Pump assembly and method

A method by which an operative shearing action is securable in a chopping pump assembly, the assembly comprising

• a cutting wheel mounted on a drive shaft in coaxial and co-rotational relation with a pump wheel;
• a cutting plate stationary mountable in a pump housing between the cutting wheel and the pump wheel, the cutting plate having perforations forming passages there through for a liquid to be transported by the pump wheel in rotation, the cutting wheel and cutting plate in co-operation providing a shearing interface effective for cutting solid matter which may be entrained in the liquid, the method comprising the steps of:
• securing the pump wheel axially on the drive shaft;
• mounting the cutting plate stationary to the pump housing;
• mounting the cutting wheel in a threaded engagement with the drive shaft end so as to contact the cutting plate, and
• applying an adjusting element, which is arranged to establish an axial clearance at the shearing interface between the cutting wheel and the cutting plate by applying a separating axial force on the cutting wheel and on the drive shaft and thereby eliminating an axial play in the threaded engagement between the cutting wheel and the drive shaft.