Process Area Activity – [I See Now-46]: Starting the high-speed pump
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Sea friends, it turns out that this activity isn’t that complicated after all. Here’s a small experience of mine, which I hope can inspire everyone to participate actively in it. Once, the factory purchased a high-speed centrifugal pump and installed it in the tank area to transport a solvent whose boiling point is slightly lower than that of water. I had never used a pump like this before; when it was put into use, the plant’s shift supervisor and the head of the technology department both came. There are many possible reasons, but this pump simply doesn’t perform well – it fails to produce the desired flow rate; in other words, cavitation occurs as soon as the pump is started. Watering the pump body didn’t work, nor did venting from the pump outlet; it took a long time to figure things out. The deputy plant manager arrived, took a look, turned the outlet valve by a full turn, then started the pump; everything was working normally now. Everyone praised the factory manager as amazing, and then they all left. As a junior technician, I’ve been wondering why it is the case Back in the office, I checked the pump’s user manual and found that starting a high-speed pump is slightly different from starting a regular centrifugal pump. Due to the high speed of the high-speed pump, the fluid inside it heats up and vaporizes quickly; therefore, the outlet valve needs to be left slightly open when starting the pump. In retrospect, this problem occurred due to my own carelessness and habitual thinking, as I failed to read the pump’s instructions. Problems actually occur around us quite often. Thanks to the guidance of experts or sheer luck, these problems are resolved quickly. But we are usually too busy to think carefully about them or to find out their causes. Activities like \"So that’s how it is\" are meant to inspire us to think and identify the root of the problems. Sea friends, take action! Respond to the call and uphold the spirit of craftsmanship ； In response to Hai Chuan’s call, I participated in the “That’s How It Is” event. Have you encountered a situation where the outlet valve of a centrifugal pump was left fully open, causing the motor to burn out? Share any interesting stories that happened while starting various pumps or other equipment.
I don’t understand; read more and learn more
Could you point out a small mistake? :D It should be “cavitation” in the text, rather than “gas erosion”. As for the situation where opening the outlet valve fully burns out the motor, we have never encountered that before: lol
When we operate centrifugal pumps, we keep the outlet valve closed; after starting the pump, we adjust the opening degree of the outlet valve based on the readings on the pressure gauge.
The pump’s instruction manual should indicate how to open and close the valves when starting the pump, right?
During the first two years of working in the chemical industry, I had no idea that it was necessary to close the outlet valve when starting a pump – this was because water needed to be drawn from a lower level, and the bottom valve was often not in good condition and leaked, which meant that water had to be added over and over again. At that time, there was no training on relevant procedures, and everyone around me did it the same way; I didn’t think much about it. It was only later that I learned from the Internet that closing the outlet valve before starting the centrifugal pump can prevent excessive current from causing the motor to burn out and thus extending its lifespan ； Closing the outlet valve is better for pumping water from low to high. Through such experiences, when I encounter problems at work, I can’t just rely on assumptions or follow what others do; by thinking more and gaining experience, I can progress faster than others in this industry and go further
It was a great experience; I learned a lot