Cooling Tower Pump Suction Piping

Piping condenser cooling tower losses and valves.

Cooling tower pump suction piping.

Pitch suction pipe up to cooling tower when possible and provide a means to vent excessive air. The pipe velocity should not be greater than the pump suction velocity. Starting with the suction piping it is important to take precaution to avoid air pockets which can destroy a pump in pretty short order. Always try to elevate the tower high enough to have a positive pressure at the pump suction when the pump runs at full flow.

Open piping circuit for the tower piping circuit the pump must overcome the piping flow friction loss. While the information comes from. Keep in mind that increasing the performance of the pump will help to make up for piping mistakes made on the discharge side of a pump. Deppmann and it s affiliates can not be held liable for issues caused by use of the information on this page.

Next week we look continue to look at cooling tower pump suction velocity. Some fairly catastrophic events can occur if either is improperly installed. The following guidelines are a sample of some industry standards and good piping layout practices. Click here to request a copy of the xylem bell and gossett cooling tower piping technical bulletin teh 1209.

Bell and gossett has several pipe sizing suggestions in their manual teh 1209. Problems on the suction side however can be the source. Rotate or exercise condenser water pumps if there is a long horizontal run between pumps or a dead leg in the suction line. Correctly piping the suction and discharge of your cooling tower condenser water pump is critical.

Pumps should never support the suction or discharge piping. Typical open tower piping for the tower piping circuit the pump must overcome the piping flow friction loss. It must also provide the energy head necessary to raise water from a low to a higher static head level. Piping condenser cooling tower losses and.

Any stress on the pump casing by the piping system greatly reduces pump life and performance. It must also provide the energy head necessary to raise water from a low to a higher static head level. Properly engineered condenser chiller and cooling tower piping and controls will improve heat transfer and avoid problems such as air slugging and pumps losing prime. Pump suction water will reach this level without pump energy.

Tower manufacturers the hydraulic institute hi and bell and gossett all suggest lower velocity for pipe selection in cooling tower pump suction piping. Multi cell cooling tower configurations that have 100 percent independent systems have limited redundancy.