A Houston-based oil company was building its pumping units using SP-style power takeoffs (PTOs with pilot bearings) mated to natural gas engines. This company often had to use a countershaft (or jackshaft) to achieve the required speed reduction and stay within the sideload limitations of the PTO on these units. When this stock was sold, they found that the purchasers placed much of this pumping equipment in harsh, remote locations. Proper maintenance schedules at the sites were inconvenient at best. The pilot bearings in these PTOs would operate for long periods without being engaged. The end user’s lengthy runtimes and improperly maintained PTOs would cause excessive wear and premature failure of the pilot bearing, ultimately leading to clutch failure. In addition, the transmission of high-side loads to the PTO created fatigue in the main bearings, leading to failures.
WPT worked with the client, and they switched the SP-style PTO (power takeoff with pilot bearing) to the Pilotless® Mechanical PTO (a unit that eliminates the need for a pilot bearing). Because of this changeover, they could eliminate the jackshaft arrangement (removing the need for an intermediate shaft) and use a small driving sheave (a pulley used to transfer power and adjust speed) to get the needed speed reduction. It eliminated the costs of the shaft, sheaves, bearings, and other setup items, yielding immediate savings. The Pilotless® PTO also features longer greasing intervals (the time between mandatory lubrication) than the predecessor, requiring fewer maintenance schedule visits. There have been no sideload-related (lateral force) failures since the switch.
WPT’s Pilotless® design enhances well production, resulting in higher yield. In addition, the field-proven Pilotless® MPTO (Mechanical Power Take-Off) eliminates the problem-prone pilot bearing—a component that supports rotating shafts—and increases side-load capacity compared to standard PTOs. As a result, this optimized solution delivers higher uptime, greater durability, and reduced maintenance. This is why the customer has fully committed to WPT Pilotless® across all their pumping equipment, demonstrating the trust and value delivered by the solution.
For more information on any of the products or for any other requests, please contact WPT Power at 940.761.1971 or info@WPTpower.com.