Pump trouble shooting

Mechanical Engineering general discussion Pumps
#1

When requesting assistance to a pump installation problem, far too often the pump is given the blame as in, “there is something wrong with the pump”, “my pump doesn’t work” when it should be, there is something wrong with the :

  1. Installation
  2. Pump selection
  3. Pipework
  4. Product
  5. Power supply
  6. Suction pipework
  7. Delivery pipework
  8. Etc etc
    Very rarely is the pump at fault, in my many years in the pump industry, “something wrong with the pump”, unless a mechanical problem isn’t the case.
    When reporting an installation problem and asking for assistance you need to supply full details
  9. Pump type /size /performance curve
  10. Installation details
  11. Hydraulic requirements
  12. Detail of the problem
  13. New or existing installation.
  14. Etc etc

We aren’t mind or crystal ball readers and having to drag information out of the poster step by step isn’t the way to meaningful assistance.

Many times, members who have the knowledge and the answer will just switch off as it’s too much hassle to continue the conversation.

Further, when requesting general or specific pump /application / hydraulic detail, tell what research you have already undertaken and what your specific problem or question is and what you are looking for and how can we help.

“My pump doesn’t work” is just wasting everyone’s time including your own.

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#2

@artisi In my experience, the area(s) that creates most of the “my pump doesn’t work” problems is #6, the suction pipework (and it’s installation detail, #10). What’s your experience on this?

#3

Latexman: I would suggest that the inlet side / pipework / hydraulics is probably the least understood of “the pump has a problem” problems.
However this is just part of not really knowing or understanding the interaction of the pump and the system being discussed, in many cases this is poor system design or wrong pump selection or combination of the two, the very reason why all data should be supplied with the posting.

In many cases the problem starts at design time:
The customer asks for ’ X’ flow, the field staff add a margin - just in case, the consultant adds his margin, the designer adds a little bit, the guy selecting the pump adds a bit to cover his arse - -
What do we end up with, an oversized pump /driver for the system - - “there is something wrong with my pump”.

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