Key features
Vogelsang's figure, against two baselines: up to 140 kg saved on a standard VX series model, and up to 176 kg on a comparable pump with hydraulic motors. That weight goes back into payload.
Flanging the hydraulic motors directly to the housing takes length out of the installation. Vogelsang gives up to 20 cm against a standard VX series model, a space saving of about 28%.
They make the lobes lighter and let each one be fitted on its own, because no fitting keys are needed. Vogelsang also credits them with the pump's smooth running.
Vogelsang attributes it to the geometry of the wear plate, and states it across both its own product page and its agricultural brochures.
Large diameter, with no cranks or recesses to weaken them, which is what holds shaft deflection down under pressure. Vogelsang uses the same shaft design here as on the VX series.
The mechanical seal arrives as a factory-assembled, computer-checked cartridge, so a seal change on site does not depend on getting the assembly right.
About the Vogelsang LoadMaster
The LoadMaster exists to solve a weighbridge problem rather than a hydraulic one. On a tank vehicle the pump competes with the load for the same permitted weight, and it competes with everything else on the chassis for space. Vogelsang's answer was to redesign the pump around those two constraints: the LoadMaster weighs almost half as much as previous comparable rotary lobe pumps from Vogelsang, and flanging the hydraulic motors straight to the housing shortens it.
The numbers come with their baselines attached, and the baselines matter.
| Vogelsang's claim | Measured against |
|---|---|
| Up to 45% less weight | Up to 140 kg saved on a standard VX series model |
| Up to 45% less weight | Up to 176 kg saved on a comparable model with hydraulic motors |
| Up to 20 cm shorter, about 28% space saving | A standard VX series model |
| Up to 25 cm shorter | Previous comparable Vogelsang rotary lobe pumps, with the new design and the motors flanged to the housing |
Two types are listed in the specification table, and the same trade-off runs through them as through the rest of the Vogelsang rotary lobe line. Pressure falls as capacity rises.
| Type | Stroke volume | Max. pressure | Max. capacity | Max. speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 186 - 184Q | 7.12 l | 8 bar | 4,270 l/min (256 m³/h) | 600 rpm |
| 186 - 260Q | 10.06 l | 5 bar | 6,030 l/min (362 m³/h) | 600 rpm |
Vogelsang qualifies the capacity column itself. Those are maximum theoretical volume flows, and what you get in service is lower, moving with the pressure difference, the viscosity of the medium and how the pump is installed. On a vehicle, the installation part of that is not a footnote. Suction line length and bore change the answer more than the pump choice does.
The aluminium option, and what it does not cover
For road transport Vogelsang offers an aluminium build: the gearbox housing, the bearing seal housing and the QuickService cover. It exists to hold the tare weight of the vehicle down and put the difference into payload. What it does not do is put aluminium in the wetted path. Vogelsang states that every component in contact with the medium is lined with robust grey cast iron or highly wear-resistant special steel, which is the right way round. Aluminium would not survive an abrasive medium at these speeds, and specifying it as though it would is a mistake you pay for in housings.
Where it is the wrong pump
A fixed installation is the wrong home for a LoadMaster. If the pump is bolted to a plinth in a building, weight and overall length are not costing you anything, and you are paying for engineering that buys you nothing. The VX series covers five model ranges with up to eight sizes each and reaches duty points the LoadMaster's two types do not. The LoadMaster earns its price where the pump has to go on a vehicle and the vehicle has a plated weight.
On a farm rather than a haulage fleet, the question is different again. If the pump is going on a three-point base or a fixed store and the medium is liquid manure, look at the FX series first.
We supply and support the range as a distributor. On a LoadMaster the useful conversation is about the installation as much as the pump: what space you have between the tank and the chassis rail, what the hydraulics can drive, and what the vehicle is plated at.
How the Vogelsang LoadMaster works
Two lobed rotors turn in opposite directions inside the pump chamber and carry the medium round the outside from the suction side to the discharge side, which is the rotary lobe principle in one sentence. Delivery rate follows shaft speed directly, so a speed sensor gives you the basis for measuring flow, either mounted on the drive or through the Universal Drive System. Both LoadMaster types run to a maximum 600 rpm.
Where the weight and the length went
Two changes account for most of the saving. The hydraulic motors flange directly to the housing, which removes the coupling arrangement and the length that goes with it. The new synchronisation discs make the lobes lighter, and they also change the service job: each lobe can be fitted singly because no fitting keys are required. Vogelsang credits the same discs with the pump's smooth running.
Wear, and how it is managed
The pump housing segments are adjustable, so wear is compensated without adding parts. Axial wear plates in highly wear-resistant special steel protect the whole pump chamber as standard, and radial plates are the option for abrasive media. Vogelsang also puts the seal package's service life at up to four times longer on this pump, and attributes that to the geometry of the wear plate rather than to the seal itself.
The InjectionSystem is the option worth knowing about on a dirty medium. Vogelsang describes it as the first integrated foreign-matter protection built into a rotary lobe pump, credits it with better suction capacity through improved volumetric efficiency, and puts the gain from its own field trials at up to 2.5 times the service life.
