IN THIS eBOOK

You may not know it...

But, you may be setting your pump up to self-destruct!
Check out these 36 common ways pumps are
inadvertently destroyed, and be sure not to make the
same mistakes.

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About the Author

Kurt Schwei is a Field Sales Manager for Crane Engineering
with a long history of pumping experience. He has designed
fluid-handling systems, controls & components for a variety of
industries including Pulp & Paper, Food, Beverage, and General Industry. Kurt strives for continuous improvements, and
provides a high level of technical expertise and professional
support to his customers and team members.

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36 WAYS TO KILL YOUR PUMP

1. PIPE STRAIN
Any time a pipe pulls on a pump, pipe strain occurs. The pull of the pipe on the
pump can be caused by improperly supported pipes, or misalignment between the
pipe and the pump. Connecting a pump to a pipe that is too high can cause base
plate damage, pulling the threads out of the base plate, along with nozzle breakage, casing damage, and premature impeller, stuffing box, and casing wear.
2. POOR PIPING DESIGN AND/OR INSTALLATION
Having a poor piping design can have a big effect
on how the pump will perform. Designs with inverted Us on the suction side can trap air, while
designs with a 90 immediately before the pump
can cause turbulence inside the pump. Both result
in suction problems and pump cavitation.

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3. ALLOWING THE PUMP TO RUN DRY

Allowing your pump to run dry can be
very damaging. Doing this leads to
pump cavitation and mechanical seal
damage. In fact, a mechanical seal
can experience thermal shock (getting
too hot), under the right conditions it
can shatter within about 30 seconds.

Evidence of suction cavitation due to running a

pump dry.

4. ISSUES WITH NPSHA

Causes pump cavitation, erratic flow, impeller & case damage, and loss of performance.
5. ENTRAINED VAPOR
Entrained vapor can be caused by a number of factors. Vortexing in the tank, insufficient water source, or steam injection, for example. Entrained vapor causes loss of
performance, wear to the impeller and cutwater, and dry running of the seal due to
vapor between the faces.

Helpful Hint:

Theres more information about

cavitation on Cranes Fluid Connection
Blog!

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6. PUMPING SOLIDS & ABRASIVES WITH

THE WRONG TYPE OF PUMP & OTHER
EQUIPMENT
Its extremely important to select the
right type of pump and materials to
move solids and abrasives. If improperly selected, expect to see shortened
life on nearly all liquid end components (casing, impeller, stuffing box,
etc.), impeller imbalances, and a serious drop off in efficiency.
7. USING THE WRONG SIZED IMPELLER
Using the wrong sized impeller for the

Pick up tube from Roto-Jet impeller. Left side

shows severe abrasion wear.

pump causes the pump to produce too

much, or too little flow, running off its best efficiency point (BEP). If the impeller is
too big, the pump motor has to work harder to pump the fluid, eventually causing it
to burn out. An impeller thats too small will most likely not generate enough flow or
head.
8. INCORRECTLY ADJUSTING THE IMPELLER
Incorrect impeller adjustment can lead to increased slippage in the pump, creating
more turbulence inside the pump, lowering its efficiency, and increasing stuffing box
pressures.
9. VANES BENT AND OUT OF PLANE
Trying to remove or install an impeller without the proper tools (like A HAMMER!)
can cause damage to the impeller. A damaged impeller will cause insufficient head
and/or capacity, hydraulic imbalance, and pressure pulses.

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10. INCORRECT WEAR RING CLEARANCE

A wear ring separates the high pressure zones of the pump from the low
pressure zones. When clearances
open up, the pump experiences increased slippage, and the high pressure liquid seeps back into the low
pressure areas, causing a loss in efficiency.
When clearances are too tight on the
other hand, the wear ring will cause

Wear ring from large split case pump. Ridges indicate

excessive wear.

galling and seizing of the pump.

11. IMPROPER AXIAL ADJUSTMENT
Improper axial adjustment causes a drop in head and capacity and low stuffing
box pressure, resulting in dry running of the seal and premature bearing failure.
12. PLUGGED VANES OR BALANCE HOLES
Plugged vanes or balance holes are caused by blockages from solids that have
been pulled into the pump that are too large for the pump capacity. Plugged valves
lead to a decrease in performance, priming issues, impeller imbalance, and high
vibration, finally resulting in bearing and seal damage.

