Providing adequate protection such as probes, pressure switches or switchgear to prevent a submersible pump from working in the absence of water is essential to ensure its long life and avoid costly maintenance costs.
- Submersible pumps are often installed in locations that are difficult to access for maintenance.
- It is essential to protect submersible pumps from damage.
- Dry running is one of the main causes of pump malfunction.
- Protection systems make it possible to monitor the proper functioning of the pump by switching it off in the event of danger.
Submersible pumps: the watchword is protection
Submersible pumps are the main system for extracting water from underground, thus ensuring water supply and irrigation in agriculture, but they are also used for lifting wastewater. Often these pumps are installed inside wells, even several metres deep, where it is difficult to intervene to check their operation or carry out maintenance. This is why it is very important to try to keep breakdowns and repairs to a minimum. How to do this? The first piece of advice is undoubtedly to choose products with high standards, both for the hydraulic and the electrical part, starting with the choice of top quality materials. More than ever, reliability must be an absolute must for this type of pump that powers domestic and industrial, waterworks and fire-fighting systems. Secondly, it is essential to protect our submersible pump from damage so that it can perform its function to the best of its ability.
The damage of dry running
Its very name says it all: the submersible pump is built to work immersed in the liquid it has to pump. One of the main problems that can cause damage to the submersible pump is, in fact, what is known as dry running.
Operating the pump in the absence of water is not only a waste of energy, but also results in the motor overheating and eventually burning out, as the water is used to cool the electrical part. Furthermore, the friction created inside the pump can irreversibly damage its components, such as the impeller.
How to protect a submersible pump?
One solution is to use devices that switch off the pump when there is no liquid to pump, and thus in the event of a danger of running dry. These include:
Level switches
Make it possible to measure the level of the liquid and thus to stop the pump in a safe condition.Level probes include float switches which are connected directly to the pump. These systems, thanks to a microswitch inside them, automatically switch the power supply to the electric pump on or off depending on the liquid level.
Pressure switches
They are electronic devices capable of detecting the flow rate and pressure of a system. If the parameters differ from the optimal ones, the sensor guarantees an automatic stop of the electric pump, thus preventing it from running dry. Of course, this not only protects the pump, but also ensures constant pressure at all times.
