Pump stations are important hubs for regulating drainage pipelines, playing a crucial role in flood discharge, flood control, improving urban water circulation, and promoting agricultural irrigation. The water pump is an important component of the pump station, and various malfunctions may occur during actual operation, which can have a negative impact on the operation of the pump station. Therefore, it is necessary to effectively carry out water pump operation management and daily maintenance, reduce the probability of water pump failure problems, and ensure the safe and stable operation of water pumps.
Common problems during the operation of water pump
Installation and maintenance issues
Malfunctions and problems with the transmission shaft, valves, and pipelines of the water pump can affect the normal operation of the pump station to varying degrees. During the installation and maintenance of the water pump, if there is a significant deviation in leveling and foundation positioning, vibration and noise problems may occur during the operation of the water pump. If the bearing clearance increases during the operation of the water pump, or if there is bending of the pump shaft or uneven pressure on both sides of the impeller, it may cause the bearings to heat up and make noise during the operation of the water pump. In addition, there is a significant deviation between the motor coupling and the water pump coupling during alignment, which can also cause bearing heating and water pump vibration.
Operational Issues
If the outlet valve is not closed when starting the water pump, a large current will be generated, causing the pump electrical system to trip. If the outlet valve is in the closed state for too long, it will experience idling during the operation of the water pump, causing friction between the mouth ring and resulting in expansion, reducing the gap and affecting the operation of the water pump. If there is not enough water to complete the flushing of the inlet pipe, air leakage may occur in the packing box or vacuum pipe. Due to rusting, the flexibility of the water pump bottom valve operation can be seriously affected, and even the water pump bottom valve cannot be used. The impeller rotates in the opposite direction or is blocked, and excessive debris blocks the inlet channel, which can affect the operation of the pump station water pump and cause the pump to not discharge water.
Operational issues
During the operation of the water pump, if the foot screws become loose, the overall vibration of the water pump will occur. If the bolts on the packing gland are excessively tightened, it will increase the friction of the pump shaft and the degree of compression on the packing. Severe friction will result in a continuous increase in shaft power or difficulty in turning. If the shaft sleeve is severely worn, it will greatly reduce the role of the packing in the water pump, leading to leakage problems. If the impeller of the water pump is severely worn, the gap between the mouth ring and the impeller will increase, reducing the pressure at the outlet of the water pump and affecting its normal operation. If there are debris blocking the pipeline of the water pump, it will reduce the water flow after the water pump is started to varying degrees, and even the rotating parts of the water pump may not work properly.
Operating specifications for water pumps
1) Before starting the water pump, strict inspection should be carried out to ensure that the foundation screws are tightened, the components are tightly connected, the water pump foundation is firm, the pipelines are clean and complete, the motor grounding wire is intact, the temperature gauge value is within the normal range, and the vacuum gauge and pressure gauge should be in the 0 position. At the same time, check whether the switch gate system can operate normally, maintain the flexibility of the water pump disc rotation, and ensure that the water pump outlet valve has been closed.
2) The operating position should be equipped with various tools. When performing operations, the tools should be placed in a prominent location nearby for easy use, in order to improve work efficiency.
3) Relevant personnel should carefully clean the unit site, thoroughly remove the oil sludge and dust outside the water pump, and not place items near the transmission device. It is necessary to stably support the suction pipe of the water inlet tank and check whether the trash rack is complete. 4) Use sufficient and clean lubricating oil to lubricate the water pump bearings. The bearing oil should occupy 35% to 50% of the bearing chamber volume, and check whether the sliding bearing oil ring rotates with oil.
5) During the operation of the water pump, regular checks should be conducted on the leakage of the packing, the quality and level of the lubricating oil, the temperature of the motor, the vibration of the pump body, the temperature of the bearings, the water level in the water tank, and the operating current to ensure smooth circulation of the shaft seal water and effective lubrication and cooling of the packing. When there is a problem with the water pump during operation, it should be reported and repaired in a timely manner, and the inspection and handling content should be filled in the operation log.
6) During the operation of the water pump, it is strictly prohibited to carry out calibration and repair work, and bolts cannot be tightened on rotating parts and pressure pipelines.
7) After stopping the operation of the water pump according to the regulations, relevant personnel should carefully clean the pump seat, pipes, and pump body.
Daily maintenance and management of water pumps
Relevant personnel must carefully verify the factory certificate, various technical indicators, and other data of the water pump, using the quality standards for water pump installation and maintenance as the verification standard. For water pumps that cannot meet the relevant standards, they should be repaired or replaced in a timely manner.
