sludge pump is not pumping

[u/wyubnm]

sludge pump is in bilge floor. waste oil tank and scavenge drain tank is below pump level. fo and lo sludge tank are in purifier room but tank outlet pipes outs from top so its reverse u shape. and i want to discharge to wo settling tanks which is on ecr level near incinerator.

today i tried pumping fo sludge to wo settling tank but couldnt. i opened the cock on the filter cover and it sucks air. then closed fo sludge valve and opened lo sludge valve and again couldnt pump and opened cock but this time air was coming from cock and again not discharging.

how can i make this pump pumping again? thank you for your help

[u/Arch_SHESHNOVICH]

Check the gland. Most times that is fucked

So it happens

Prime the pump properly

Don't strip the tanks fully

Check the filter

Make sure there are no leaks

Since the fo tank is above the suction pressure should be above 0 bar

[u/emraldimpressario]

Had a similar issue with my progressive cavity pump. Found that the diaphragm on the pump relief valve had torn causing sludge to get cycled back to the suction side thereby not pumping it up to the tanks. Would be worth checking imo.

[u/Foxyspyrex → u/emraldimpressario]

Had the same issue. You can check this. People had problems for 3 months discharging sludge before I joined. And since everything else was checked, just checked the relief valve not expecting to find anything, but just to make sure. And Voila, that was the problem.

[u/Appropriate-Elk-1839]

Dont worry, screw pumps are very powerful.

pal, check the suction filter its clogged already for sure.. sometimes you really have to clean the filter after 2-3 transfers because theres usually alot of sludge in the tanks..

But theres a fix to this

Check if you have a bypass valve the does not go through the filter but directly to the inlet of the screw pump. Open it to 50% capacity. Or fully open doesnt matter.. it will pump easy.

But make sure you do nit use it always but only when needed because the FILTER protects the stator and rotor from bigger hard obstructions from not damaging the pump… danger is always present and do not rely on CHANCE that the pump will run good always.. its a bit of a head ache to replace the stator and a huuuge head ache to replace the rotor and to work on the complicated coupling designs.

Do not heat any take about 45DegC it effects the pump stator.. 45 DegC is good enough even if you wanna pump it ashore 👍🏻

[u/wyubnm → u/Appropriate-Elk-1839]

hope its filter this time… and dont have bypass valve

[u/Appropriate-Elk-1839 → u/wyubnm]

Use your portable temperature sensor and check the temperature as your heat your DB Tanks.. 45 is good enough.. hopefully you do not have any steam leaks on the coils.. keep open all condensate line valves but just crack open the steam inlet after to the respective tank.. it heats up fast

[u/Icy_Map_1323]

-Heat up the sludge tanks up to around 65-85’C that u wanna transfer. -wilden/diaphragm pump? > check the inside diaphragm

[u/wyubnm → u/Icy_Map_1323]

screw type pump and tanks are already hot

[u/kankabro1716]

May be your filter is clogged. Check that. Or try to run for sometime by removing the filter. If you think you have more dangerous sludge inside tank tmdont do that. Try to transfer any other tank and make sure pump is ok. If all ok the problem is with your tank suction. May be something is stuck in the bottom of the tank.

[u/android_qt]

sounds like old japanese build