Joseph R. Askew, Principal, Pump Consulting & Training LC, Lakeland, Fla.

Busting Ghosts

There are many diagnostic techniques and tools for troubleshooting pumps. Any one of them—or in some cases, all of them—might be used to accurately determine why a pump system is performing poorly. The symptoms are many, including increased component wear, premature bearing failure, reduced mechanical seal life, motor overload, noisy pump operation, or simply not pumping enough fluid.