In the petrochemical industry, pumps are an important part of fluid transfer, responsible for transporting crude oil, chemicals and other media. Once a pump breaks down suddenly, it is by no means a trivial matter: it may cause production interruption, leakage of hazardous media, or even downtime for several days, resulting in considerable losses.
But do you really have to wait for a DCS alarm or the maintenance team to arrive to know that there is a problem with the pump?
In fact, senior operators have relied on a "3-minute quick diagnosis method" for years—no complex tools are needed, only ears, eyes, hands and a little on-site experience. Below I will break it down step by step, presenting practical skills that even novices can easily master.
A normally operating centrifugal pump emits a steady and soft sound—similar to a continuous, uniform "buzz" with smooth and no noise. However, during the inspection, if you hear any of the following warning signals, please be alert immediately:
Professional Tip: I always stay at the motor end of the pump for 30 seconds to listen carefully; abnormal sounds are often the earliest warning signals, much earlier than abnormal instrument displays.
Quickly check the control panel or on-site instruments, and verify the following three key indicators in 60 seconds:
| Parameter | Abnormal Performance | Possible Cause |
|---|---|---|
| Discharge Pressure | Sudden drop | Impeller clogging or air leakage in the suction pipeline |
| Persistently high | Pipeline clogging or discharge valve not fully opened | |
| Flow Rate | Significant decrease | Wear of the seal ring or clogging of the suction port |
| Current | More than 10% above the rated value | Increased medium viscosity, seized pump shaft or overload operation |
Important Note: First rule out external issues—such as clogged filters or valves not fully opened. If the parameters are still abnormal after elimination, the pump itself is almost certainly faulty.
Quickly touch the pump body and bearing housing with the back of your hand (be careful of burns! Act quickly). The judgment criteria are as follows:
I have seen pumps completely scrapped within hours after overheating—this step must not be ignored.
Seal failure is an invisible killer, especially when transporting toxic, flammable or high-value media, which requires special attention. Focus on two key parts:
A slight drip may mean that the seal is starting to age, but continuous dripping is a signal that a failure is imminent. This will not only waste materials and pollute the site, but also wear the shaft sleeve, leading to higher maintenance costs. Once found, the machine should be shut down immediately for processing.
3-Minute Pump Inspection Quick Reference Table
| Step | Operation Content | Time Consumed | Normal Performance | Warning Signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Listen to the operating sound | 30 seconds | Steady and uniform buzz | Scraping sound, impact sound or fluctuating sound |
| 2 | Verify pressure/flow/current | 60 seconds | Within the normal fluctuation range | Deviation of more than ±10% (no external cause) |
| 3 | Touch the pump body/bearing temperature | 30 seconds | Warm (not scalding) | Extremely high local temperature |
| 4 | Inspect seal/flange leakage | 60 seconds | No seepage | Dripping or seepage |
Because it originates from the site and is used on the site.In high-risk scenarios such as petrochemical, oil refining and chemical industries, detecting problems one minute earlier can reduce losses by 100,000 yuan. This is not a replacement for professional maintenance, but to strive for golden response time for operation and maintenance personnel to press the pause button before the failure expands.
ConclusionWhen the pump is stable, production is stable.Master these 4 simple actions, and you will have more confidence in daily inspections and fewer accidents. If you encounter specific problems such as abnormal pump noise, parameter fluctuations or seal leakage in actual operation, welcome to follow us at www.teffiko.com at any time—we will continue to update petrochemical equipment operation and maintenance dry goods, fault diagnosis skills and industry practical cases to help you move from "being able to detect" to "being able to repair", and truly hold the first line of defense for safe production.
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