Shafts and lobes
The shafts are large in diameter with no cranks or recesses to weaken them, which holds deflection down under pressure and keeps start-up wear low. Vogelsang builds the same shafts into the VX series. HiFlo rotary lobes are the option on the lobe side: they pump without pulsation, which lengthens the life of the drive and the coupling, and their higher count of sealing lines lifts suction capacity enough to draw from a deep pit. Vogelsang builds both the LoadMaster and the VX on a modular design, so a worn component is replaced on its own rather than as an assembly.
The seal
The weak point in almost any pump is the seal, and on the LoadMaster it is the Vogelsang Quality Cartridge. The mechanical seal is built as a cartridge in the factory, fully pre-assembled and checked by computer, so a change on site avoids the assembly errors that finish a seal early and commissioning after the change is straightforward.
One thing no cartridge changes: a mechanical seal needs liquid to lubricate it. Emptying a tank and running on past the last of it will cost you the seal, and on a vehicle that is a roadside job rather than a workshop one.
Specifications
| Types listed | 186 - 184Q, 186 - 260Q | as written in Vogelsang's specification table |
|---|---|---|
| Flow rate | up to 6,030 l/min (362 m³/h) | 4,270 l/min (256 m³/h) on the 186 - 184Q; maximum theoretical volume flow, lower in practice |
| Pressure | up to 8 bar | 8 bar on the 186 - 184Q, 5 bar on the 186 - 260Q |
| Speed | max 600 rpm | both types |
| Stroke volume | 7.12 l and 10.06 l | |
| Weight saving | up to 45% | up to 140 kg against a standard VX series model; up to 176 kg against a comparable model with hydraulic motors |
| Length saving | up to 20 cm shorter, about 28% space saving | against a standard VX series model; Vogelsang's product page gives up to 25 cm against previous comparable Vogelsang rotary lobe pumps |
| Shaft seal | Vogelsang Quality Cartridge | factory pre-assembled and computer-checked |
| Seal package life | up to 4 times longer | Vogelsang attributes it to the geometry of the wear plate |
| Shafts | Break-proof, large diameter, no cranks or recesses | the same shaft design as the VX series |
| Wear protection | Axial wear plates as standard; radial wear plates optional | highly wear-resistant special steel; the housing segments are adjustable to compensate wear |
| Rotary lobes | HiFlo rotary lobes optional | pulsation-free, with more sealing lines for suction from deep pits |
| Foreign matter protection | InjectionSystem optional | Vogelsang's field trials put the service life gain at up to 2.5 times |
| Instrumentation | Speed sensor optional | on the drive or with the Universal Drive System |
| Aluminium option | Gearbox housing, bearing seal housing and QuickService cover in aluminium | wetted components stay lined with grey cast iron or wear-resistant special steel |
| Configuration | Model, rotary lobes and materials specified to the duty |
Send us the vehicle, its plated weight and the space you have for the pump, along with the flow you need, what you are pumping and the hydraulic supply available to drive it. That is enough to pick between the two LoadMaster types and specify the lobes, wear plates and seal against your medium. If the pump is going into a fixed installation, we will tell you to buy a different one.
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Frequently asked
How much lighter is the Vogelsang LoadMaster?
Up to 45% lighter, which Vogelsang puts at up to 140 kg against a standard VX series model and up to 176 kg against a comparable model with hydraulic motors. It describes the pump as weighing almost half as much as previous comparable Vogelsang rotary lobe pumps.
What flow rate and pressure does the Vogelsang LoadMaster cover?
Up to 6,030 l/min (362 m³/h) and up to 8 bar, though not on the same pump: the 186 - 184Q gives 8 bar at 4,270 l/min and the 186 - 260Q gives 6,030 l/min at 5 bar. Vogelsang lists both figures as maximum theoretical volume flows, so service capacity is lower and moves with the pressure difference, the viscosity and the installation.
How much shorter is the LoadMaster than a standard rotary lobe pump?
Vogelsang gives up to 20 cm shorter than a standard VX series model, a space saving of about 28%, and up to 25 cm shorter than previous comparable Vogelsang rotary lobe pumps. It attributes the reduction to the new design and to the hydraulic motors flanged directly to the housing.
Is the Vogelsang LoadMaster available with an aluminium housing?
Yes. Vogelsang offers an aluminium gearbox housing, bearing seal housing and QuickService cover for road transport, to hold the vehicle's tare weight down, while every component in contact with the medium stays lined with grey cast iron or highly wear-resistant special steel.
What is the difference between the Vogelsang LoadMaster and the VX series?
Weight, length and range: the LoadMaster is built for tank vehicles, and Vogelsang lists two types for it against the VX series' five model ranges of up to eight sizes each. Where the pump sits in a fixed installation, or the duty needs a build the two LoadMaster types do not cover, the VX is the range to look at.
What does the InjectionSystem do on a LoadMaster?
It is Vogelsang's integrated foreign-matter protection, which improves the pump's resistance to foreign matter and its suction capacity through better volumetric efficiency. Vogelsang's own field trials put the service life gain at up to 2.5 times.
- 1Vogelsang UK — LoadMaster rotary lobe pump
- 2Vogelsang — Rotary lobe pumps overview (LoadMaster)
- 3Vogelsang — Powerful and reliable agricultural technology: pumps and cutters for agriculture (brochure, LoadMaster spread)
- 4Vogelsang — Solutions for efficient slurry management (brochure, LoadMaster page)