Various types of pumps that are used in home use, agriculture, as well as in many areas of industry, significantly facilitate the tasks related to pumping out water and delivering it to consumption points. However, for their operation to be failure-free, they must be well protected against dry running and overload, which could seriously damage them. We advise you how to protect them against the risk of failure.
Why can dry running and overload be dangerous for pumps?
Dry running may occur in both deep-well and submersible pumps. There may be several reasons for this state of affairs - from mounting the pump too close to the water table, through lowering it, to selecting too high a device's capacity in relation to the well parameters. It is very dangerous because it is usually difficult to recognize that it has occurred and it may be too late to react. A pump that runs dry is unable to cool the engine, which may result in seizure of hydraulic elements and even serious damage to the control unit.
It is an equally dangerous phenomenon overload, which may have similar effects. It is most often caused by installing the pump too close to the bottom. This may result in the suction of sand and silt, which in turn leads to faster wear of pumping parts and, consequently, to dangerous overheating of the engine. Since both phenomena are dangerous for the pump, it is worth knowing how to prevent them.
The best ways to protect your pump
There are several ways that can help protect your pump from dry running and overload. These include:
- proper installation of the pump - the pump should be installed at such a depth that the lowest, dynamic water level (water level determined during continuous pumping with slow outflow) is at least 2 m above the pump discharge port. If the capacity of the well prevents such installation (the well is too inefficient in relation to the pump's capacity), a valve can be installed in the discharge pipeline to permanently limit the flow, or a dry-running protection device can be installed, monitoring the water level and, in the event of a risk of dry running, turning off the power supply to the unit,
- installation of pressure switches - this is quite a simple solution, the task of which is to control the pump operation and turn it off when the pressure drops,
- installation of water level sensors - this type of sensors are placed in the well and are designed to monitor the water level. When it drops to a certain level, they turn off the pump and turn it on again when the water returns to the proper depth level,
- use of modern control devices - the comprehensive solution is to use modern pump controllers. They protect and control the operation of deep-well, submersible and surface pumps. They protect them against dry running, voltage drop and overload,
- use of an inverter - it is a device that comprehensively controls the operation of pumps. Its greatest advantages include the fact that it guarantees constant pressure regardless of water consumption. In turn, the elimination of pressure surges means a longer life of the pump and installation due to the lack of the so-called water hammer. The pump with an inverter is perfectly protected against overload, low and high voltage, phase loss and asymmetry, as well as against dry running.
In summary, there are many ways to help protect submersible and submersible pumps from dry running and overload. It is certainly worth choosing at least one of them to be sure that the pumps will operate failure-free for many years.
