mud pump preventive maintenance free sample

Everyone agrees that reactive maintenance is probably the worst pump reliability strategy. Maintaining equipment only after it breaks can mean unexpected downtime, emergencies, rush charges, overtime, and replacement of expensive parts.

The best pump reliability strategy is not either preventive or predictive maintenance, it’s a combination of the two, strategically applied. In this post, we’ll discuss the differences between predictive and preventive maintenance and when it’s best to use them.

Many operators rely heavily on “reactive” maintenance rather than preventing and planning for future repairs. As discussed in our eBook, 36 Ways to Kill Your Pump, “reactive” maintenance accounts for unplanned equipment downtime and increased costs.

Preventive and predictive maintenance programs extend the overall life of the equipment and result in fewer unplanned breakdowns. The choice is not one or the other, it’s a combination of the two.

Preventative maintenance is any variety of scheduled maintenance to a pump or other piece of equipment. Generally, it includes scheduled routine maintenance, such as equipment calibration, greasing, oil change, and analysis.

One of the biggest ways to prevent failures is to make sure your equipment is properly aligned and balanced. Misalignment and pump unbalance are the two most common reliability problems for rotating equipment. Laser alignment also fits within this category since its a service completed upon installation, setting the pump up for success.

These programs are designed to keep your maintenance costs low by preventing costly failures before they happen. If you need a preventative maintenance checklist, you can download one here.

Up to 50% of damage to rotating machinery is directly related to misalignment. Misalignment can cause increased vibration, premature seal and bearing failure, and increased power consumption. An unbalanced pump causes similar issues, such as vibration, which can be easily avoided with the right preventative maintenance measures.

Predictive maintenance services are used to monitor the condition of equipment over time. Vibration analysis, for example, measures the vibration of the equipment while it is still in service. This allows the technician to see the change in vibrations over time to predict when a problem may occur, and why.

Predictive maintenance should be part of routine maintenance for pumps and rotating equipment that absolutely can NOT go down. Operators and maintenance managers get a glimpse into the future life of the pump as it"s running today. This allows them to plan for repairs and avoid unexpected downtime.

Not all pumps are equally important in a manufacturing process, so not all pumps should receive the same maintenance plan. It wouldn’t make sense to spend time and money on vibration analysis for a pump in a non-essential application.

Before creating a maintenance plan, place the pumps into categories. This will help determine how much time and money to invest in each one. Use these categories to get started:

Regularly maintaining pumps will extend the life of your pump. When a pump is properly maintained, the parts that need replacing are usually the less expensive wear parts.

Check shaft alignment – believe it or not, shaft alignment can change! Thermal growth and machine movement due to load shifts can cause pumps to move out of alignment.

Up to 50% of damage to rotating machinery is directly related to misalignment. That’s huge. Machine vibration, bearing damage, premature seal wear, and coupling damage are all examples of issues pumps experience when misaligned.

For the most accurate alignment, we always recommend laser alignment. It’s the most accurate method available (to .0001), and once familiar, an operator can align a pump/motor very quickly. It is the most expensive method to get into if doing alignments in-house and can be difficult to learn at first. But when looking for long-term results, the laser align method is the better choice.

Precision rebuild or precision maintenance is the practice of rebuilding a pump as close to OEM specifications as possible. Attention to detail is required for precision rebuilds.

Precision rebuilds are proven to reduce failures and should be a central piece of a pump reliability strategy. If the team lacks capacity, tools, or expertise to rebuild pumps to OEM standards, look for a capable local shop.

Add taps with isolating ball valves into piping on the suction and discharge sides of the pump. Use these to mount pressure indicators to ensure the pump is performing properly.

Read the pump manual and follow each step in the procedure. The procedures therein give the best possible instruction for long and trouble-free life for the pump.

Upon start-up, record the pump performance baseline data – amps, suction pressure, discharge pressure. This is handy when troubleshooting issues, should they arise.

Vibration monitoring is a very helpful tool for predicting pump failures. Some manufacturing facilities have a vibration technician on staff to take readings on critical pumps. These technicians may read the results themselves or send them to a firm that can interpret the readings and provide a report.

Unfortunately, this is not a skill easily attained by a maintenance team. It requires expensive equipment and a great deal of training to be an effective vibration technician. Unless the facility has a large population of critical equipment, this is a service best hired out.

Arguably the most important piece of a preventative/predictive maintenance plan... The TRAINING! Training isn’t just for the maintenance team, it’s for everyone in contact with pumps, operators especially! Failure prevention is everyone’s responsibility.

The maintenance team is the keeper and protector of equipment in the facility. Train operators on the signs of failure so they can report it quickly. Show them how to properly start-up or shut down a pump and how their actions will affect other parts of the system.

If all these steps were do-able by a maintenance team alone, everyone’s reliability goals would be already met. Some of the steps we’ve laid out require specialized training, tools, or specialized training on tools to make them effective. It’s likely the team doesn’t possess all these as they’re expected to know how to fix every machine in the plant. Hire outside help where it makes sense.

Look to a preventative maintenance program and predictive maintenance measures to save on annual maintenance costs and unscheduled downtime. We recommend working with your local equipment supplier to schedule a preventative or predictive maintenance program for your pumps.

Need more information about our preventative and predictive maintenance services? We are happy to help businesses in Wisconsin and upper Michigan. Got a noisy, underperforming pump? Consider our FREE Bad Actor Pump Assessment!

Pumps are often designed to operate at a single point known as the Best Efficiency Point (BEP). As components begin to wear, a pumps performance begins to decline, with operation away from this point leading to issues such as accelerated bearing or seal wear, vibration, excess temperature rise or cavitation. Quite often declining performance can start gradually, before quickly accelerating until failure if performance issues are not addressed in a timely fashion.

