Saturday, March 24, 2012

A Trash Pump Primer

By Harold M Maji


What are trash pumps? Trash pumps are simply heavy-duty pumps that have been created to handle a large volume of water that happens to include a lot of "trash": solid and semi-solid (or soft) particulates. This includes such things as mud or sand, sludge or slurry, and biomatter such as dead leaves or other plant materials. Modern trash pumps can be highly efficient, pumping many hundreds or thousands of litres of water per minute.

Trash pumps are normally centrifugal pumps, which are pumps that use a rotating impeller (or rotor) inside a conduit to create liquid flow, most often through piping. The impeller blades impart energy to the fluid to create flow or pressure towards the discharge. Trash pumps differ from more normal centrifugal pumps in several keys areas, most notably in that their discharge openings are invariably wider and the vanes on their impellers tend to be more robust and larger in order to handle solid materials. Because solid materials in water can cause ordinary centrifugal pumps to break down under the strain, it is important to use trash pumps in particular when the job calls for them.

There are many makes and models of trash pump available on the market, to suit the needs of a diverse clientele. Dry pumps, for instance, are designed to run without fluid in them without being damaged (pumps often need to remain submerged to avoid damage). Self-priming pumps do not require external help to become primed and ready for use. A pump is primed by filling it with fluid and getting it going, and this is sometimes a manual job. Other attributes that can be found on various trash pump models include speed control that allows the pump to be run faster or slower, as needed; control panel monitors, such as pressure gauges, and optional backup battery power in case the primary power source fails for whatever reason. There are also slurry gates, which are used to mix water into heavier particulate concentrations, as well as a variety of filtration options.

Trash pumps are usually designed to be portable, insofar as they can be transported and maneuvered on a work site with relative ease. They may be powered using diesel engines, gasoline engines, electric engines, or even manually. Rather than having the power source built in, a trash pump may rely on external power. Trash pumps are frequently intended to be fully submersible. They are an integral part of many dewatering efforts.

When considering which trash pump model to use, in addition to the raw horsepower of the pump, check the maximum output, the pressure limits, and the size of the intake and outflow chambers. You probably also want to verify that the impeller and other features are sufficiently well constructed so that they can endure whatever materials they are likely to encounter.

If you need trash pumps, it is generally better to go with a pump company that carries a variety of models so that the proper pump can be selected for the particulars of the job. Reliable service and depth of stock (in case replacements are needed) are also important factors to consider.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin