Since 1981, Chardon Oil has been delivering home heating oil, gasoline, and motor oils to a traditional customer base that covers northeastern Ohio and stretches into western Pennsylvania. When the company was in need of a new delivery truck, Chardon Oil took delivery of a unit that featured knockoff pumps that were marketed as the equal of the TX Series Sliding Vane Pumps that Blackmer supplies to the transport industry. As it turned out, Chardon Oil found out firsthand that the knockoff pumps couldn’t supply the operational reliability of Blackmer.
“We had no issues with the pump until it went out all of a sudden,” said Gary Bulzan, owner of Chardon Oil. “It was a catastrophic failure. I was making a delivery and it just quit and leaked all over the place. And the pump was not only leaking, when it was taken apart, it was totally destroyed.”
To make matters worse, the pump’s warranty had just expired and the manufacturer was unwilling to supply a replacement. So Chardon Oil decided to switch back to a tried-and-true alternative: a Blackmer TX2.5 (2.5-inch) model sliding vane pump.
Blackmer has designed its TX Series pumps for handling liquid petroleum products, such as gasoline, fuel oil, diesel, kerosene and light lube oils. TX pumps feature cast-iron construction and operate via Blackmer’s sliding vane method that self-adjusts for wear to maintain flow rates. The result is a pump that offers excellent self-priming and dry-run capabilities, and easy maintenance.
“We’ve been using Blackmer pumps since the early 1980s and we had never had any issues like we had with the other brand. Blackmer pumps last,” said Bulzan. “We probably get eight to 10 years out of them without a problem. Blackmer TX pumps are very reliable and dependable, and all we need to do on them is basic maintenance. We are done with trying other transport pumps.”
To illustrate just how reliable Blackmer pumps have been for Chardon Oil, a video has been created that can be viewed on Blackmer’s YouTube channel. The video can be VIEWED HERE, or by going to Blackmer’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/BlackmerGlobal and searching for “Chardon Oil.”
Chardon Oil has been working closely with Tank Truck Service & Sales, based in Warren, Mich., whenever the company needs to add a new delivery truck to its fleet. Tank Truck Service & Sales – a multi-state manufacturer, assembler and distributor of tank trucks and trailers of all types – has been using Blackmer pumps since the 1940s and 1950s.
Dave Lawler, owner of Tank Truck Service & Sales, said, “Chardon Oil has had no problems since we put the new TX pump on and I wouldn’t anticipate having any for years and years and years to come.”
Other benefits of Blackmer TX Series pumps include a dual-ended shaft on the 2-, 2.5- and 3-inch models that simplifies installation, mechanical seals and ball-bearing construction, symmetrical bearing support for even loading and wear, adjustable relief valve that protects against excessive pressures, and external ball bearings that are isolated from the pumpage to maximize bearing life and minimize contamination risk.
For more on Blackmer TX Series pumps, visit www.blackmer.com/txstrong.