Corrective Maintenance is undertaken when failure has occurred. The unit may be leaking, efficiency reduced, pump stopped or motor tripped, leading to loss of production resulting in an urgent situation where parts must be sourced and fitted quicky.

Preventative Maintenance is inspection and repair scheduled at specific intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly) or based on the number of hours run. Visual inspections are made externally and internally by dismantling the unit, replacing seals such as gaskets and mechanical seals, with pump parts checked for wear.

Differential Pressure:Check the operating pressure by calculating the difference between the inlet and outlet pressure of the pump ensuring it is operating on curve.

The “6 to 1 Rule” discovered by John Day Jr, (Manager of Engineering & Maintenance at Alumax South Carolina stated that the ideal ratio of Proactive Maintenance (PM) to Corrective Maintenance (CM) should be 6 to 1 - 6 PM checks to 1 RM check. If your ratio is below this then according to his theory it is being inspected too infrequently, above and inspections are too frequent.

Although Proactive Maintenance can seem to avoid the urgent costs and downtime associated with reactive maintenance, PM maintenance costs can be high due to the cost of labour in dismantling of complicated designs such as Progressing Cavity, or Triplex Plunger pumps which are often time consuming to maintain with more than one person required to undertake work.

On dismantling units, some seals require replacing regardless of condition, and excess spares can be required in case of gasket entrapment during assembly. Rental of specialist lifting equipment may be required and there can be situations where when inspected, pump parts do not require replacement.

This can be achieved through a monitoring device, where when the right data is collected, pump failure can be anticipated between 3 and 12 months in advance with an 80-95% accuracy.

With the average lead time on DN100 pumps, and units over 5 years old being 3 months or more, it is essential that spares are either on the shelf or failure is anticipated through advance ordering.

There are hazards during any maintenance activity. Always ensure the correct PPE is worn before attempting repair, that sufficient expertise is on hand and chemical data sheets of any fluid being pumped are checked prior to undertaking work. A full risk assessment should be completed in advance.

Hazardous FluidsIrritation, Chemical burns, ignitionEnsure when pump is opened the unit is cool, not pressurized, ignition sources are not present, and any fluids spilt are contained.

If inspection has been neglected for some time, then additional parts may require replacing than had the unit been inspected earlier, with some pump parts becoming beyond economical repair.

Enables planned work to be undertaken during lower activity levels and at lowest cost & risk.Pump has to be crucial within a process or above a certain size for monitoring to be cost effective

Thread Sealant –The use of semi-permanent thread sealant will ensure vitality important threaded fasteners such as bolts or screws on shafts, couplings or pump casings do not self-loosen due to vibration and become disengaged.

Interchangeable Spares –Our range of pumps are modular in design utilizing interchangeable spares, meaning on site stock holding of parts can be reduced by up to 80% further reducing slow moving stock.

Repair & Replace –Choosing to repair an existing pump within a process of vital importance, as well as replace, is a strategy we recommend for maximizing plant efficiencies and reducing downtime. Should unexpected pump failure occur, your process can be restored quickly.

Checklists & Logs –The use of checklists and logs ensures a fully repeatable process ensuring important maintenance intervals are not missed. Logs can provide valuable insight and reveal a pattern before failure occurs enabling easier troubleshooting.

indicates which areas should be checked, but note that a units maintenance routine is dependent on several factors such as hours of operation, duty, aggressiveness of pump medium, rpm of motor, temperature, inlet conditions and location of equipment.

SDS PMS Equipment: Mud Pump Department: Mechanical Manufacturer: Gardner Denver Frequency: Annually Model: PZ-8/9 Issued: PSS Code: GA-327-32 Completed:Item Level Inspect Description

1. [M3] [ ] Insure proper work permits are obtained before performing maintenance on this equipment. 2. [M3] [ ] Insure personnel performing this maintenance is familiar with the equipment and manufacturer"s operation and maintenance manual before beginning. 3. [M2] [ ] Make arrangements with the Rig Superintendent before performing this task and insure that it will not affect the drilling operations. 4. [E2] [ ] Isolate and tag out the electric power to the mud pump. 5. [M3] [ ] Close and tag out the pump suction and discharge valves.

Condition Evaluation Particulars Equipment Description: Manufacturer Model: Serial Number PSS Code & Tag Number: Maximum Input Power Driven By: Rig Name District Date of Condition Evaluation: Cummulative Hours on Pump: Hours/Date of Last Condition Evaluation Person in Charge of Condition Evaluation

SDS PMS Equipment: Mud Pump Department: Mechanical Manufacturer: Gardner Denver Frequency: Annually Model: PZ-8/9 Issued: PSS Code: GA-327-32 Completed:Item Level Inspect Description

