Why Dont Self Priming Pumps Work?

By Steve Hrivnak Self-priming pumps are used all over the world in many applications. They are used to pump out of sumps, tankers, buried tanks, etc. Yet, with their wide spread use, engineers continue to install them like standard pumps failing to take into account the manufacturers installation requirements. If a self priming pump is installed like a standard pump, it will not self-prime. Then operations calls with such complaints as: We must always pressurize the supply tank to get the pump to prime.; We must vent the pump each time.; We must add liquid to the priming chamber every time we start the pump. In every instance that I was asked to trouble shoot, the designers forgot to read the manufacturers installation instructions. Some times, only simple changes were needed to make the pump self prime. To understand why self-priming pumps must be installed differently than standard centrifugal pumps, it helps to first understand how they work. A pump is said to be primed when the pumps casing and all suction piping are full of liquid. If the suction source is above the pump, this can be accomplished typically by opening the suction and discharge valves. But if the pump is above the liquid source, then the suction line and the casing must be filled with liquid. This is done typically by using a vacuum source such as a vacuum pump or an ejector. The use of a foot valve and an elevated source of priming liquid used to fill the suction piping and casing also works well, but valves can leak over time causing the pump to lose prime. The beauty of self-priming pumps is that they do not need this external vacuum source or a foot valve and filling source. They do not need personnel to operate these auxiliary systems. The self-priming pump will re-prime if it becomes air bound. Built into the casing of self-priming pumps is a chamber that remains full of liquid after the pump shuts down. (Note: This chamber must be filled the first time the pump is installed and every time it is removed for maintenance. )This liquid is used to prime the pump. When the pump is started, the agitation action from the spinning impeller re-entrains the air in the suction line and moves it to a discharge air separation chamber. The air and liquid separate and the air vents out the discharge line. The liquid flows to the bottom of the chamber where a small slot allows it to flow back to the eye of the impeller. This movement of air causes a small vacuum in the suction line allowing liquid to climb the suction pipe into the pump with the help of atmospheric pressure on the suction source. Full flow and pressure is not attained until all air is evacuated from the suction line. After the pump stops, liquid in the discharge piping flows back into the chamber where it is stored for use the next time the pump needs to be primed. If these pumps are installed incorrectly, they will not self-prime. Several rules must be followed in order to have a trouble free installation. Take a look at recent photographs (Picture 1 and 2) of an existing self-priming pump I was asked to look at. Can you see why it will not prime?

Picture 1

Picture 2 1. Maximum liquid lift is about 25 feet. This is based on atmospheric pressure which varies with elevation and the pumps efficiency. If the liquid you are pumping has a specific gravity greater than 1, then divide 25 feet by the specific gravity to determine the effective lift you can expect. If the liquid has a high vapor pressure, vaporization can occur in the suction line at the point of highest vacuum. The lift for these liquids will therefore be lower. Make sure you check for NPSH available to determine your maximum lift. This pump is right at 25 feet. But NPSHA says that it should be okay. 2. Minimize suction elbows. Suction elbows should be limited to 1 or 2. More elbows cause more friction loss that may reduce NPSHA and cause vaporization in the suction line. In our case we have 8. One strike against us. 3. Locate your pump near its supply source and try to limit your suction piping lengths to under 25 feet. The longer the pipe is, the longer it will take to prime the pump. The actual length of the suction piping it 50 feet. Strike two! 4. Your suction pipe size should be the same size as your pump suction flange. If you have a 3x2-13 pump, then your suction pipe size should be 3. The larger the diameter of the pipe, the more air that must be evacuated and the longer it takes to prime the pump. The pump is a 3x2-13, therefore its suction pipe should be 3. But it is 4. Strike three! 5. Avoid suction pipe foot valves on self-priming pumps. Before the invention of self-priming pumps, a foot valve held the fluid in the pump in an effort to avoid priming each time the pump was shut down. On a self-priming pump, these are not needed and only add friction loss and reduce NPSHA. The example installation does not have one. 6. Provide a small diameter air bleed line (about ) from the discharge pipe located between the pumps discharge flange and the discharge check valve or isolation valve. Run this bleed line back to the suction source. Air at 77F has a density of 0.074 lbm/ft3. This is about 840 times less than water density. Lets say that with water a pump can generate 100 psig. When it pumps air, it will

generate approximately 100 psig/840 = 0.12 psig. Unless your discharge piping is empty and your system does not contain a check valve, your pump cannot generate enough pressure to over come the check valve and vent the air. So always install a vent line and one that preferably remains open all the time. Yes you will lose a little capacity through that line, in my example about 8 gpm, but the alternative is to have an employee open the line every time you start the pump or to install an automatic valve. In our case there is no bleed line. Even if everything else was correct, this pump will never prime. Strike four! I guess this means we are out. Other things to look for: On some self-priming pumps, the casing and the impeller are a matched set. The clearance between the impeller and the cut water is 1/8 and it must be maintained in order to self-prime. If the impeller needs to be trimmed, you should consult your manufacturer for guidance. Follow minimum suction pipe submergence guidelines. If the suction pipe submergence is too small, air will enter the pipe and the pump could lose flow while it re-primes. This can become a vicious cycle. See chart below:

Minimum Submergence FT
18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Suction Pipe Velocity in ft/sec
good to about 3000 gpm

When a self-priming pump shuts down, the discharge pipe must be designed such that enough liquid flows back into the pump to fill up the self-priming chamber. Therefore, do not put a 90 elbow on the pump discharge. Always allow for plenty of pipe (volume of pipe to be equal to the volume of the casing) before the discharge check valve and isolation valve. If the pump still wont prime, check the suction pipe for leaks. Even a small leak can stop the pump from priming. Time to prime a pump is a function of the pump size, impeller size and the suction pipe length. Please refer to the manufacturer for this information. If the liquid in the priming chamber is hot, long priming times can cause the liquid in the priming chamber to vaporize and make the pump lose prime.

So what should we change on our problem pump? The first thing I would do is to add an air bleed. There are still other things that are wrong, but this is the cheapest thing we can try and the other installation errors may be part of the problem; no bleed is a definite problem. Without a bleed, it will never re-prime. Since the NPSHA calculation says our suction lift should be limited to 27 ft we are okay. When we added the bleed line, the pump did prime. They however did install a valve in the bleed line. Since I have taken the picture, I asked them to lock it open. Although the rest of the installation is not up to par, it is now working.

Submergence in ft

Although there is some forgiveness with some of the rules stated above, following the rules will ensure a trouble free installation that always self-primes.