Can we talk about guys ignoring the suction head pressure gauge?

I keep seeing operators run the pump way too fast because they're just watching the discharge, but that gauge tells you exactly when you're about to clog the line. Anyone else have a close call from missing that number?

3 comments

3 Comments

martinez.kim1mo ago

Totally get it. Saw a guy starve a centrifugal pump doing the same thing, just watching the discharge climb. That awful grinding noise still haunts me.

nina_campbell1mo ago

My buddy almost wrecked a diaphragm pump last month doing that. He was so fixed on the output he missed the suction gauge dropping to nothing. Next thing you know, we're pulling a solid plug of dried slurry out of the intake.

webb.daniel1mo ago

Watched a buddy blow a seal on a transfer pump last year. He was so focused on the output pressure he didn't see the suction side creeping into the red. Whole thing just locked up and started screaming. Cost him half a day of downtime.