2. [M3] [ ] If lube oil is contaminated, drain and flush the crankcase. Clean out the settling chamber in the forward part of the power end floor. Thoroughly clean the oil troughs and the compartment in top of the crosshead guide. Clean the element in the breather cap and clean the suction screen. Refill using Shell Omala 220.or equivalent oil; 130 US gallons. 3. [M3] [ ] Drain and flush clean the chain drive case. Clean the breather element. Refill using Shell Vitrea 150 or equivalent oil 4. [M3] [ ] Remove the all bearing and crankcase covers for inspection of the following components. Insure nothing drops inside. 1. Check the safety retaining wires on all bolts including the main bearing hold down bolts, eccentric bearing retainer bolts and gear retainer bolts. Replace any broken wires after re- tightening the bolts. Refer to crankshaft assembly section for torque values. 2. Visually inspect all bearings for damage or wear while rotating pump slowly. With a feeler gauge check and record all bearing diametrical clearances. Record the condition and clearances on the Checking Form below. 3. Inspect the ring wear and oil seal condition on the left and right side main bearings. 4. Inspect all main and eccentric bearings for cracked inner & outer bearing races. Inspect the bronze bearing cages for damage or cracks. 5. Make a complete visual inspection of all components checking for looseness, wear or damage. 6. Check the main and pinion gears for condition and wear. Measure and record the backlash. 7. Check each connecting rod retaining bolts for tightness and retaining wires for proper installation. 8. Run lube oil pump and insure all nozzles are free and clear and have a good spray pattern. 5. [M3] [ ] Remove the diaphragm stuffing box and plate. Check the safety retaining wires of the extension rods insuring none broken or missing. Where wire is broken or missing inspect all bolts for crack and thread damage. Retorque to 350 - 370 ft/lbs. Re-install all safety retaining wires. 6. [M3] [ ] Renew lip oil seal and "O" rings, clean and replace plate and stuffing box. Torque bolts to 12 - 18 ft/lbs.

SDS PMS Equipment: Mud Pump Department: Mechanical Manufacturer: Gardner Denver Frequency: Annually Model: PZ-8/9 Issued: PSS Code: GA-327-32 Completed:Item Level Inspect Description

7. [M3] [ ] Remove the ispection covers for the crossheads and carry out the following ispections: 1. Check crosshead pin retainer bolt tightness using torque wrench. Torque value 210 ft/lbs. Insure all locking wire is properly installed 2. Measure the play of the bearing, roller and crosshead pin. Record the readings on the checking form below. 3. Check crosshead clearance, use a feeler gauge between crosshead and upper crosshead guide. Do not operate pump with less than 0.010" clearance. Record the clearances on the Checking Sheet below. They should be .010 - .020. 4. Inspect crosshead and guides for condition and uniform wear. Insure there are no scratches or abnormal wear on the upper or lower slide guides. 5. Check the crosshead slide to frame bolts for tightness. 6. Check the pony rod (extension rod) surface condition for damage or scratches. A deterirated surface will cause premature failures of seals. 7. Check the pony rod to crosshead bolts for correct tighness.

Misalignment can be detected by uneven wear on the pony (extension) rods. Premature liner wear will also be a result. Refer to the mud pump fluid end log book for signs of premature liner wear.

9. [M3] [ ] Check all drive chain and sprockets for wear. New chain - 20 P. = 30" Worn out chain = 30.750" Record the measurements on the Checking Sheet below. 10. [M3] [ ] Inspect and test run the chain oil pump. Overhaul and align as necessary. 11. [M3] [ ] Inspect and test run the gear oil pump. Overhaul and align as necessary. 12. [M3] [ ] Renew the oil pump filter element. 13. [M3] [ ] Inspect and test run the flushing pump. Overhaul, repack and align as necessary.

SDS PMS Equipment: Mud Pump Department: Mechanical Manufacturer: Gardner Denver Frequency: Annually Model: PZ-8/9 Issued: PSS Code: GA-327-32 Completed:Item Level Inspect Description

15. [M3] [ ] Clean breathers on chain case and gear box. 16. [M3] [ ] Restore power to unit and remove tag. 17. [M3] [ ] Check chain lube oil pressure and record ________ psi. 18. [M3] [ ] Check gear box lube oil pressure and record ________ psi. 19. [M3] [ ] Simulate electric driven gear lube oil pump failure: Record pressure_________ psi. Min 30 psi, max 40 psi. 20. [M3] [ ] Make a complete internal inspection to insure all tools and rags have been removed. Replace all covers and reconnect the pony rod clamp. Make a complete inspection around unit insuring pump condition is ready for operation.

CAUTION: Use extreme caution whenever using RTV for sealing the gaskets faces. Do not use RTV if possible. In many cases pumps have been totally ruined, when too much RTV is applied; the excess gets squeezed into the pump mixing in the oil and eventually plugging oil passages resulting in failures.

0.008 - 0.010 Okay to run untill the next annual inspection 0.011 - 0.013 Replace at the next scheduled maintenance. 0.014 - 0.016 Replace at first opportunity. 0.017 and greater Stop Pump and replace immediately.

21. [M3] [ ] Enter details of completion on PMS history card. and file a copy of the completed Condition Evaulation form in the maintenance file.

SDS PMS Equipment: Mud Pump Department: Mechanical Manufacturer: Gardner Denver Frequency: Annually Model: PZ-8/9 Issued: PSS Code: GA-327-32 Completed:Item Level Inspect Description

SDS PMS Equipment: Mud Pump Department: Mechanical Manufacturer: Gardner Denver Frequency: Annually Model: PZ-8/9 Issued: PSS Code: GA-327-32 Completed:Item Level Inspect Description

SDS PMS Equipment: Mud Pump Department: Mechanical Manufacturer: Gardner Denver Frequency: Annually Model: PZ-8/9 Issued: PSS Code: GA-327-32 Completed:Item Level Inspect Description

SDS PMS Equipment: Mud Pump Department: Mechanical Manufacturer: Gardner Denver Frequency: Annually Model: PZ-8/9 Issued: PSS Code: GA-327-32 Completed:Item Level Inspect Description

SDS PMS Equipment: Mud Pump Department: Mechanical Manufacturer: Gardner Denver Frequency: Annually Model: PZ-8/9 Issued: PSS Code: GA-327-32 Completed:Item Level Inspect Description

We kicked off a two-part series on a water well and pump maintenance program and how to set one up in July’s Water Well Journal. This month, we will conclude this series with how to prepare and use the forms.

To fully evaluate the feasibility and cost of a preventive maintenance program, it is important to first establish the program’s parameters and limits. This means you first need to decide how much advance system information you should provide to the technician.

