Although most people are unaware of it, water pumps impact all our lives. Municipalities need industrial water pumps to supply potable water to their communities and to remove and treat wastewater within their regions.
So many industries utilize water pumps in one way or another. If they’re not used to supply water for manufacturing processes, they’re employed in treating wastewater and effluent from plants. Local authorities apply strict regulations to the treatment of effluents from industry to ensure the safety of the community and to protect the environment.
There is a wide range of industrial water pumps on the market and choosing one can sometimes be a confusing and time-consuming process. At least getting your water pumps repaired and reconditioned is easy.
Common Categories of Industrial Water Pumps
The range of industrial water pumps can generally be narrowed down to two types:
- Centrifugal pumps. A rotating impeller draws water into the pump and centrifugal action pressurizes the water for discharge.
- Positive displacement pumps. One of these delivers a fixed volume of water from inlet to discharge with every stroke of the pump.
Within these categories, there are a number of different pumps that have been designed for specific applications.
Centrifugal Pumps
Centrifugal pumps are by far the most common type found in industry. They’re cost-effective and simple in design, with few moving parts. Their output is consistent and they generally require little maintenance.
Centrifugal pumps need to be primed before they can operate. For this reason, they operate well when submersed or situated below the level of the input source.
There are many different types of centrifugal pumps that are used to move industrial water, including:
- Submersible
- Self-priming pumps
- Booster pumps
- Axial flow pumps
- Fire pumps
- Grinder pumps
- Trash pumps
- Vertical turbine pumps
- Well pumps
Centrifugal pumps are the best choice for handling high flow rates. Steady delivery ensures they don’t suffer from pulsations that may occur with positive displacement pumps.
Positive Displacement Pumps
Positive displacement pumps do not have impellers. They use rotating or reciprocating parts to move water along and to build up pressure on the discharge side of the pump.
There are several types of positive displacement pumps that are used to handle water:
- Diaphragm pumps
- Flexible impeller pumps
- Metering pumps
- Plunger pumps
- Piston pumps
- Peristaltic pumps
These pumps are usually chosen when the application demands low flow, high pressure, or a combination of both.
Whether centrifugal or positive displacement, each kind of pump is used for specific water handling applications. They’re most often made of cast iron or carbon steel, but can be made of stainless steel when specified for process water.
Pump Maintenance
No industrial water pump is designed to last forever, but you can prolong the life of one by implementing a program of regular service and maintenance. Even though centrifugal pumps experience relatively few breakdowns, and are a popular choice for that reason, they still need regular maintenance.
An experienced pump service provider will be able to inspect, repair and recondition a pump to ensure it runs at maximum efficiency. Your best advice when choosing and/or operating any kind of industrial water pumps is to partner up with pump repair experts who can institute a maintenance program, store parts and patterns, and even engineer perfect replications of parts. That way you can extend the life of your equipment and get the best return on your investment.