Countermeasures to Prevent Common Faults of Fire Pumps

The countermeasures for common failures of fire pumps are summarized, and I hope to give you some references when needed.

1. Countermeasures to prevent fire pump air binding

     Centrifugal fire pumps need to be manually filled with liquid before starting to clear the air accumulated in the pump casing. When filling the pump, ensure that the bottom valve of the suction line is well closed; For fire pumps, it is necessary to ensure that the automatic filling pump system works normally; regularly check the tightness of the suction pipeline to prevent the air from being sucked in due to poor sealing, and to avoid air binding during the operation of the pump and affect the work.

2. Countermeasures to prevent fire pump cavitation

     Control and adjust the installation height of the pump so that the installation height between the suction port of the pump and the liquid surface does not exceed the maximum allowable installation height, especially for mobile fire pumps, if they cannot absorb and discharge liquid normally, the installation height may be inappropriate. It can be solved by reducing the installation height or reverse installation;

     Or add a small-capacity storage tank in front of the pump to increase the height of the liquid level and increase the static pressure, thereby shortening the distance between the liquid level of the suction storage tank and the suction port of the pump to prevent cavitation;

     It can also prevent cavitation by reducing the flow resistance loss on the pump suction line. Shorten the length of the suction pipeline as far as possible within the allowable range, reduce the number of pipe fittings such as elbows and valves, and appropriately increase the diameter of the suction pipeline;

     By improving the strength and abrasion resistance of the pump material, it can also effectively reduce the erosion of the pump caused by cavitation, so as to reduce the damage caused by cavitation to the pump and prolong its service life. In the selection of the impeller, it is possible to choose high hardness and high elasticity materials with strong cavitation resistance.
3. Prevent overloading of the motor of the electric fire pump

     Correctly select the supporting motor that matches the performance parameters of the pump to prevent the motor from being too small and overloaded for a long time; before starting the pump, check whether the outlet valve is fully closed to prevent the motor from being burned due to excessive starting current; The technical parameters of the motor require maintenance, check the power supply voltage and the current of each phase, and ensure that the error is within the allowable range.

4. Prevent abnormal vibration and wear of the fire pump

     The fire pump should be installed firmly, and its firmness should be checked regularly, especially the anchor bolts or backrest bolts, to prevent the fasteners from loosening;

     Strengthen monitoring by monitoring the vibration waveform of the pump during operation, regularly check and repair the wear between the impeller and the sealing ring, and discover and eliminate hidden dangers in time; when the vibration of the pump is found to be abnormal after starting, it should be decisively analyzed for cavitation phenomenon, whether the impeller is balanced, whether the pump shaft and the motor shaft are concentric or whether the shaft has been deformed, and then take corresponding measures.

5. Prevent leakage of fire pump seals

     A small leakage of the centrifugal fire pump will generally not cause an accident, but it will affect the supply efficiency of fire fighting water or foam. Therefore, the fire pump with packing seal should be used to strengthen the inspection of sealing packing;

     If it is found that the seal is not tight, the packing should be replaced in time to prevent the fire pump from leaking during operation and affecting its performance.