I found the technician should be given the information needed to perform the required maintenance and to determine if the system was running just right or too far outside the design boundaries. At the same time, I also believed too much or too little information could be just as harmful—leading to unnecessary, unproductive, and unbillable time spent developing and expressing to the client theories not plausible or not in the technician’s job description.

As shown in July’s WWJcolumn, we finally settled on the use of Master Form 1 (republished again as Figure 1) for wells and well pumps; Master Form 2 (Figure 2) for booster pump stations with one up to four units; and Master Form 3 (Figure 3) to describe the various drivers used for the units outlined in Forms 1 or 2. Master Form 3 was specifically developed to match the well or booster pump data on Forms 1 or 2 for a single well and pump up to four booster units at a single site.

Deciding what to include or exclude on the master forms is largely a matter of personal preference. Although I would suggest even though you may wish to include the design COS (Conditions of Service) for each pump, other specific design criteria—such as capacity and head calculations—should not be included on the master forms. This not only takes up space on the forms better used for data, but also creates the real possibility of field personnel making ill-informed opinions to the client that you may have to retract later.

Other tasks—especially those requiring substantial time to generate and reach stabilized operating parameters, as with pumping water levels, or sufficient time to generate maximum operational (running) temperatures, particularly a motor, motor starter, load terminals, or circuit breaker/fuses—may require a much longer and non-uniform period to reach individual operating temperatures.

Since I would never presume to tell another water system firm what to include or exclude in their market area, I will also not make any specific recommendations as to what to examine in your preventive maintenance (PM) program. However, whatever you select, I recommend you invest the first month or two in a trial program to verify the scope and validity of the selected parameters and to determine the total billable time required for the typical unit.

Labor and incidental costs can include lockout/tagout procedures and system shutdown (if already running); initial or static inspection along with the static maintenance procedures; consumables (packing, oil and/or grease for bearings); operating inspection (including adding time for operating temperatures to rise and pumping levels to stabilize); conduct readings and record data; system restoration and reactivation; retrieve and collect equipment and tools and return to service vehicle; cleanup, travel, and the always dreaded paperwork. Not every PM visit will require invoicing for every separate time or cost factor listed above.

For what it’s worth, after a three-month initial trial period we eventually arrived at a typical average total time for our PM program around 1.88 hours for a single well or pump installation to an average of 1.66 hours per unit for multiple pumps at one site. This generally resulted in a billing time averaging about 2 to 3 hours for a single

This usually provides enough notice to permit operational transfer to other facilities, followed by an orderly shutdown of the well/pump station and recovery of a well to static conditions and cooling of motors and other electrical equipment.

d—Operating/Pumping Data: Obtaining the data in this category is generally a matter of obtaining readings once the unit is operating and all well or pump operating conditions have stabilized. This is critical for obtaining measurements such as pumping water levels and operating temperatures of motors and related electrical components.

Typically, adding the observed pumping water level lift (in feet) with the operating head for wells or the net difference between the suction (inlet) and discharge head for booster pumps (again, in feet) provides a close approximation of the total dynamic head.

Lastly, space has been provided at the bottom of the pumping data to indicate whether a water sample has been taken or not. This is critical for a water well since the position and time pumped shown in this question is both intentional and critical for the indicated time must be adequate to provide sufficient “purging” of the well to occur or at least two full raw volume exchanges of water within the wellbore.

Due to factors surrounding possible oxygenation, sedimentation, and precipitation, the results obtained from a water sample that has been exposed to significant time and the accompanying environmental factors occurring in a typical wellbore may easily distort or negate test results. This becomes particularly important when obtaining water samples to evaluate possible causes of well issues or the optimum well rehabilitation chemicals and procedures to use for a given well and was always an established element of the protocol whenever obtaining raw water samples from pumping wells.

A second Field Data Form (Figure 5) has been added as a guide for those also charged with routine service and maintenance of diesel or gasoline engines used as primary, backup, or emergency sources of power. Again, the information and data important to your firm can be customized on the form.

If a PM program is properly developed and conducted, with emphasis on a sufficient but not excessive interval of inspection, the capability of using a program to help gauge the need for a well or pump rehabilitation is significant.

By testing and recording various static and operational well parameters—such as static and pumping water levels and flow rates—potentially important well conditions like loss of specific capacity or yield can be determined and tracked.

If conducted properly and at appropriate intervals, performing routine preventive maintenance on a water well pumping plant can identify potential or minor well problems before they develop into a major headache.

In addition to the PM elements themselves, an effective program on a well installation will also track water quality issues and the potential for well plugging, especially for biological or mineral incrusting material. Obtaining a water sample during the test procedure and having it analyzed for the water quality parameters common to biological and mineral growth can assist in scheduling needed well maintenance as well as pump repair.

To help meet your professional needs, this column covers skills and competencies found in DACUM charts for drillers, pump installers, and geothermal contractors. PI refers to the pumps chart. The letter and number immediately following is the skill on the chart covered by the column. This column covers: PIE-18, 22: PIF-2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7: PIG-3, 8, 10 More information on DACUM and the charts are available at www.NGWA.org/Certification and click on “Exam Information.”

The use of pumping plant performance, whether in a well or booster application, can also be used for tracking loss of pump performance, increased load vs. theoretical horsepower (decreased overall efficiency), and other conditions which may lead to a catastrophic and sudden failure.

In many cases—often due to simple ignorance, personnel overload, or time constraints—operating personnel may not be familiar with or recognize the need to conduct routine maintenance on pumping equipment.

This not only creates a situation where the equipment is neglected and doesn’t receive regular or scheduled maintenance, but also a condition where an early warning or advanced indication of impending failure may be offset and prevented by a few simple repairs.

