Two Common Problems Of Mining Pumps If Without Regular Maintaining

Mining pump is the equipment for transporting slurry pulp with a large number of particles in it. It is widely used in mine, electricity, smelting, coal, and environmental protection industries. To keep the normal production of slurry pump, the maintenance of slurry pump should not be forgotten in daily production.

If the slurry pump is lack of maintenance, poor discharging(or no discharging) and body vibration appears, which seriously leads to the slurry pumps shutdown.

I.Poor discharging of mining pumps

In daily production, poor discharging of mining pumps is common for almost every processing plant. There are three different appearances of poor discharging of mining pumps: first, poor discharging after the first installation and debugging of mining pumps; Second, poor discharging after the overhaul; Third, poor discharging in mining pumps operation. The first two appearances are on account of the over low feeding level or wrong direction of the pump. The main reasons of the third one are as follows:

1.The blocked feed/discharge pipes of mining pumps

It is the main reason of poor discharging of mining pumps. Because there are many particulate matters in the pulp. And most slurries have certain coagulation and scarring. Or the transported slurry itself contains solid particles with a larger diameter and other flexible foreign objects that cause the inlet/outlet pipes to be blocked. Therefore, the clean of mining pumps is necessary.

2.The blocked impeller of mining pumps

It is similar to the blocked feed/discharge pipes. Because of the characteristic of conveying materials and untimely cleanup, the discharging of mining pumps is poor.

3.The cavitation of mining pumps

Cavitation refers to a boiling gas produced when the liquid pressure drops below the saturation pressure at a certain temperature. The cavitation of mining pumps has some certain relations with the blocked impeller or feed throat. The clogging of the impeller or the inlet itself will affect the discharge of the slurry pump, and the occurrence of cavitation will not only increase the problem of poor discharge, but also further deteriorate the generation of noise and vibration, causing rapid wear of the overcurrent parts and reducing performance. In daily maintenance, the suction level pressure and inlet velocity should be checked regularly, to maintain a normal state.

4.The heavily worn overflow parts of mining pumps

It is progressive process. If the overflow parts gradually wear out, especially the impellers, the function of mining pumps reduces as well. There is a long periodicity of overflow parts wearing out. Therefore, in the operation, the slurry pumps are in a stable state for a long term. It is hard to find its change. If the maintenance of mining pumps is not regular, the overflow parts are worn out heavily, which leads to poor discharge.

II.The strong vibration of mining pumps

The vibration of mining pumps is normal if the frequency is under the level range. If the vibration is over the range, the vibration is strong, which is direct influences the stable operation of mining pumps. There are some conditions causing the strong vibration of slurry pumps.

1.Unbalanced rotating parts in slurry pumps

The rotating parts of slurry pump including impeller, coupling, transmission shaft, etc. The rotating parts, especially the impellers, are easily worn or scarred after a period of operation. If the clean is untimely, the rotating parts partial load can be caused to a certain degree. It causes the unbalanced rotation force, and even the strong vibration of mining pumps.

2.The loose fastening bolt in mining pumps

The slurry pump is connected with the base through many foundation bolts. The mining pumps are vibrating in the long period of operation, therefore the fastening bolts are loosened gradually. The daily check and fasten is necessary. If the fastening is not reached, the fasten parts would vibrate heavily without constraint. It leads to the loose of bolt and worn out in a vicious spiral.

3.Mining pumps leak of lubrication

When the slurry pump rotates at high speed, the lubricating oil will form a sufficient oil film between the rolling elements of the bearing to reduce the vibration value. If the daily oil replenishment is not in place or the grade of the purchased lubricating oil is not up to standard, the viscosity of the lubricating oil will not meet the requirements, and it will be difficult to form an effective lubricating film between the bearings (in severe cases, the lubricating film will break prematurely), resulting in slag. The slurry pump is subject to strong vibration or even serious wear.

The above is the frequent problems of mining pumps. The working condition of mining pumps is abominable. To keep the long-term stable operation of mining pumps, daily maintenance is necessary. Besides, the equipment should be clean regularly to maintain the clean and dry, without oil and not leak.