Slurry pump apparatus including fluid housing

An adjustable capacity pump comprising:

• an impeller having an axis of rotation and a fluid engaging face;
• an impeller housing having an impeller chamber receiving the impeller, the impeller being rotatably mounted in the impeller chamber for rotation about the axis of rotation;
• a fluid housing having a circular wall member opposing the fluid engaging face and a side wall member surrounding the circular wall member, the fluid housing cooperating with the impeller housing to form a fluid chamber defined by the circular wall member, the side wall member, and the fluid engaging face, the impeller located substantially outside the fluid chamber, the circular wall member having an input passage linking an exterior of the fluid housing to the fluid chamber, the side wall member having an output passage linking the fluid chamber to an exterior of the fluid housing, the input passage permitting fluid entering the fluid chamber to engage the fluid engaging face of the impeller during rotation of the impeller about the axis of rotation wherein the fluid is directed by the impeller through the fluid chamber toward the output passage to exit the fluid chamber;
• and
• the capacity of the pump being adjustable by interchanging the fluid housing with another fluid housing wherein an inside diameter of the input passage and an inside diameter of the output passage are varied by interchanging the fluid housing.

A slurry pump apparatus kit comprising:

• an impeller having an axis of rotation and a fluid engaging face;
• an impeller housing having an impeller chamber for receiving the impeller, the impeller being rotatably mounted in the impeller chamber for rotation about the axis of rotation;
• and
• a plurality of interchangeable fluid housings each having a circular wall member and a side wall member surrounding the circular wall member, each fluid housing interchangeably cooperating with the impeller housing to form a fluid chamber defined by the fluid engaging face and the circular wall member and the side wall member of each fluid housing, the impeller located substantially outside the fluid chamber, each fluid housing having an input passage linking an exterior of the fluid housing to the fluid chamber, each fluid housing further having an output passage linking the fluid chamber to an exterior of the fluid housing, the input passage permitting fluid entering the fluid chamber to engage the fluid engaging face of the impeller during rotation of the impeller about the axis of rotation wherein the fluid is directed by the impeller through the fluid chamber toward the output passage to exit the fluid chamber, each fluid housing further having equal dimensions for an interior width of the side wall member, an inside diameter of the input passage, and in inside diameter of the output passage;
• each fluid housing further having different dimensions than the other fluid housings.