Industrial & Manufacturing Blog
A self-priming water pump is a type of pump that automatically primes (gets ready for use) itself when it is started. Some common issues may affect the ability of these self-priming pumps to function. This article discusses some of those issues that you should look out for.
The Need to Prime It Manually
A self-priming water pump may need to be primed manually for a number of reasons. For instance, you may need to pour water into the priming chamber after you have installed a new self-priming pump. Furthermore, you may need to re-prime the pump in case the liquid in the priming chamber evaporates during hot weather. Any failure to prime the pump when the need arises may result in a pump failure because it will be unable to start working.
Distance from the Water Source
Self-priming pumps may also develop problems if they are located far from the source of the water that you would like to pump. This is because the suction pipe will have a lot of air that needs to be expelled before the pump can start channeling water through the suction side to the discharge side. A long suction pipe strains the pump during the process of expelling the air in the pipe. This can shorten pump life. Ensure that you don't exceed the recommendations for the distance that your model of pump should be relative to the water source.
Leaks in the Suction Line
Self-priming pumps may also be affected by a leak in the suction line. Such a leak can prevent the pump from working because it will be hard to expel all the air that is inside the suction hose. Leaks prevent the pressure inside the suction hose from dropping so that water can be sucked into the hose due to the higher atmospheric pressure within the water source. Leaks must therefore be fixed so that it is possible to create a pressure difference that forces water to enter the suction side of the pump. You may suspect that your pump has a leak in case it takes longer than usual to prime itself.
As you can see, many of the problems affecting self-priming pumps originate from the suction side of those pumps. You should therefore familiarise yourself with the best practices recommended for maintaining the suction side of your pump. This will enable you to avoid the disruptions to your water supply that may result from defects in this area. Consult pump experts for help in case you keep noticing the same problem in your self-priming pump.
Share23 August 2016
Almost everybody engages with industry and manufacturing in some way or another. You may work in the manufacturing industry, you may source industrial goods for your business, you may buy housing materials, or you may simply use the products created by these industries. Regardless of how directly or tangentially you are connected to industrial and manufacturing concepts, I think there will be posts in this blog that appeal to you. Hi! My name is Jeb, and in this blog, I am going to cover virtually anything and everything about these two ideas. I hope you don't mind if I write whatever appeals to me on a day-to-day basis related to what I've been thinking of or what I've read in the news or trade journals.