This suggestion is not necessarily a contracting solution for you; however, one surefire way to extend your ESP run life would be to specify that the stages are to be coated with EXO Technology, a premium Nickel Boron (i.e. 85%-100% Ni3B) coating.  We have coated over 40,000 ESP components in the last few years and all have had tremendous success (2x - 5x improvement in runlife).  In fact, we are currently working with Borets right now, so it would not be a problem to provide you some coated samples through your existing supply chain right now.  I'd be happy to share more with you if you like.

lschomer@uctcoatings.com
+1-772-872-7108

No question that coatings of the PTFE 'teflon' type, and plating like the various NiB processes have their place. I first saw the advantages of ptfe coatings in 1996 and later years when I was involved in preparing applications of esp's in some tough pumping environments around the world.

Ensuring a continuous coating with consistent mil thickness became a quick study for ESP engineers, and I understand is still a concern. (I'd like to read some other comments on this subject - how about some posts?).

For example looking back to the mid and later 1990's, my perspective is that casting quality was not what it is now EXPECTED to be. In other words, those of us in the know, are aware of previous NiResist 1 and NiResist 4 quality standards (or lack thereof) - issues that haunted manufacturers and hopefully have been taken care of and are behind the esp industry. It's bad news for an esp manufacturer to learn that your castings don't meet specification, with a bogus mil cert,  and are a root cause to an early pull .... Ouch - been there - done that.

My opinion is that better evidence is needed of actual performance for both coatings and plating versus non plating or coating in same conditions. Preferably a study would be made independent of the plater, coater or pump OEM.

Simple features & benefits claims are easy to make but don't really prove a thing, do they? This especially reads on plating  because there is some significant cost involved.

There are a handful of NiB platers in the world that I am aware of who are involved in the ESP industry plating various wear and fluid flow esp parts.

Couple in China, and also in the United States who are gaining experience with esps. Here in the Middle East, a number of manufacturers are utilizing. Please feel free to contact me by email or posts with any questions or suggestions where to go, questions to ask, price points, etc. For suppliers of coatings and platers, give me a call or send an email so that we can first talk and understand more about your application before any ideas re: coating versus plating, and which plater to utilize / esp vendor etc.

I always learn a lot when I get to hear about new problems out there.

Best Regards.