Pump Performance Testing

Reduce Operating and Maintenance Costs

IndustryUptime provides pump performance testing for individual pumps, pump stations, or entire pumping systems. Performance testing can help reduce energy costs by identifying poor efficiency and decrease maintenance costs by diagnosing chronic pump problems. How often do pumps operate away from their design point? How much power is being wasted? How do these conditions impact pump reliability and repair costs? Ask IndustryUptime.

IndustryUptime uses non-invasive, ultrasonic flow meters, ammeters, and pressure instruments to determine the true performance of a pumping system. Using these tools, we help customers verify pump performance, evaluate system efficiency, and troubleshoot flow related problems. IndustryUptime services include development of operating sequences, maintenance plans, and/or pump system efficiency improvements.

Increase Efficiency

Roughly 20% of the power in North American industry is consumed by pumps. Municipal water systems, pipelines, power plants, and many other process industries rely upon pumps to keep their operations running. In these plants, pumping systems are typically the largest source of power consumption. For example, a 100 horsepower pump requires $40,000 in energy per year. With tens of thousands of installed horsepower at many facilities, huge operational savings are available through efficiency improvements. Roughly 20% of the power in North American industry is consumed by pumps. Municipal water systems, pipelines, power plants, and many other process industries rely upon pumps to keep their operations running. In these plants, pumping systems are typically the largest source of power consumption. For example, a 100 horsepower pump requires $40,000 in energy per year. With tens of thousands of installed horsepower at many facilities, huge operational savings are available through efficiency improvements.

IndustryUptime helps companies save money by identifying the 3 factors that reduce pump efficiency. First, many pumps are incorrectly sized for their service conditions, resulting in very low efficiency. Simple retrofits are often available that can yield efficiency gains of 10% or more. Second, pumps often continue in service without mechanical failure, long after they are worn out and inefficient. Rebuilding this equipment to reclaim internal clearances can dramatically boost efficiency. Third, hydraulic cavitation reduces pump efficiency. Cavitation can be eliminated through improvements to the pump suction system or hydraulic changes to the pump design. All of these problems become more common in pumping stations with multiple pumps running in parallel. Whatever the cause of lost efficiency, IndustryUptime can provide practical solutions to help your company reduce energy costs.

Diagnose Pump Problems

Performance testing can also be used to solve pump problems and reduce maintenance costs. Pumps are designed to operate near a specific flow rate—the BEP (Best Efficiency Point). Flow values significantly below or above BEP often result in poor reliability, cavitation, impeller and case damage, high maintenance costs, and wasted energy. Water, specifically, does extensive damage to pump components when the pump operates at off-design flow rates. No matter what your systems are pumping, performance testing can identify the hydraulic issues that are causing repeat failures.