignment to contaminated lubricant to running outside the design flow window.
Mechanical Seal Leakage
Drips and leaks at the seal face — often a symptom of dry running, abrasive product, or flush plan failure rather than the seal itself being defective.
Impeller Wear & Erosion
Abrasive service eats through impeller eyes and vane tips. Hard-facing and tungsten-carbide overlay restore service life.
Shaft Cracks & Breakage
Reverse rotation, misalignment, water hammer, and deadhead operation all overload the shaft. We inspect for crack indications during every teardown.
Vibration Problems
High vibration is rarely just one thing. We diagnose root cause — unbalance, misalignment, bearing wear, hydraulic instability — and address the actual driver.
Our Repair Process
- 01
Complete Teardown
Documented as-found dimensions, photos, and condition assessment for every component.
- 02
Material Verification
Material verification on wear components and shaft, with NDT inspection as required.
- 03
Precision Machining
Bore restoration, shaft repair, and wear surface reconditioning — all done in-house.
- 04
Impeller Balancing
Every impeller dynamically balanced to ISO 1940 G2.5 or better. G1.0 available on request.
- 05
Component Replacement
New bearings, seals, gaskets per OEM specification. Hard-facing and wear-ring replacement when required.
- 06
Final Assembly & Warranty
Torque verification, clearance documentation, operational test, 24-month written warranty.