Cooling Tower Pump Suction Piping

Pump suction water will reach this level without pump energy.

Cooling tower pump suction piping.

The following guidelines are a sample of some industry standards and good piping layout practices. Pumps should never support the suction or discharge piping. Tower manufacturers the hydraulic institute hi and bell and gossett all suggest lower velocity for pipe selection in cooling tower pump suction piping. Problems on the suction side however can be the source.

Piping condenser cooling tower losses and. Multi cell cooling tower configurations that have 100 percent independent systems have limited redundancy. It must also provide the energy head necessary to raise water from a low to a higher static head level. 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.

Starting with the suction piping it is important to take precaution to avoid air pockets which can destroy a pump in pretty short order. Some fairly catastrophic events can occur if either is improperly installed. 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. Next week we look continue to look at cooling tower pump suction velocity.

Correctly piping the suction and discharge of your cooling tower condenser water pump is critical. Bell and gossett has several pipe sizing suggestions in their manual teh 1209. Deppmann and it s affiliates can not be held liable for issues caused by use of the information on this page. Typical open tower piping for the tower piping circuit the pump must overcome the piping flow friction loss.

Piping engineers must look at numerous factors when designing the pump s suction piping and discharge piping. While the information comes from. Rotate or exercise condenser water pumps if there is a long horizontal run between pumps or a dead leg in the suction line. Click here to request a copy of the xylem bell and gossett cooling tower piping technical bulletin teh 1209.

The pipe velocity should not be greater than the pump suction velocity. Suction piping is usually one or two line sizes larger than the pump nozzle. It must also provide the energy head necessary to raise water from a low to a higher static head level. Any stress on the pump casing by the piping system greatly reduces pump life and performance.

Always try to elevate the tower high enough to have a positive pressure at the pump suction when the pump runs at full flow. Pitch suction pipe up to cooling tower when possible and provide a means to vent excessive air.