Regarding submersible pumps in the chemical industry, they have a limited service life
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Our plant in the coking and chemical industry has over 20 submersible pumps, most of them model 2.4. These pumps require frequent maintenance; about 15 days after each maintenance session, they start to vibrate severely, and the issue lies in the wear of the middle and lower shaft sleeves. The original shaft sleeves were made of graphite, which is durable but prone to damage, and it was found after maintenance that they were often broken. Are there any better alternatives for shaft sleeves? Any experience in this regard would be appreciated
I heard there is a type: bearing sleeves made of polyimide carbon fiber composite. Has anyone used them?
In your case, just replacing the components isn’t enough; the pump itself is not suitable, and changing only certain materials locally doesn’t make much sense. There are also many different types of submersible pumps, and we can discuss them if you’re interested.
Submersible pumps are now hardly used in factories; they have been replaced by clog-free self-priming pumps
The imine bushing has not been used yet, but the imine ring performs well – it is mainly resistant to wear. However, simply replacing the bushing is not the ultimate solution; it is necessary to identify the root cause in terms of the pump’s clearance fit and maintenance issues
Unless it is irreplaceable, pumps that can be replaced with self-priming pumps are generally replaced with such pumps. Submersible pumps already have a high failure rate; their pump shafts are usually long and prone to vibration. If the manufacturer is unreliable, the shaft diameter may not be large enough, leaving stability out of the question altogether.
From this perspective, the bushing can be replaced with a lipid-graphite bushing, but simply replacing the bushing is not enough to solve the problem; it is necessary to check whether the shaft is bent or deformed, whether the cooling and lubricating water flows properly, whether the force acting on the pump impeller is stable, and if there is a packing, whether it has been washed away. Has there been a drop in liquid level or a vacuum condition?
If the shaft is not dynamically balanced at the time of manufacturing, the gap between the impeller and the pump casing will gradually decrease after the pump starts operating, leading to vibration-induced wear. Maintenance is also likely to be a case of treating symptoms rather than addressing the root cause; whatever breaks is simply replaced, while it would be better to solve the problem at its source. Additionally, this is also a major problem with submersible pumps: they have a high failure rate and are difficult to repair. I have visited some petrochemical companies, and in most of them self-priming pumps are used instead of submersible pumps, offering better performance.
Let’s talk about the parameters and profile dimension drawings; I’ll help you come up with ideas
Which brand is the best for sealless self-priming pumps? I’ve used several services in Jingjiang as well as those in Liancheng, and the experience was extremely unpleasant.