This is particularly true for hidden types of deep well pumps, such as vertical turbine or submersible pumps. These factors are in addition to the real benefits gained from implementing a PM program with the basic goal to provide an enhanced and scheduledmaintenance and check on the condition of the well, pump, or driver.

This concludes the short series on establishing a preventive maintenance program. I hope you can use some of the information I have provided as a guide or outline for your own program.

Centrifugal pumps are one of the most popular pumping solutions in the world due to their highly efficient and simple design. However, just like any other pump, they can also suffer from pump failure and damage if preventive maintenance is neglected. So if you have invested in a centrifugal pump for your site, you need to ensure that you have a maintenance schedule in place, that will not only extend your system"s life but also reduce operating costs.

Even if you have invested in a high-quality centrifugal pump like Azcue, which means that you have a great pump solution in place, preventive maintenance is essential to keep your process running smoothly and prevent any unexpected downtime and costs. Centrifugal water pumps have hundreds of components that keep them running smoothly and are integral to providing effective pump operation. Therefore, consistent maintenance can not only prevent pump failures but also help your engineers to identify the source of the problem faster, as they will have enough maintenance history recorded to refer back to. To help you put together your centrifugal pump maintenance schedule, we asked our technical sales engineer for a good preventive maintenance strategy…

Don"t have time to read the whole article. Download our helpful infographic that you can use to implement a centrifugal pump maintenance schedule.Click here

If you have a centrifugal pump on-site and don"t already have a maintenance programme in place, then you are probably asking yourself all of these questions: How often do you need to perform routine maintenance or replace parts? Which pump components must be checked more often, and when should you schedule the pump maintenance? What spare parts do you need to stock to prevent any pump downtime?

Planning preventive maintenance of centrifugal pumps can be confusing, especially if you don"t know where to start. So we asked our technical sales engineers to give us their recommendations for a centrifugal pump maintenance schedule. Here is their advice and an example of a maintenance plan…

Best practice is to carry out a visual inspection of the pump installation on a daily basis. Spotting an issue early is one of the best troubleshooting methods and can preventing pump breakdowns. Here are some of the things to look out for:

Just like the daily inspection, you should look for any abnormalities but this time, pay close attention to the following centrifugal water pump components:

Carry out a visual inspection for any signs of leakage from the pump or pipework. If standby pumps are installed, turn on and run for at least 5 minutes to ensure operation.

Check for a sudden decrease in the efficiency of your centrifugal pump. This may be due to a broken shaft seal. Inspect the shaft seals for any physical signs of damage/leakage and replace the seal where necessary.

Following our centrifugal pump maintenance schedule, you will need to check the following pump components once a month to ensure that your pump is running efficiently and prevent any potential failure or damage:

Check coupling alignment. If significant misalignment is found, check seals and bearings for wear. Clean the pump and motor, so it"s free of oil and debris to allow ventilation and prevent overheating.

Less often but very important is to thoroughly inspect the whole centrifugal pump and consider changing some of the spare parts to ensure that the pump operates in optimal conditions. Here are our recommendations:

Dismantle the pump, inspect the wearing parts and replace them if necessary. Typical parts include: mechanical seal, wear rings, impeller, o-ring, gasket, shaft. Remove all auxiliary parts, including gauges and valves, clean and inspect.

Replace certain components such as the mechanical seals and impellers to prevent leaking and other issues. The best practice is to hold stock of typical wearing parts on-site to prevent any delay in maintaining your pump if any components fail.

Always make sure to create a maintenance schedule that is consistent with the manufacturer"s guidelines and keep in mind that certain components need to be maintained based on their service intervals:

Lubricate the bearing as per the service intervals (usually in operating hours) found in the pump manual. This may be required more regularly in high-temperature or dusty environments.

Specifically designed for drilling companies and others in the oil and gas industry, the easy to use drilling rig inspections app makes it easy to log information about the drill rigs, including details about the drill rigs operators, miles logged and well numbers. The inspection form app covers everything from the mud pump areas and mud mixing area to the mud tanks and pits, making it easy to identify areas where preventative maintenance is needed. The drilling rig equipment checklist also covers health and safety issues, including the availability of PPE equipment, emergency response and preparedness processes, and other critical elements of the drilling process and drill press equipment.

Many things go into getting the most life out of your mud pump and its components — all important to extend the usage of this vital piece of equipment on an HDD jobsite. Some of the most important key points are covered below.

The most important thing you can do is service your pump, per the manufacturer’s requirements. We get plenty of pumps in the shop for service work that look like they have been abused for years without having basic maintenance,  such as regular oil changes. You wouldn’t dream of treating your personal vehicle like that, so why would you treat your pump like that.

Check the oil daily and change the oil regularly. If you find water or drilling mud contamination in the oil, change the oil as soon as possible. Failure to do so will most likely leave you a substantial bill to rebuild the gear end, which could have been avoided if proper maintenance procedures would have been followed. Water in the oil does not allow the oil to perform correctly, which will burn up your gear end. Drilling mud in your gear end will act as a lapping compound and will wear out all of the bearing surfaces in your pump. Either way it will be costly. The main reasons for having water or drilling mud in the gear end of your pump is because your pony rod packing is failing and/or you have let your liners and pistons get severely worn. Indication of this is fluid that should be contained inside the fluid end of your pump is now moving past your piston and spraying into the cradle of the pump, which forces its way past the pony rod packing. Pony rod packing is meant to keep the oil in the gear end and the liner wash fluid out of the gear end. Even with brand new packing, you can have water or drilling fluid enter the gear end if it is sprayed with sufficient force, because a piston or liner is worn out.

There is also usually a valve on the inlet of the spray bar. This valve should be closed enough so that liner wash fluid does not spray all over the top of the pump and other components.

