--- title: Chemical Pump Case Study — Sunburst Chemicals description: View our Sunburst Chemicals Case Study! image: https://www.pumptec.com/hubfs/images/resources/case-studies/folded_white_laundry_pile.jpg --- ![](https://secure.game9time.com/205666.png) Need to place an order or technical support? Call [(763) 433-0303](tel:7634330303) or email [customersupport@pumptec.com](mailto:customersupport@pumptec.com). X [![Pumptec logo](https://www.pumptec.com/hubfs/logos/pumptec_logo.svg "Pumptec logo") ](https://www.pumptec.com/) [SPEAK WITH A PUMP EXPERT](https://www.pumptec.com/contact-pump-expert) MENU [![Pumptec logo](https://www.pumptec.com/hubfs/logos/pumptec_logo.svg "Pumptec logo") ](https://www.pumptec.com/) [SPEAK WITH A PUMP EXPERT](https://www.pumptec.com/contact-pump-expert) Search [![pumptec_logo](https://www.pumptec.com/hubfs/logos/pumptec_logo.svg)](https://www.pumptec.com/) [![Speak With a Pump Expert](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/7644413/ae75fe13-0edc-4b1f-b05b-e5cf004e7592.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/7644413/ae75fe13-0edc-4b1f-b05b-e5cf004e7592) [![Troubleshooting & Support](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/7644413/d9781e4d-b3b9-40fa-bb1d-b85a459ba8d9.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/7644413/d9781e4d-b3b9-40fa-bb1d-b85a459ba8d9) ![folded_white_laundry_pile](https://www.pumptec.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/resources/case-studies/folded_white_laundry_pile.jpg?width=1280&name=folded_white_laundry_pile.jpg "folded_white_laundry_pile") # Chemical pump case study: sunburst chemicals ## Sunburst Chemicals When your job is sanitization, there is no wash & “try.” For Sunburst Chemicals, clean means business. This Minneapolis-based, family-owned business is a leader in commercial cleaning and sanitation chemicals. One of their primary markets is commercial laundry for the healthcare and hospitality industries. They develop and produce the chemical compounds that help ensure customers’ linens are free of pathogens and bacteria. The chemicals are used in commercial washing machines called tunnel washers that put linens through several wash cycles with different chemicals injected at various points to eliminate anything that could impact the health of the next user. ![commercial_cleaners](https://www.pumptec.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/resources/case-studies/commercial_cleaners.jpg?width=1280&name=commercial_cleaners.jpg "commercial_cleaners") ## The Challenges Tunnel washers have long used peristaltic pumps to dispense chemicals at specific points throughout the wash cycle because they are effcient. And, in Sunburst Chemical’s case, the trade-off for efficiency was maintenance. Sunburst was seeing a high number of field failures. One of the main reasons for the failures? The tubing. Peristaltic pumps utilize synthetic tubing. This tubing doesn’t stand up well to the repeated use of so many different chemicals. Technicians would need to be dispatched to customer locations for repairs quite frequently. This created substantial downtimes for those customers. And, doing preventative maintenance meant bi-weekly visits; which translated into a disruption for customers and higher expenses for Sunburst. ## Developing a Solution Pumptec knew they could help reduce maintenance costs by developing a system that could reliably handle both the tunnel washers’ heavy-duty cycles and the use of several different chemical compounds. To start, Pumptec recommended plunger pumps instead of peristaltic pumps. Their engineers started with the 114T polypropylene pump with a 24V motor, added hastelloy (nickel-based steel alloy) valves and ceramic plungers, and then constructed several prototypes utilizing various elastomer, plunger, and valve materials that would meet Sunburst’s stringent specifications. The result was a complete pump control system that would stand up to the rigorous duty cycle and the precision infusion of the five different chemicals it used. And, the controller could be operated from anywhere in the world. The system was tested and evaluated for over five years before being placed in the field. During that time, the prototype ran over two million cycles without failure. ## The Outcome With new Pumptec pump control system, reliability has increased more than tenfold. Sunburst Chemicals has gone from having to do bi-weekly maintenance to doing simple annual maintenance. They’re also able to address many of the intermittent issues quickly using remote access. As a result, they’ve seen a substantial reduction in system downtime for customers and significant reductions in maintenance and repair costs. ![commercial_tunnel_washer](https://www.pumptec.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/resources/case-studies/commercial_tunnel_washer.jpg?width=806&name=commercial_tunnel_washer.jpg) 12/20 LHP 12/24v Reverse Osmosis Watermaker Custom Built-In Watermaker Streamlined 12/20 LHP 12/24v Reverse Osmosis Watermaker ![114t_m70_cropped](https://www.pumptec.com/hubfs/product-catalog/images-primary/114t_m70_cropped.jpg "114t_m70_cropped") [ VIEW THIS PUMP ](https://www.pumptec.com/products/114t-series-pump) ## Product Used #### Pumptec 114T - 200 PSI - .79 GPM - Size: 3.77" x 7.31" - Hastelloy Valves - Ceramic Plungers Share this story [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pumptec.com%2Fcommercial-laundry-pump%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on LinkedIn](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/linkedin-24x24.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pumptec.com%2Fcommercial-laundry-pump%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pumptec.com%2Fcommercial-laundry-pump%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pumptec.com%2Fcommercial-laundry-pump%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Chemical%20Pump%20Case%20Study%20%E2%80%94%20Sunburst%20Chemicals) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pumptec.com%2Fcommercial-laundry-pump%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pumptec.com%2Fcommercial-laundry-pump%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) [← Back to Case Studies](https://www.pumptec.com/case-studies) [![pumptec_logo](https://www.pumptec.com/hubfs/logos/pumptec_logo.svg "pumptec_logo")](https://www.pumptec.com/) 700 McKinley Street Anoka, MN 55303 Phone: (763) 433-0303 Fax: (763) 433-0404 Toll Free Fax: (888) PUMPTEC © 2026 PUMPTEC. 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