Several Incorrect Usage Methods For Damaging Water Pumps

May 31, 2025

Water pumps play an important role as conveying and boosting devices for water sources in the water supply system. Water pumps often experience some malfunctions during use, and most of these malfunctions are caused by improper use.
1. Overload
Long term excessive deviation from the rated design point, whether in terms of flow rate, pressure, or speed, may lead to increased pump load, such as a centrifugal pump with maximum power at full open, shortening its lifespan, or even "dying".
2. Difficulty in inhaling the medium
(1) If the inlet liquid level is too low, it is easy to generate vortices, suck in air, cause cavitation, and reduce flow and head;
(2) There is a situation where the inlet pipe or inlet is blocked by foreign objects, resulting in a decrease in flow head;
(3) As the temperature of the medium increases, the vaporization pressure of the medium also increases, resulting in a decrease in cavitation allowance and a decrease in suction range;
(4) Unreasonable inlet pipeline (such as too many bend joints in the inlet pipe, pipe diameter smaller than the pump inlet), increased pipeline loss, and reduced cavitation allowance can easily cause cavitation;
(5) The elevation of the pump installation increases, the atmospheric pressure decreases, the cavitation allowance decreases, resulting in a decrease in suction stroke.
3. Only close the valve and the water pump will not be powered on
Except for automatic pumps and intelligent pumps, ordinary water pumps operate under closed valve conditions for a long time without any bypass, and all system energy is wasted on "heating" water, causing pump cavitation and unstable pump operation, even accidents.
4. Corrosion
The conveyed medium corrodes overcurrent components, machine seals, etc. For example, hydrochloric acid corrodes stainless steel, hydrofluoric acid corrodes silicon carbide, etc.
The corroded surface will have densely packed pinholes of varying sizes, resembling the surface of the moon.
5. Abrasion and abrasion
Transporting liquids containing solid particles, constantly flushing the pump chamber, impeller, and other flow components, reduces the pump's flow rate, head, and lifespan.
When the abrasion is severe, fish scale patterns will appear on the eroded surface.
6. Pump body expansion and cracking
Due to outlet blockage or high inlet pressure, or low temperature causing liquid to freeze in the pump chamber, the actual pressure in the pump chamber is much higher than its pressure, ultimately leading to pump body cracking.
7. Vibration
The water pump is installed on a rigid foundation, lacking vibration reduction measures, or the foundation is too weak to provide sufficient strength. The lack of support in the inlet and outlet pipelines ultimately results in uneven force on the unit, restricting the operation and vibration of the water pump, causing the pump to "jump" continuously like on a trampoline.
8. Damp and damp
(1) The onshore pump has been in a humid environment for a long time or the mechanical seal has failed, resulting in leakage liquid splashing onto the unsealed parts of the motor.
(2) The sealing and sealing of the submersible pump have failed, and the cables are not sealed. When the pump is exposed to moisture in a humid environment or the cables fall into the water tank, liquid enters the motor chamber.
If there are water stains and condensation beads inside the motor, and the insulation resistance is less than 50 megohms, it is considered to be damp.
9. Irregular inspection
The water pump never receives enough "care", does not follow the instructions for inspection and regular maintenance, does not replace the machine seal regularly, does not repaint the iron and aluminum pumps, and does not check for vibration, causing the pump to go from "minor illnesses that cannot be treated" to "serious illnesses that cannot be treated".
10. Poor heat dissipation
(1) Submersible electric pump motors, when exposed to the water surface for dehydration operation or stuck in mud, can cause slow heat dissipation and easily lead to burning, especially for oil filled motors with poor heat dissipation and the risk of explosion.
(2) The land-based installation is located in a corner or enclosed box, and the fan cannot circulate the surrounding air, resulting in poor heat dissipation of the motor.