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13. PUMP IMBALANCE

Unbalance creates issues like structural problems, reduced machine and bearing
life, increased vibration, and many more. Vibration hurts your equipment!

Resonance
Misalignment
Bearing Failure
Looseness
Unbalance

14. OPERATING THE PUMP AT SHUT-OFF

When the discharge side valve is partially or completely closed to manually control flow, it causes 100% of input energy to be destructive. Heat, high radial loads
cause shaft deflection, heat and increased pressure, vibration, auto shut-off, increased energy use, and low amps.
15. OPERATING THE PUMP TOO FAR BACK ON THE CURVE
Running the pump off its best efficiency
point causes excess recirculation, heat,
radial loads, vibration, high seal temperatures, and lowered efficiency.

Helpful Hint:

Learn more about how to read

a centrifugal pump curve on
Cranes Fluid Connection blog!

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16. TRAPPING VAPOR IN THE STUFFING

BOX
This occurs most often in a vertical
installation, where the stuffing box is
at the highest point on the pump. If the
seal flush becomes plugged or shut-off,
any vapor in the pump will work its
way up to the highest point, the stuffing box. If the vapor is not properly
bled off or vented, the pump is susceptible to partial dry running, until the

Pitting due to the seal running dry causing

gases to escape, imploding on the seal face.

vapor releases through the seal to atmosphere.

17. TRAPPING SOLIDS IN THE STUFFING BOX
When product gets into the stuffing box and isnt properly flushed out, expect to see
shortened seal life.
18. INSTALLING THE STUFFING BOX FACE NOT PERPENDICULAR TO THE SHAFT
Improper installation will cause excessive seal movement and shortened life. Including, fretting corrosion, o-ring and drive wear.
19. USING A DAMAGED STUFFING BOX OR WORN & DAMAGED FITS
Results in seal misalignment, leakage, and decreased pump efficiency.
20. BENT SHAFT
Shafts are sometimes bent by solids getting caught in the pump. A bent shaft causes
vibration, internal parts contact, bearing damage and premature failure, coupling
damage, coupling misalignment, and very short seal life.
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21. USING A PIPE WRENCH ON SHAFT OR

IMPELLER
Pipe wrenches are for pipes! Using a

Helpful Hint:

ALWAYS use an impeller wrench!

pipe wrench on shafts and impellers can

cause coupling end damage and bent vanes on the impeller (see #9!).
22. SLEEVE RUN OUT
Sleeve run out is basically an improperly fitted sleeve on a shaft. The wrong fit
causes excess movement under the seal and
leads to shorter seal life.
23. LIP SEAL GROOVES IN THE SHAFT
Contaminates can enter the bearing housing
through the grooves destroy the bearings. If
contaminates can enter, that also means lubricants can exit, leading to bearing failure
and a complete pump failure.
24. POOR SURFACE FINISH ON SHAFT SLEEVE
OR SHAFT
If the surface finish isnt smooth, the packing will fail, leading to leaking between the
shaft or sleeve & shaft o-ring seal.

Shaft sleeve shows deep grooves, excessive

wear from packing.

25. IMPROPER BEARING FITS

Every time a bearing is replaced, or the shaft is cleaned, just a tiny fraction of the
material on the surface is removed. Over time, a little adds up to a lot and can really affect the bearing clearance on the shaft. When this happens, expect the bearings to spin within the housing, or on the shaft.

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26. DEFLECTION DURING THE HARD START OF OPERATION BACK ON THE CURVE
With a hard start, the pump tries to pump liquid from the get-go. The pressure inside the pump causes the shaft to deflect towards the low pressure side of the pump,
causing the shaft to contact the stuffing box, and the impeller to contact
the casing. The misalignment will then

Helpful Hint:

Centrifugal pumps should have a soft

start with the suction valve wide open.

cause seal failure.

