Frequently Asked Questions
What is CheckPoint’s primary business?
CheckPoint specializes in providing chemical injection solutions to industries such as oil and gas, pulp, water treatment, fertilizer dosing, paper, and fluid processing industries, where precise delivery is paramount. Our positive displacement, reciprocating injection pumps are specifically designed for, and extensively proven in, demanding applications worldwide. CheckPoint has specifically designed its range of pumps and systems to optimally endure various conditions, from remote locations to harsh environments, both onshore and offshore. Our “Plug & Play” packages efficiently and effectively integrate chemical injection solutions into processes, combining high-quality equipment with your specific application requirements in order to ensure minimal maintenance, downtime, and long-term costs. CheckPoint creates solutions that will meet your specific operational needs, from concept to completion.
What is chemical injection, and why do I need it?
Chemical injection is the process of adding secondary chemical solutions to a flow process in order to enable, enhance, and improve the flow of the primary fluid. Chemical injection is a continuous and mission-critical process often used in harsh offshore or remote environments. Therefore, it requires extreme flow rate accuracy coupled with high reliability.
Chemical injection in the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries is necessary for a variety of reasons. Examples include:
- Internal corrosion prevention, starting at the wellhead and continuing on all the way to the refinery
- Hydrate inhibition, to prevent freezing in gas production lines
- Drag reduction, increasing production flow by decreasing friction inside pipelines
- Gas well dewatering
- Breaking crude oil/water emulsion bonds to enable separation
- H2S scavenging and scale inhibition
- Wastewater sterilization
What are positive displacement pumps?
Positive Displacement (PD) pumps are devices that pump a fixed volume every stroke. PD pumps are used to achieve a controlled injection rate independent of the discharge pressure. PD pumps achieve constant flow by using suction to fill a pump cavity with a discrete volume of fluid, and forcefully transferring the fixed volume through the pump’s discharge check valve and into the process fluid.
PD pumps are different from the other principal type of pumps used in industry, such as centrifugal or rotating pumps. Centrifugal pumps are designed to maintain a constant output pressure without regard to flow rate. Non-PD pumps are good for applications where flow rate accuracy is not the primary consideration. CheckPoint only produces PD pumps and is the largest independent specialist in this business. CheckPoint pumps are referred to by many different names, depending on the industry; including chemical pumps, injection pumps, process pumps, metering pumps, and dosing pumps.
Why are CheckPoint pneumatic pumps more reliable than the alternatives?
- CheckPoint pumps contain fewer moving parts than any other pneumatic pump in the industry, which reduces the likelihood of wear and tear.
- CheckPoint pumps utilize double-acting motors, so the suction stroke is as strong as the discharge stroke. Therefore, the product:
- Can pump extremely viscous chemicals that otherwise could not be pumped at all
- Can operate in extreme-temperature conditions and with variable supply and discharge pressures that tend to bind the gas piston on other pneumatic pumps
- Can use very tight packing
- Can handle liquid carryovers in the supply gas that stall all other pneumatic pumps
- Can eliminate the chance of breakage of the piston return spring – a common source of failure in other pneumatic pumps
- Can utilize the physics necessary for full gas recovery, even under significant backpressure—a patented benefit not available on any other pneumatically-powered pump
- CheckPoint utilizes the best engineering and technology to create and improve unique designs that have been proven in the field for over 22 years.
- CheckPoint continuously innovates and advances its products based on extensive in-house and field testing.
- CheckPoint offers worldwide presence and support, with offices in the U.S., U.K., Dubai, and Singapore.
Why are CheckPoint electric pumps more reliable than the alternatives?
- Our electric pumps are built and supported to the highest standard.
- CheckPoint’s FXA Series pumps mitigate the challenges often faced in the diverse range of American basins. The FXA Series circumvents corrosion and achieves high accuracy and efficiency, even in the harshest conditions.
- CheckPoint’s MD Series pumps are proven to perform in the most challenging, harsh environments.
- CheckPoint’s E and F Series pumps have some of the most robust gearboxes in the world and make use of the same field-proven chemical head used in CheckPoint’s pneumatic line of pumps.
What is the range of flow rates CheckPoint pumps can handle?
CheckPoint pumps can handle flow rates between 0.04 USG/H (0.15 L/H) and 2,220 USG/H (8,403 L/H).
What is Gas Recovery, and why is it important?
The Gas Recovery (GR) feature can be applied to a number of CheckPoint pumps. Using the pressure of the gas, while simultaneously recovering that same gas without venting to the atmosphere, has a number benefits. You are not only protecting the environment, but you are also saving your natural gas production reserves. CheckPoint pumps can be GR retrofitted. However, it is more cost-effective to choose the GR option in your initial pump configuration order.
What is the average battery life for a CheckPoint solar power package?
Solar system performance depends heavily on location and weather conditions. CheckPoint’s energy storage systems are designed to exceed the most extreme conditions. CheckPoint pumps maintain flawless operation in adverse conditions, from hurricanes in the tropics to the long winter nights experienced in the Arctic. CheckPoint has solar units outside Veracruz, Mexico that continued to operate despite a persistent and active 2010 hurricane season. One unit in Canada was operating for a year, went through 13 days of continuous rain, and remained on setpoint; the batteries did not drain.
Are CheckPoint solar packages available for rental?
Yes, they are. CheckPoint can provide rental solutions for any of your chemical injection needs.
Why should I consider skids, packages, or systems?
Installing any positive displacement pump involves ensuring that a number of interconnected parts are configured and deployed correctly. Features that should be carefully considered include sourcing and connecting air/gas filter/regulator, suction and discharge lines, pressure relief valves, chemical filter, and ball valves. CheckPoint’s packages have been developed and refined over the years to contain the most reliable components, in the right places, properly sized, installed, and tested to provide the best protection, highest level of efficiency, and the maximum reliability for CheckPoint pumps. Using a CheckPoint package saves you time and money, while protecting your process equipment and assuring the most reliable chemical flow.
Can CheckPoint pump systems be automated and remotely operated?
Yes, with additional equipment, any of CheckPoint’s injection packages can be completely automated and remotely operated through your current communication protocol, such as SCADA. Just give CheckPoint your requirements and a system will be designed for your specific purposes.
Can CheckPoint provide a tank for my application?
Yes, CheckPoint can provide a tank as a standalone unit or incorporate it into a package. Depending on your requirements, they can also provide a local sight gauge or remote-level monitoring equipment.
What happens if my pump needs to be repaired?
CheckPoint maintains worldwide repair facilities that can facilitate the repair of your CheckPoint pumps and systems. With each properly-performed repair, you end up with the equivalent of a new pump. It is highly unlikely that a repair cost will exceed the cost of a purchasing a replacement. A complete overhaul usually takes less than two hours. Since 1993, CheckPoint has had pumps in the field and has yet to see a case where the pump could not be repaired to factory specification for much less than its replacement cost.
What is CheckPoint’s Exchange Program?
In order to assist you in easily maintaining your fleet of pumps, CheckPoint has designed a convenient and efficient Exchange Program.
- The Exchange Program takes all of the hassle and unpredictability out of your maintenance cycle. It can even be done on consignment.
- When CheckPoint repairs your product, they replace every wear component, not just the ones that wore out first.
- CheckPoint ensures that your pump remains up-to-date with all product improvements that have occurred since the pump was first manufactured.
- CheckPoint prepares rental pumps in advance. When you need a repair, CheckPoint sends out your exchange pump immediately. You don’t have to do anything except replace your pump with the exchange pump and send your pump to CheckPoint to be repaired.
CheckPoint warrants all repairs just like brand new pumps. CheckPoint charges a flat fee for exchanges, which includes labor costs incurred by CheckPoint’s repair technicians. The Exchange Program allows you to have factory specified pumps in operation at all times, with zero downtime and maximum runtime.
Why is CheckPoint packing superior to other packing products?
Leaking packing is an environmental problem, a hassle to replace, and an ongoing maintenance expense. CheckPoint uses premium materials of construction and extremely precise manufacturing processes, in order to make a seal that lasts much longer under more conditions than any other seal design.
