My name is
Christian Dillstrom and the last ten years I have been
I have clients from
many, many different industries. Today, I am learning about plunger and
multiplex pumps which are, for example, used in the oil&gas and water
industries.
I’m
always looking for new insights, so I am very pleased when I encounter
professionals like Joe Bichler, a pump expert from Grand Rapids, USA. The topic
of this article series is plunger pumps and how to foolproof and maintain them
for best performance.
Hello again Joe!
Last time we spoke about seals and
how they contribute to preventing plunger pump issues.
Before that, we learned about general issues with plunger pumps.
Before that, we learned about general issues with plunger pumps.
What other hints can you give us?
Another
preventative remedy is choosing the right pressure gauge. Select a gauge that
will allow you to monitor more than just the operating pressure of the pump.
For example, if your pump is operating at 1000 psi, don’t use a 4000 psi gauge,
but choose a glycerin filled gauge rated between 1500 and 2000 psi.
A cheap presse
By
lowering the rating of the gauge to 1.5 to 2 X the operating pressure, the
behavior of the gauge can give you more nuanced hints as to how your cavitation
That is great advice! What else
can our readers do to avoid failures?
The best safeguard against unplanned
shut-down
Multiple
piston and plunger pump have really simple designs and can be maintained
without special tools according to their data sheet. The below suggestions are
a basic guideline. Keep plenty of spares: Plungers / pistons, stuffing box
packings and valves!
Make sure that the fluid end
material is compatible with the media you want to pump!
Fluid
end materials are typically constructed of Cast Ductile Iron (CDI), Nickel
Aluminum Bronze,
Choose the right crankcase oil.
Make
certain you are using the manufacturer’s recommended grade of oil as specified
in the power end crankcase. Crankcase oil should be changed after the first 50
hours of operation and after every 300 hours of operation.
Regularly check system
performance.
If
the pump speed remains constant and the system performance changes, check the
system immediately and adjust your maintenance cycle accordingly. If there is
no wear at 1500 hours, check again at 2000 hours and each 500 hours until
Start with this pump maintenance
check list
Duty
cycle, temperature, quality of pumped liquid and inlet feed conditions all
effect unloader
The
recommended daily checks are:
•
Clean
filters
•
Check
for oil level and oil quality. Degradation in the quality of the oil could
indicate a problem
•
Check
for oil leaks
•
Check
for water leaks
Weekly
checks should be:
•
Check
drive belts and pulleys
•
Check
suction and discharge piping
Other
checks you might want to do:
•
After
50 hours of operation: Initial oil change
•
Every
300 hours: Change oil
•
Every
500 hours: Change seals, stuffing box and wiper box packing
•
Every
1000 hours or as needed: Change valves
Thank you Joe for this interview!
This concludes the series about plungerpumps
This concludes the series about plunger