27. USING TOO LITTLE, TOO MUCH, OR THE INCORRECT LUBRICANT
Lubrication is the #1 cause of premature bearing failure. Using too little lubricant
can cause the bearings to seize, while too much lubricant retains heat inside the
bearing, and also causes oil leakage.
28. CONTAMINATION OF THE BEARING HOUSING
Sometimes contaminates get inside the bearing housing. This can happen during
wash down duties, or sometimes particulates left over from repairs will remain inside. Contaminates will destroy the bearings, housings, fits, and also cause shaft
damage.
29. HAMMERING COUPLINGS ONTO THE SHAFT
When it comes to pumps, hammers are not friends! Pounding couplings onto shafts
will damage the thrust bearing and mechanical seal. Carbon mechanical seals can
crack if struck with a hammer.

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Bearing Damage
Coupling Damage

premature seal and bearing failures,

DAMAGE

SA

ment. This means increased vibration,

MACHINE

chinery is directly related to misalign-

Seal Wear

CAUSES OF

Up to 50% of damage to rotating ma-

Machine Vibration

LIG N ME

30. IMPROPER ALIGNMENT

OTHERS

and increased power consumption.

31. NOT FOLLOWING INITIAL STARTUP
PROCEDURES NOTED IN THE PUMP
MANUAL
Improperly starting up the pump can
cause the motor to trip and the shaft to
twist causing orbital movement - directly related to internal parts contact,
seal failure, and shortened bearing
life.

Crane Engineering service technician performs laser alignment on a bad actor pump.

32. MECHANICAL SEAL INSTALLATION

ERRORS
Improperly installing the mechanical
seal will cause damage to elastomers
(o-rings or boots), among a wide
variety of other issues. Mechanical
seals can be very sensitive as the
faces are incredibly flat. Even a
small amount of dirt or oil (such as
fingerprints) can cause the faces to not
align properly.

Chips and cracks in seal rings can be caused by mishandling of parts, or improper installation.

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33. IMPROPER USE OF OR COMPLETELY

OMITTING MECHANICAL SEAL FLUSH
PLANS
It is critical that a mechanical seal
flush plan is properly in place. Not
having one sets up a scenario where
dewatered product and contaminates
can build up, the seal experiences
excessive heat, and ultimately shortens
its life.
34. SELECTING THE WRONG MECHANICAL SEAL OR SEAL MATERIALS DUE

Heat checking occurs with an inadequate amount of face

lubrication, causing the seal to experience excessive heat.

TO LACK OF KNOWLEDGE
Lack of knowledge and information
accounts for the majority of mechanical seal installation errors. Consider
normal operating conditions, potential
for off-design excursions and nonprocess activities, such as cleaning,
steaming, acid and caustic flushes.

Helpful Hint:

Learn more about single mechanical seal flush plans on Cranes

Fluid Connection blog!

An example of a poor material choice for an abrasive liquid.

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35. INCOMPLETE FAILURE ANALYSIS OR OMITTED ENTIRELY

Always try to get the root of the problem when making pump repairs. Oftentimes,
forces outside the pump are causing it to fail. By only fixing the symptoms and not
addressing the system as a whole, you may end up making the same repair on the
pump again.
36. OPERATORS RELYING HEAVILY ON REACTIVE MAINTENANCE, RATHER THAN PREVENTATIVE OR PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE MEASURES
Reactive maintenance accounts for unnecessary equipment downtime, increased
costs, and equipment instability. Consider a preventative maintenance program with
a schedule of maintenance to be performed, laser alignment and balancing, or a
predictive maintenance program using technology like vibration analysis, to get
ahead of problems before they happen.

Helpful Hint:

Organize a bad actor team of Engineering,

Maintenance, and Operations personnel to watch for
seal problems.

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CONCLUSION
When it comes to fluid process pumps, be aware of your actions!
Energy usage and pump maintenance account for MORE THAN than 50% of the pumps
total cost of ownership. The main culprits of rotating equipment failure are caused by the
sealing device, couplings, hydraulics, static joints, and bearings. Dont let your pump be
the next statistic! Read the pump manual, train your operators, and identify the bad actors in your facility to help prevent costly pump repair.

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