Horizontal agitator

An agitator assembly for mounting in a wall of a storage tank, said

• agitator assembly comprising:
• a body member extending through said wall of said storage tank, said body member including a contoured portion and a seal assembly that is in communication with a fluid source;
• a rotatable shaft extending longitudinally through said body member, said shaft extending from a distal end to an engagement end;
• a bushing disposed between said shaft and said body, said bushing including an inner surface having a least one groove and an outer surface having a plurality of grooves;
• an impeller secured to said distal end of said shaft;
• a sealing element positioned on said shaft to sealingly engage said contoured portion to prohibit the ingress of foreign matter into said body;
• an input device in communication with said shaft for supplying power to rotate said shaft;
• a collar positioned on said engagement end of said shaft;
• and
• a resilient member positioned over said shaft between said input device and said collar;
• whereby when a fluid is injected into said body, the fluid pressure increases until the pressure overcomes the biasing force of said resilient member and causes said shaft to move in an axial direction permitting the fluid to escape the body between said sealing element and said contoured portion to effectively clean the impeller.

An agitator assembly for mounting in a wall of a storage tank, said agitator assembly comprising:

• a body member extending through said wall of said storage tank, said body member including a seal assembly that is in communication with a fluid source;
• a rotatable shaft extending longitudinally through said body member, said shaft extending from a distal end to an engagement end and having a substantially smooth surface adjacent said distal end;
• an impeller secured to said distal end of said shaft;
• a sealing element positioned on said shaft;
• an input device in communication with said shaft for supplying power to rotate said shaft;
• and
• a means for biasing said sealing element against said body member, wherein said means for biasing is positioned over said shaft and outside said body member.

An agitator assembly for mounting in a wall of a storage tank, said agitator assembly comprising:

• a body member extending through said wall of said storage tank, said body member including a seal assembly that is in communication with a fluid source, and a contoured portion for directing the pressurized fluid flow onto said impeller, said contoured portion including four quadrants with at least one quadrant having a different radius than the remaining quadrants;
• a rotatable shaft extending longitudinally through said body member, said shaft extending from a distal end to an engagement end;
• an impeller secured to said distal end of said shaft;
• a collar positioned on said engagement end of said shaft;
• an input device in communication with said shaft for supplying power to rotate said shaft;
• and
• a resilient member positioned over said shaft between said input device and said collar;
• whereby when a fluid is injected into said body, the fluid pressure increases until the pressure overcomes the biasing force of said resilient member and causes said shaft to move in an axial direction permitting the fluid to escape the body under pressure to effectively clean the impeller.

An agitator assembly for mounting in a wall of a storage tank, said agitator assembly comprising:

• a body member extending through said wall of said storage tank, said body member including a seal assembly that is in communication with a fluid source;
• a rotatable shaft extending longitudinally through said body member, said shaft extending from a distal end to an engagement end;
• a bushing disposed between said shaft and said body, wherein said bushing includes an inner surface having at least one groove and an outer surface having a plurality of grooves;
• an impeller secured to said distal end of said shaft;
• a collar positioned on said engagement end of said shaft;
• an input device in communication with said shaft for supplying power to rotate said shaft;
• and
• a resilient member positioned over said shaft between said input device and said collar;
• whereby when a fluid is injected into said body, the fluid pressure increases until the pressure overcomes the biasing force of said resilient member and causes said shaft to move in an axial direction permitting the fluid to escape the body under pressure to effectively clean the impeller.