Pump Installation and Maintenance

Course Number: 844

This course covers basic pumping concepts. It describes required maintenance of packing and seals and the maintenance and overhaul of centrifugal pumps. It concludes with maintenance of rotary pumps.

Recommended Contact Hours - 8

Chapter 1: Basic Pumping Concepts

Topics: Available and required NPSH; Checking pump capacity; Computing pump power requirements; Operational factors; Priming a pump

Learning Objectives:

• Compute the amount of work done when given values for force and distance.
• Name the two types of energy.
• Check a pump's capacity by determining the NPSHA of the system.
• Compute the brake horsepower required to drive a pump under given conditions.
• Explain how to prime a fluid-handling pump.

Chapter 2: Maintaining Packing and Seals

Topics: Selecting packing material; Removing old, installing new packing; Mechanical seals; Maintenance and troubleshooting

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the two major functions of packing and seals.
• Explain the selection and installation of packing rings on a pump shaft.
• Identify the components of typical mechanical seals.
• Name at least three advantages of mechanical seals over packing.
• Describe how to install a mechanical seal on a pump shaft.
• Discuss the care and maintenance of packing and seals.

Chapter 3: Maintaining Centrifugal Pumps

Topics: Installing the pump; Preparing the foundation; Checking alignment; Inspection; Common problems; Cavitation; Ring seizure; Overheating

Learning Objectives:

• Explain how to align and level a pump on its base.
• Explain the needs for and uses of auxiliary pump drives.
• Identify the major symptom of faulty packing.
• Identify the major symptom of cavitation on a pump impeller.
• Describe the causes and remedies of common centrifugal pump problems.
• Tell how to conduct a periodic inspection of the major pump components.

Chapter 4: Overhauling Centrifugal Pumps

Topics: Preparation; Moving, disassembling, reassembling, and reinstalling a pump; Inspecting parts; Checking clearances

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the procedures involved in disassembling, inspecting, reassembling, and reinstalling a centrifugal pump.
• Explain how to check the runout of a pump shaft.
• Explain how to check the clearances between stationary rings and the impeller or rotating rings.
• Describe how to make a new housing gasket.

Chapter 5: Maintaining Rotary Pumps

Topics: Installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting rotary pumps; Aligning pump and piping; Direction of rotation; Startup; Scheduling inspections; PM

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the differences between the different types of rotary pumps.
• Trace the path of fluid through a rotary pump.
• Identify the major problem areas in a rotary pump.
• Explain how to troubleshoot some of the common problems of rotary pumps.
• Create a maintenance schedule for inspections and a record-keeping log.