Overall maintenance requirements
Relevant personnel should focus on adjusting, tightening, lubricating, and cleaning the water pump, carry out daily maintenance and management work, carefully clean the pump body, regularly check whether there are small parts rusting and leaking in the pump body, ensure the standard bearing oil level, and regularly maintain the valve screw rod to be flexible enough. In the process of conducting inspection operations, relevant personnel should strictly follow the principles of fixed point, fixed item, fixed standard, regular, fixed person, and fixed method, clarify the location, project, standard, cycle, responsible person, and method of inspection.
Pump Inspection
1) Regularly check the operating current of the motor.
By comparing and judging the actual current with the normal value of the motor operating current, relevant personnel can effectively use listening and touch methods during inspection to determine whether the sound of motor operation is normal and whether the motor is vibrating normally. Through touch, the operating temperature of the water pump can also be understood to a certain extent. When abnormal temperature is found, professional instruments can be used for accurate measurement.
2) Check the lubricating oil condition of the water pump.
Relevant personnel should regularly inspect the oil quantity and quality of the water pump lubricating oil. If it is found that the quality of the lubricating oil cannot meet the standards, effective testing should be carried out using chemical analysis methods. At the same time, regularly replace the lubricating oil in the bearing box.
3) Inspection and replacement of the packing.
The application range of oil impregnated stone packing in pump equipment packing is very wide, but due to its relatively loose structure and short asbestos fibers, it may dry up, harden, and break and wear. Therefore, relevant personnel should pay attention to regularly replacing packing. When replacing the packing, it is necessary to align the packing joint to ensure that the tightness of the gland is moderate. If there is excessive heat or wear, it should be dealt with in a timely manner.
4) Regularly disassemble and inspect the water pump.
Ensure that the water seal ring in the filling culvert is in the appropriate position, and the water seal ring should be aligned with the water seal pipe mouth. The water seal pipe mouth should be unobstructed, and the shaft seal water should circulate normally to provide better lubrication for the packing and promote its cooling. Check and clean the flow components such as pump shaft, shaft sleeve, impeller, etc., check if there is any wear on the bearing and shaft fit, and replace any faulty parts. When replacing or installing bearings, attention should be paid to the clearance and accuracy to avoid overheating or damage.
Measures to improve the management level of pump station equipment
Strictly abide by the pump station equipment management system
In the process of managing pump station equipment, relevant personnel should operate the associated equipment in the pump station according to the provisions of the "Pump Station Operation Rules". In daily operation and management work, the operation of pump station equipment should be monitored to ensure timely resolution of various problems, and relevant information should be recorded in detail to provide a basis for subsequent equipment maintenance and pump station renovation work. In addition, management personnel should actively improve relevant operating standards and regulations to enhance the quality and effectiveness of pump station equipment operation.
Strengthen the training of management personnel
Pump station management personnel must be proficient in the basic structure of the pump station and the operating principles of various equipment. When there are problems with the pump station equipment, they can quickly identify the fault location and solve the problem in a timely and effective manner. At the same time, pump station management personnel should also master techniques such as operation, maintenance, inspection, and testing. Therefore, relevant departments must attach importance to the training of pump station management personnel, effectively improve the professional technical level of management personnel through online learning, on-site inspections and other measures, ensure that relevant personnel can better meet the requirements of pump station equipment operation management, and effectively enhance the stability of pump station operation.
Strengthen daily maintenance and upkeep efforts
Changes in pump station equipment components can affect the technical status of the equipment, leading to various equipment failures during the operation of the pump station equipment. If these failures cannot be cleared in a timely manner, the damage to the pump station equipment will gradually increase over time, and even affect the operating cycle of the pump station equipment. In order to operate the pump station equipment more stably and safely, it is necessary to pay attention to the daily maintenance work of the pump station. In the process of strengthening the stability of pump station equipment operation, the maintenance concept of "maintenance as the main and auxiliary" should be established to enhance the safety and stability of pump station operation.
Careful daily maintenance and standardized operation management are important foundations for the efficient, stable, and safe operation of pump stations and pumps. Equipment failures and problems are inevitable during equipment operation. However, carrying out daily maintenance and operation management can effectively reduce the probability of equipment failures and problems. Timely detection of problems can also reduce the difficulty of equipment maintenance to a certain extent, ensure more efficient, safe, and stable operation of pump stations, and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of pump stations.