Liner wash fluid can be comprised of different fluids, but we recommend just using clean water. In extremely cold conditions, you can use RV antifreeze. The liner wash or rod wash system is usually a closed loop type of system, consisting of a tank, a small pump and a spray bar. The pump will move fluid from the tank through the spray bar, and onto the inside of the liner to cool the liner, preventing scorching. The fluid will then collect in the bottom of the cradle of the pump and drain back down into the collection tank below the cradle and repeat the cycle. It is important to have clean fluid no matter what fluid you use. If your liners are leaking and the tank is full of drilling fluid, you will not cool the liners properly — which will just make the situation worse. There is also usually a valve on the inlet of the spray bar. This valve should be closed enough so that liner wash fluid does not spray all over the top of the pump and other components. Ensure that the water is spraying inside the liner and that any overspray is not traveling out of the pump onto the ground or onto the pony rod packing where it could be pulled into the gear end. If the fluid is spraying out of the cradle area and falling onto the ground, it won’t be long before your liner wash tank is empty. It only takes a minute without the cooling fluid being sprayed before the liners become scorched. You will then need to replace the pistons and liners, which is an avoidable costly repair. Make a point to check the liner wash fluid level several times a day.

Drilling fluid — whether pumping drilling mud, straight water or some combination of fluid — needs to be clean. Clean meaning free of solids. If you are recycling your fluid, make sure you are using a quality mud recycling system and check the solids content often throughout the day to make sure the system is doing its job. A quality mud system being run correctly should be able to keep your solids content down to one quarter of 1 percent or lower. When filling your mud recycling system, be sure to screen the fluid coming into the tanks. If it is a mud recycling system, simply make sure the fluid is going over the scalping shaker with screens in the shaker. If using some other type of tank, use an inline filter or some other method of filtering. Pumping out of creeks, rivers, lakes and ponds can introduce plenty of solids into your tanks if you are not filtering this fluid. When obtaining water out of a fire hydrant, there can be a lot of sand in the line, so don’t assume it’s clean and ensure it’s filtered before use.

Cavitation is a whole other detailed discussion, but all triplex pumps have a minimum amount of suction pressure that is required to run properly. Make sure this suction pressure is maintained at all times or your pump may cavitate. If you run a pump that is cavitating, it will shorten the life of all fluid end expendables and, in severe cases, can lead to gear end and fluid end destruction. If the pump is experiencing cavitation issues, the problem must be identified and corrected immediately.

The long and the short of it is to use clean drilling fluid and you will extend the life of your pumps expendables and downhole tooling, and keep up with your maintenance on the gear end of your pump. Avoid pump cavitation at all times. Taking a few minutes a day to inspect and maintain your pump can save you downtime and costly repair bills.

Cavitation is an undesirable condition that reduces pump efficiency and leads to excessive wear and damage to pump components. Factors that can contribute to cavitation, such as fluid velocity and pressure, can sometimes be attributed to an inadequate mud system design and/or the diminishing performance of the mud pump’s feed system.

Although cavitation is avoidable, without proper inspection of the feed system, it can accelerate the wear of fluid end parts. Over time, cavitation can also lead to expensive maintenance issues and a potentially catastrophic failure.

When a mud pump has entered full cavitation, rig crews and field service technicians will see the equipment shaking and hear the pump “knocking,” which typically sounds like marbles and stones being thrown around inside the equipment. However, the process of cavitation starts long before audible signs reveal themselves – hence the name “the silent killer.”

Mild cavitation begins to occur when the mud pump is starved for fluid. While the pump itself may not be making noise, damage is still being done to the internal components of the fluid end. In the early stages, cavitation can damage a pump’s module, piston and valve assembly.

The imperceptible but intense shock waves generated by cavitation travel directly from the fluid end to the pump’s power end, causing premature vibrational damage to the crosshead slides. The vibrations are then passed onto the shaft, bull gear and into the main bearings.

If not corrected, the vibrations caused by cavitation will work their way directly to critical power end components, which will result in the premature failure of the mud pump. A busted mud pump means expensive downtime and repair costs.

To stop cavitation before it starts, install and tune high-speed pressure sensors on the mud suction line set to sound an alarm if the pressure falls below 30 psi.

Although the pump may not be knocking loudly when cavitation first presents, regular inspections by a properly trained field technician may be able to detect moderate vibrations and slight knocking sounds.

Gardner Denver offers Pump University, a mobile classroom that travels to facilities and/or drilling rigs and trains rig crews on best practices for pumping equipment maintenance.

Program participants have found that, by improving their maintenance skills, they have extended the life of fluid end expendables on their sites. They have also reported decreases in both production and repair costs, as well as reductions in workplace hazards.

Severe cavitation will drastically decrease module life and will eventually lead to catastrophic pump failure. Along with downtime and repair costs, the failure of the drilling pump can also cause damage to the suction and discharge piping.

When a mud pump has entered full cavitation, rig crews and field service technicians will see the equipment shaking and hear the pump ‘knocking’… However, the process of cavitation starts long before audible signs reveal themselves – hence the name ‘the silent killer.’In 2017, a leading North American drilling contractor was encountering chronic mud system issues on multiple rigs. The contractor engaged in more than 25 premature module washes in one year and suffered a major power-end failure.

Gardner Denver’s engineering team spent time on the contractor’s rigs, observing the pumps during operation and surveying the mud system’s design and configuration.

The engineering team discovered that the suction systems were undersized, feed lines were too small and there was no dampening on the suction side of the pump.

There were also issues with feed line maintenance – lines weren’t cleaned out on a regular basis, resulting in solids from the fluid forming a thick cake on the bottom of the pipe, which further reduced its diameter.

