Common Problems of Sanitary Centrifugal Pump and Their Handling

Sanitary Centrifugal pumps are the most widely used pumps in the food and beverage industry. Their easy design, smooth operations, and ability to handle large amounts of liquids are their primary reason to be popular in hygienic areas of application. However, normally, these pumps do not have any issues, but over time, these pumps have issues of overvibration, leakage, contamination, and sometimes lose functionality due to errors during production. Knowledge of these issues and their prevention methods will save our time, minimise our expenses, and enhance the quality of our products. Some common problems and their prevention are given below:

Common Challenges with Sanitary Centrifugal Pumps and their prevention

1. Cavitation: Cavitation happens when small bubbles burst inside the pump. It makes the pump noisy and causes vibrations, and even causes damage to the internal parts of the impeller.

Reasons:

1. When the suction side does not possess enough pressure.
2. When the length of the suction pipe is too long, or it is blocked.
3. When the flow of the pump is inappropriate.

Prevention:

1. Keep the length of the suction pipe short.
2. Always try to operate the pump near its best efficiency point, which is also known as BEP.

2. Mechanical Seal Problems: A seal is provided to prevent liquid from leaking from the pump. Mechanical seal failure can cause leakage, noise, and pressure loss in the sanitary centrifugal pump.

Reasons:

1. When we run the pump dry without any liquid.
2. Wrong installation of the seal.
3. The liquid being pumped is either hot or contains solid particles.

Prevention: 

1. Don’t run the pump unnecessarily.
2. Carefully align the pump and motor.
3. Always keep the seals in good condition and away from contamination.

3. Bearing Damage: The Bearing supports the pump shaft for its smooth running and rotation. Any damage to the bearing can cause noise and extra vibrations in the sanitary centrifugal pump.

Reasons: 

1. Insufficient lubrication or excessive lubrication.
2. Pump and motor not properly aligned.
3. Water or dirt entering the bearings.

Prevention:

1. Follow the proper maintenance guide for lubrication.
2. Carefully align the motor and pump.
3. Keep the seal in proper condition and prevent contamination.

4. Blockages and Cloggings: It occurs mainly in the dairy and beverage industries where thick sticky liquids such as milk, cream, or fruit pulp get stuck in the narrow passage of the pump, which either blocks or reduces the flow of the liquid.

Reasons:

1. When the liquid contains solid particles or solids.
2. Due to poor filtration at the suction side.
3. Due to poor maintenance and bad cleaning.

5. Operating away from the best efficiency point (BEP)

Every pump works best at a particular point, which is called its best efficiency point or BEP. When a sanitary centrifugal pump is used away from it, it starts vibrating and creating noise, which leads to wastage of energy. 

Reasons:

1. Selection of the wrong pump for a particular task.
2. Uneven flow of the pump, which does not match the pump.
3. Controlling the valve through the throttling valves too much.

 Prevention: 

1. Choose the appropriate pump for the particular operation.
2. Use a variable frequency drive to control the speed when necessary.
3. Get advice from the manufacturer when needed for selecting the suitable size.

Final Thoughts

Sanitary Centrifugal pumps play an important role in many industries. By understanding their common problems like cavitation, mechanical seal problems, etc, and their prevention tips, we can keep our system running smoothly. Weld-Arc Centrifugal pumps take all these challenges into account. Established in 2007, it is the top player in the production of pumps and their respective equipment. We continuously offer hygienic and long-lasting high-performance pumps across leading food and beverage industries worldwide.