FRONT-REMOVABLE BEARING HOUSING FOR VERTICAL TURBINE PUMP

A bearing housing in a bowl of a vertical turbine pump for a lower bearing of a rotatable pump shaft on which an impeller is mounted includes a separable hollow substantially cylindrical housing body with upper and lower ends, having a radial flange at its lower end adapted for sealing attachment to a bottom face of the bowl such that it is capable of installation in and removal from the bottom face of the bowl, the housing body also having an inside diameter greater than an outside diameter of the shaft to provide a clearance therebetween. A bearing is fixed within the lower end of the housing body for journaling the shaft therein, and provision is made for sealing between the upper end of the housing body and an internal axial bore in the bowl. A seal is also provided between the lower end of the housing body and the shaft for excluding pumped fluid from the clearance. Pumped fluid pressure against the seal, as well as particle size of solids carried by the pumped fluid, is limited by a close clearance between the impeller hub and a restriction bushing mounted in the bearing housing. Flushing with clean fluid may be provided, flow of which fluid being permitted out of the clearance, between the housing and the shaft, through the seal.