Day 3: 5 Interesting Things I Heard Today at the Pump Guy Seminar

Jan. 17, 2013

Larry Bachus offers up a healthy dose of pump piping, shaft deflection, and mechanical seal failure analysis.

Larry Bachus (a.k.a. “The Pump Guy”) talks shop with a couple of attendees during Day 3 of this week’s Pump Guy Seminar in Decatur, Ala.

The final session of this week’s Pump Guy Seminar in Decatur, Ala. was presented today, and thus I present you here with the final post in my “5 Interesting Things” blog series reporting live from the training. Day 3 offered up a healthy dose of pump piping, shaft deflection, mechanical seal failure analysis, and a range of systems design best practices. Here are a few things that stuck in my head. 




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  1. The resistance multiplier (k) for a 4-inch butterfly valve is about 25 times greater than the resistance multiplier for a 4-inch full-port ball valve. You wouldn’t want to place a butterfly valve on the suction side of the pump because it will starve the pump. 

     
  2. Most maintenance problems are the product of system changes or modifications to the system over time. Adding or changing filters, valves, flowmeters, etc. can change the system and negatively impact a pump. For example, a new filter with a tighter mesh screen on the suction side of the pump will alter the energy arriving at the pump, resulting in increased maintenance over time. You should re-balance the system after alterations or additions are made to an existing pipe system. 

     
  3. Alterations on discharge to the discharge pipe can move the pump on its performance curve. Alterations on the suction side will starve the pump. 

     
  4. Gate valves and globe valves, though they look similar, are not interchangeable. The resistance across a globe valve is about 42 times greater than a gate valve. From a pump’s perspective, exchanging a gate valve for a globe valve is the same as installing 42 gate valves.

     
  5. No one in production relates today’s pump bearing failure with the inoffensive installation of a heat exchanger or flowmeter three months ago. Should they? Perhaps your production folks should be at the next Pump Guy Seminar.

Day 2: 5 Interesting Things I Heard Today at the Pump Guy Seminar



Day 1: 5 Interesting Things I Heard Today at the Pump Guy Seminar



For more information about the Pump Guy Seminar and upcoming training programs, visit www.FlowControlNetwork.com/PumpGuy.

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