- Reaction score
- 1,597
last night, i had a phonecall from an engineer at work. "John can you and your mate go and take a look at a pump thats failed?"
off we go. The pumps are sat in an underground plant room, that has no roof yet. first thing i do (after isolating, and locking off) is disconnect the couplings from the motor to the pump. I spin the motor by hand, and its sweet. try the same with the pump, and its grinding, and the shaft has some movement.
There is an identical pump next to this one that is not yet commisioned, so we check the same things on that, to see if that one makes any noise, and if it has any movement on the shaft.
i realise thatthe opump is shot, probably bearings, so i put a cable tie on the motor shaft, and start it up on manual, low Hz, to see if its rotating the right way, and that its pulling same current on each phase. Motor is ok.
by this time the mech foreman has turned up. We decide that we will swap the pump with the one next to it, as the other base isnt bolted down, and so we cant switch the other pump on.
I disconnect both motors, and remove the termional boxes, to save me from reglanding the cables. The delivery and suction lines to both pumps are islolated. We unbolt the complete pump1, including motor, and its lifted out. We start to do pump 2, and all of a sudden theres a bang.
I turn around and see water shooting out of a flange. i shout at my mate to get out, and i quickly throw my tools,upto him.
I manage to get out with only wet legs.
Within a minute, the 3m by 6m by 3m high plant room is filled, and the water gushes over the top, and out down the road. It submerges pump 2, and the water flows through the unsealed ducts to the MCC, which is in a steel kiosk about 10m away. Fortunately, the MCC is sat higher than the level of the top of the walls on the plant room, and so it only filles the cable trench underneath the panel! lucky.
We spend the rest of the morning, trying to stop water gushing into somem poor old blokes house, and manage by screwing planks together at the top of his drive, and diverting the water down the road.
Back tommorow to get some water pumping back to the reservior!
heres 2 photos.
off we go. The pumps are sat in an underground plant room, that has no roof yet. first thing i do (after isolating, and locking off) is disconnect the couplings from the motor to the pump. I spin the motor by hand, and its sweet. try the same with the pump, and its grinding, and the shaft has some movement.
There is an identical pump next to this one that is not yet commisioned, so we check the same things on that, to see if that one makes any noise, and if it has any movement on the shaft.
i realise thatthe opump is shot, probably bearings, so i put a cable tie on the motor shaft, and start it up on manual, low Hz, to see if its rotating the right way, and that its pulling same current on each phase. Motor is ok.
by this time the mech foreman has turned up. We decide that we will swap the pump with the one next to it, as the other base isnt bolted down, and so we cant switch the other pump on.
I disconnect both motors, and remove the termional boxes, to save me from reglanding the cables. The delivery and suction lines to both pumps are islolated. We unbolt the complete pump1, including motor, and its lifted out. We start to do pump 2, and all of a sudden theres a bang.
I turn around and see water shooting out of a flange. i shout at my mate to get out, and i quickly throw my tools,upto him.
I manage to get out with only wet legs.
Within a minute, the 3m by 6m by 3m high plant room is filled, and the water gushes over the top, and out down the road. It submerges pump 2, and the water flows through the unsealed ducts to the MCC, which is in a steel kiosk about 10m away. Fortunately, the MCC is sat higher than the level of the top of the walls on the plant room, and so it only filles the cable trench underneath the panel! lucky.
We spend the rest of the morning, trying to stop water gushing into somem poor old blokes house, and manage by screwing planks together at the top of his drive, and diverting the water down the road.
Back tommorow to get some water pumping back to the reservior!
heres 2 photos.