Following the implementation of these recommendations, the contractor saw significant performance improvements from the drilling pumps. Consumables life was extended significantly, and module washes were reduced by nearly 85%.

Although pump age does not affect its susceptibility to cavitation, the age of the rig can. An older rig’s mud systems may not be equipped for the way pumps are run today – at maximum horsepower.

Pumps are vital to industries including water treatment and wastewater facilities, power generation, oil and gas, food processing and more. In the oil and gas industry, the uptime of industrial pumps is especially critical. The total world consumption of global petroleum and other liquid fuels averaged 92.30 million barrels per day in 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That total has risen by approximately 5 million in 2021 and will continue to grow in 2022. Any unplanned downtime can impact the ability to meet this growth.

There are three basic types of pumps, and they are classified by how they transport fluid: positive-displacement, centrifugal and axial-flow. Pumps can experience several different types of failures, including cavitation, bearing failures and seal failures, among others. In oil and gas, conditions in which pumps operate are often challenging, dirty and hazardous, resulting in wear and tear. Failure of these pumps not only results in unexpected operation delays and increased costs, but it can lead to dangerous oil and gas leaks, impacting labor safety and the environment. To avoid these unexpected failures, many companies increase preventative maintenance and create aggressive inspection schedules. These practices, however, can sometimes lead to unnecessary part replacement, maintenance costs and labor.

Others may rely on condition-based maintenance, which focuses on maintenance performed after monitoring real-time data and detecting unacceptable condition levels. However, this may not come with the advanced warning needed to prevent impending failure events or avoid downtime. By taking a predictive approach, past maintenance data and current sensor measurements can be used to determine early signs of failure, allowing companies to perform maintenance only at the exact time it is needed.

IMAGE 1: An example of a deployed solution for predictive monitoring and failure detection of critical mud pumps in the oil and gas industry. (Images courtesy of Predictronics)

Developing and deploying a predictive maintenance solution for pumps is challenging. It requires a combination of sensing and instrumentation expertise, domain knowledge, and a practical perspective on applying machine learning and analytics for predictive monitoring. The instrumentation aspect is crucial since this data will be analyzed and will serve as the foundation of the actionable information. The decisions made from this information include what maintenance actions are needed and when they should be taken given the current pump health, as well as any trends or patterns that could emerge.

Vibration is typically the most crucial signal to use for monitoring the condition of a pump, but information on the rotating or reciprocating motion is also useful, especially for performing the more advanced signal processing methods. In addition, pressure and flow rate measurements are important for understanding pump operation and providing context for understanding the vibration data. A balance must be struck between the benefit of including these important measurements versus the hardware and implementation costs of doing so. This challenge is especially true for vibration sensors. Domain expertise is needed to place a minimal set of sensors to keep the hardware cost down and monitor the pump properly and accurately.

When handling the analytics, it is challenging to apply machine learning for this application without any domain-specific preprocessing and signal processing steps. Typically, pump failures are rare, so using a supervised machine learning model is not typically practical. Instead, a combination of domain-specific feature extraction methods for the vibration signals coupled with a baseline-based anomaly index machine learning algorithm is a more reasonable approach. The deployment and user interface should be closely aligned with the industrial use case and expected user, as well as the problem being solved. For some applications, it is not feasible to transmit the data to a remote monitoring center or central server, requiring the analytics and deployment to be performed closer to the data source.

A global oil and gas contractor with a specialty in automated drilling equipment and rig components wanted to develop a health monitoring solution for its mud pumps in the field. The contractor wanted to reduce unplanned downtime and unexpected failures. Not only did the company want to prevent these failure events, but they also wanted to distinguish between anomalies caused by maintenance issues and anomalies due to sensor issues.

By working with a predictive analytics company, this client sought to differentiate these anomalies, address the pump failures, and validate the solution by utilizing the induced fault data collected on its test rig.

The user provided the analytics company with a year’s worth of historical data from test bed data sets and sensors on the piston, suction and discharge mechanisms on two pumps in the field. The team of analytics experts was able to pull crucial features from the data by considering vibration patterns in the frequency and time-frequency domain. These features were integral to the development of health assessment models. The models then helped determine key indicators of pump seal failure, as well as establish the accuracy and necessity of the sensors.

By using advanced signal processing and vibration-based pattern recognition, the health monitoring system was able to detect and diagnose pump failures. This solution provided a baseline health assessment, failure identification and pattern recognition diagnosis capabilities.

The predictive analytics company was able to identify potential issues, as well as establish the best locations for sensor placement. The final solution predicted mud pump failure at least one day in advance, providing the data needed to take action and proactively perform maintenance. This approach helped reduce downtime, increase productivity, improve safety and prevent leaks.

Criticality analysis is essential in order to select the pumps for which predictive maintenance solutions can best be applied and to choose a solution that can provide the most value.

After determining the target pumps, the most critical failure modes should be identified, along with any relevant maintenance records for unplanned and planned downtime.

Based on the data and common failure modes, determine sensor placement and what, if any, additional sensors need to be added to the monitored pumps for the predictive solution.

These initial steps are essential when partnering with a technology provider and can help companies develop and adopt a predictive maintenance solution for their pumps that is robust and accurate.

This example models a triplex pump with a predictive maintenance algorithm that can detect which parts of the pump are failing simply by monitoring the pump output pressure.

The Simscape model of the pump can be configured to model degraded behavior due to seal leakage, blocked inlets, bearing wear, and broken motor windings. MATLAB code shows how to accelerate testing by reusing results from previous simulations. The model can be used to generate training data for the machine learning algorithm and can be used to test the deployed algorithm. MATLAB Live Scripts show you how to develop the algorithm.

Mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical parameters are all defined in MATLAB which lets you easily resize the pump. The pump housing is imported from CAD.

