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Megamachines

Startup

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After completing the mechanical installation and establishing any necessary electrical connections, follow these directions to start your End Suction Pump for the first time.

General Information

When pumping drinking water, flush the pump with clean water before startup in order to remove any foreign matters such as preservatives, test liquid or grease. 

Flushing the Pipe System

The pump is not designed to pump liquids containing solid particles such as pipe debris and welding slag. Before starting up the pump, the pipe system must be thoroughly cleaned, flushed and filled with clean water.

The warranty does not cover any damage caused by flushing the pipe system by means of the pump. 

Priming

Closed systems or open systems where the liquid level is above the pump inlet

  1. Close the isolating valve in the outlet pipe and slowly open the isolating valve in the inlet pipe. Both the pump and the inlet pipe must be completely filled with liquid.

  2. Loosen the priming plug in order to vent the pump. Once liquid runs out, tighten the priming plug. 

Pay attention to the orientation of the priming hole to ensure that the escaping liquid does not cause personal injury or damage to the motor or other components.

In hot-liquid installations, pay special attention to the risk of personal injury caused by scalding hot liquid.

In cold-liquid installations, pay special attention to the risk of personal injury caused by the cold liquid. 

Suction operation with non-return valve

The inlet pipe and the pump must be filled with liquid and vented before the pump is started.

  1. Close the isolating valve in the outlet pipe and slowly open the isolating valve in the inlet pipe.
  2. Remove the priming plug.
  3. Pour liquid through the hole until the inlet pipe and the pump are completely filled with liquid.
  4. Fit the priming plug.

The inlet pipe may be filled and vented via the priming plug. Alternatively a priming device with funnel can be installed before the pump.

Open systems where the liquid level is below the pump inlet

  1. If an isolating valve is fitted on the inlet side of the pump, the valve must be fully open.
  2. Close the isolating valve in the outlet pipe and tighten the priming and drain plugs.
  3. Connect a manual venting pump instead of a priming device with funnel.
  4. Install a slide valve between the venting pump and the centrifugal pump in order to protect the venting pump against excessive pressure.
  5. Once the slide valve at the manual venting pump has been opened, vent the inlet pipe using short, rapid pump strokes until the liquid runs out on the outlet side.
  6. Close the valve at the venting pump. 

Checking the Direction of Rotation

The pump must be filled with liquid when checking the direction of rotation.

The correct direction of rotation is shown by arrows on the pump housing. Seen from the pump end, the direction of rotation must be counter-clockwise. 

Starting up the Pump

  1. Open the isolating valve on the inlet side of the pump completely and leave the isolating valve on the outlet side almost closed.

  2. Start the pump.

  3. Vent the pump during startup by loosening the air vent screw in the pump head or pump head cover until a steady stream of liquid runs out of the vent hole.

Pay attention to the orientation of the vent hole to ensure that the escaping liquid does not cause personal injury or damage to the motor or other components.

In hot-liquid installations, pay special attention to the risk of personal injury caused by scalding hot liquid.

In cold-liquid installations, pay special attention to the risk of personal injury caused by the cold liquid.

  1. When the pipes have been filled with liquid, slowly open the isolating valve on the outlet side until it is completely open.

    If the pump is fitted with a motor with an output selected on the basis of a specific maximum flow rate, the motor may be overloaded if the differential pressure is lower than anticipated.

  2. Check the overload by measuring the motor current consumption and comparing the value with the rated current stated on the motor nameplate. In case of overload, throttle the valve on the outlet side until the motor is no longer overloaded.

  3. Always measure the motor current consumption during startup.

    At the moment of start, the input current of the motor is up to six times higher than the full-load current stated on the motor nameplate. 

Shaft Seal Run-in Period

The seal faces are lubricated by the pumped liquid, meaning that there may be a certain amount of leakage from the shaft seal. When the pump is started for the first time, or when a new shaft seal has been installed, a certain run-in period is required before the leakage is reduced to an acceptable level. The time required for this depends on the operating conditions, i.e. every time the operating conditions change, a new run-in period will be started.

Under normal conditions, the leaking liquid will evaporate. As a result, no leakage will be detected. Liquids such as kerosene will not evaporate, and drops will be visible, but this is not a shaft seal failure.

Mechanical shaft seals are precision components. If the mechanical shaft seal of a recently installed pump fails, this will normally happen within the first few hours of operation. The main cause of such failures is improper installation of the shaft seals and/or mishandling of the pump during installation. 

Reference Readings of Monitoring Equipment

We recommend that you take initial readings of these parameters:

  • vibration level - use SPM (shock pulse method) measuring points
  • inlet and outlet pressure - use pressure gauges.
  • The readings can be used as reference in case of abnormal operation.