By Rob Caouette

Redhead Pumping units are designed from top to bottom to address the common issues that are seen in today’s conventional pumping units. These advancements cover a wide range, including materials selection, manufacturing processes and logistics. At Redhead, these are all brought together to make the safest, most robust and long-lasting pumping unit in the marketplace.

Steel quality is a topic that is very commonly overlooked. It is a rare occurrence that end-users ask to see the types of steel being utilized in manufacturing, so we’re going to take a quick look ‘under the hood’ to examine what effects poor steel can have on your pumping unit performance.

Yield Strength is the point where deformation in steel can occur, and it will return back to it’s original form.

Tensile Strength is the ultimate load steel can take before failure. 

Why is this important in a pumpjack? There are two main reasons:

• Low incidence, high load situations. In situations that happen infrequently, sometimes due to operational constraints (stuck pump, heavy fluid, etc), if the design is surpassed, the unit and its components will not be permanently damaged.
• Higher Tensile Strength = Long Term reliability. Allowing for longer life before any failures occur, and in the potential of one, the extra tensility provides protection from adjacent component failure.

A typical pumping unit would use ASTM A36 steel, which while it conforms with API standards, is not the best material for the job. Redhead Pumping Units are made of top quality Q345 Steel vs ASTM A36. The Q345 which has 38% increase in yield strength, and 17.5% advantage in tensile strength, over the A36.

Longer life, better performance and lower maintenance costs add up to better value.

To learn more, contact us at today and discuss how our product offerings can assist you.