Read the e-book “Predictive Maintenance with MATLAB”https://www.mathworks.com/content/dam/mathworks/tag-team/Objects/p/93060v00_Predictive_Maintenance_e-book_v04.pdf

As it is the case with most equipment, pumps require regular maintenance to keep within peak performance benchmarks. The benefits of preventive maintenance in the HVAC industry have proven to improve asset life cycle, boost CRM, cut excessive repair costs and reduce unplanned equipment downtime.

When talking about pump failure the best remedy is having a great schedule and maintenance checklist in place. In a pump’s life cycle, environmental conditions can often be a major factor in its performance. Some other important maintenance tasks and factors to consider include:

All of these issues can be detrimental to a pump’s performance and cause defects if not resolved with regular maintenance. When considering what to include in your regular maintenance checklist a great place to start is the warranty and manufacturer standards as per pump type. Pump manufacturers often set requirements to follow to ensure the best life cycle for your equipment.

Pump efficiency point is the result of hydraulic, mechanical and volumetric parts to ensure performance is within a desired level. The level of efficiency in a pump is drawn from the units of energy that is required for performance.

However in centrifugal pumps, the inner workings of the pump will drive the motor. Essentially this means the mechanical energy is transformed to hydraulic energy and electrical energy is transformed to mechanical energy. This means that for a centrifugal pump you will find your level of efficiency sits at either 75% or higher in larger pumps and around 60% in smaller pumps.

As a part of your work order management for your pump maintenance schedule, you need to do some research behind what factors you need to consider that will be most detrimental to your pump’s health. When you create your ultimate guide to maintenance, your aim is to reduce your unplanned downtime and improve your standard of service by keeping a regular schedule.

When trying to determine the frequency of your maintenance checklist, you need to consider the factors that will impact your pump listed in the beginning of this article. If you have a higher quality pump that is used every day and is largely impacted by elemental factors, you will need to have more regular services in place. The warranty and safety standards will also have an impact here, depending on your pump type and according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

The more thorough your maintenance is, the better service you can provide. While a large maintenance schedule can seem daunting to your maintenance team, the assistance of checklists can ensure no step is missed no matter how big or small. Having a checklist in place will also provide consistency across your team and ensure each pump may receive the correct care it needs.

The main area for concern in centrifugal pumps is the lubrication. As centrifugal pumps rely heavily on correct lubrication to work, maintenance is important to ensure pumps aren’t under or over lubricated, which can cause damage. When you have over lubrication your pump will create too much heat and can result in frothing the oil.

Getting your maintenance plan right means you consider all these above factors and are able to incorporate them into your pump checklist and schedule.

For this checklist, you want to schedule a quick inspection of your pumps to avoid damage and wear. The main reason for having a daily checklist in your schedule is to catch those pesky issues that can turn into defects and pricey repairs if not caught early on.

Generally your quarterly maintenance will be done with the change of the season and can include varying tasks due to elemental factors. The severity of your pump environment will also affect the consistency and schedule of your pump maintenance program. Will your pump be exposed to extreme heat or extreme cold temperatures?

In your annual preventive plan, you will generally go into more detail and evaluate pump performance. Each year you should take a record of your annual operations and benchmarking data that might include:

For your routine maintenance schedule for your centrifugal pumps you need to make sure you have a solid system in place where you can reliably plan and train your team. Having a great software in place will also give you the ability to structure your maintenance program according to the manufacturer’s instructions and adhere to your customer contracts.

Job management software like FieldInsight gives you the ability to keep your centrifugal pump maintenance in perfect balance. With FieldInsight, you also gain access to the five primary automations in your business:

To reduce the stress in your scheduling system and improve your maintenance program, book a free demo today and find out what FieldInsight can do for your business.

Heavy Machinery is the most expensive construction equipment you own. It’s also the costliest to repair or replace. This guide will show you how to save money and extend the life cycle of your equipment with regular maintenance best practices.

We’ll identify commonly overlooked areas of maintenance, and identify simple things you can do to greatly impact the long-term value of your most vital equipment. Even the most powerful and dependable Cat® machinery requires basic attention to ensure it provides the exceptionally long service life and unmatched productivity of Cat construction vehicles.

Being proactive in your heavy equipment maintenance schedule helps prevent expensive downtime. Regular maintenance helps predict when failure is likely to occur, allowing you to find a solution to problems before they happen.

An example is an $80,000 machine that requires approximately $24,000 in maintenance and repair costs during 5,000 operating hours. By implementing sound preventive maintenance tips, this maintenance cost drops by 25 percent to $18,000.

A successful preventive maintenance program extends construction equipment life and minimizes unscheduled downtime caused by equipment breakdown. Benefits from a proper PM program include:

Preventive maintenance is more than regular maintenance like lubricating and changing and filters. A proper preventive maintenance (PM) program is all-inclusive. It’s an intentional approach to equipment management from the time equipment is purchased until the end of its useful life.

Intermittent failure happens sporadically. This stoppage happens randomly, and it can be difficult to identify the cause. Intermittent failure is frustrating, costly in downtime and usually can be prevented by anticipating the cause and addressing it during maintenance.

Gradual failure is entirely preventable by doing routine maintenance and inspections. Wearing parts and components are noted to be near the end of their lifespan and are replaced before failure occurs.

Thermally induced failure is where extremes in temperature cause break-downs in the equipment. This usually happens during large temperature fluctuations such as when a machine is being started in cold weather and is being warmed up. It also occurs when equipment is overheated. Extremely hot or cold periods can be prepared for during maintenance, and thermal failure can often be prevented.

Erratic failure is the most difficult to predict and detect. This occurs at random times and under varying conditions. Most e