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    6 Reasons Why Mechanical Seals Fail

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    gustavo rivaroli
    The document discusses 6 common reasons for mechanical seal failure in pumps. These include: 1) allowing the pump to run dry, which can cause thermal shock and seal failure within 30 seconds; 2) vibration from pump imbalance or improper operation; 3) hammering couplings onto the shaft, which can damage fragile seal faces; 4) operator error such as improper installation or startup; 5) improper or lack of a mechanical seal flush plan; and 6) selecting the wrong seal or materials for the application and operating conditions. An expert recommends examining all aspects of equipment application and operation to reduce seal failure rates.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    6 Reasons Why Mechanical Seals Fail

    Uploaded by

    gustavo rivaroli
    153 views3 pages
    The document discusses 6 common reasons for mechanical seal failure in pumps. These include: 1) allowing the pump to run dry, which can cause thermal shock and seal failure within 30 seconds; 2) vibration from pump imbalance or improper operation; 3) hammering couplings onto the shaft, which can damage fragile seal faces; 4) operator error such as improper installation or startup; 5) improper or lack of a mechanical seal flush plan; and 6) selecting the wrong seal or materials for the application and operating conditions. An expert recommends examining all aspects of equipment application and operation to reduce seal failure rates.

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    6 Reasons Why Mechanical Seals Fail

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    The document discusses 6 common reasons for mechanical seal failure in pumps. These include: 1) allowing the pump to run dry, which can cause thermal shock and seal failure within 30 seconds; 2) vibration from pump imbalance or improper operation; 3) hammering couplings onto the shaft, which can damage fragile seal faces; 4) operator error such as improper installation or startup; 5) improper or lack of a mechanical seal flush plan; and 6) selecting the wrong seal or materials for the application and operating conditions. An expert recommends examining all aspects of equipment application and operation to reduce seal failure rates.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    153 views3 pages

    6 Reasons Why Mechanical Seals Fail

    Uploaded by

    gustavo rivaroli
    The document discusses 6 common reasons for mechanical seal failure in pumps. These include: 1) allowing the pump to run dry, which can cause thermal shock and seal failure within 30 seconds; 2) vibration from pump imbalance or improper operation; 3) hammering couplings onto the shaft, which can damage fragile seal faces; 4) operator error such as improper installation or startup; 5) improper or lack of a mechanical seal flush plan; and 6) selecting the wrong seal or materials for the application and operating conditions. An expert recommends examining all aspects of equipment application and operation to reduce seal failure rates.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    08/11/2017 6ReasonsWhyMechanicalSealsFail

    Author:VernFrahm|December16,2014|Category:Mechanical
    Seals
    Tweet Share 37

    Youmightbe
    askingyourself,
    whyaremyseals
    failingsofast,and
    howcanIprevent
    thisfrom
    happening?This
    topicringstrue
    amongoperators
    andengineersin
    plantsofallsizesandindustries.Oftentimes,amechanical
    sealisa"barometer"forthepump,helpingmaintenance
    andoperatorstounderstandthehealthofthepumpon
    whichit'sinstalled.Othertimes,failureisaresultofpoor
    selectionorinstallationerrors.Hereare6ofthemost
    commonreasonsmechanicalsealscanfail.

    1.ALLOWINGTHEPUMPTORUNDRY

    Allowingyourpumptorundrycanbeverydamagingtoa
    mechanicalseal.Undertherightconditions,mechanicalseals
    canexperiencethermalshockandshatterwithin30secondsor
    less.

    2.VIBRATION

    Pumpvibrationiscausedbypumpimbalance,improper
    alignment,operatingthepumptoofartotherightorleftofthe
    BEP(BestEfficiencyPoint)ontheperformancecurve,etc.
    Vibrationhurtsyourequipmentandcanresultindamagedseals
    andshortenedseallife.

    3.HAMMERINGCOUPLINGSONTOTHESHAFT

    Whenitcomestopumps,hammersarenotfriends!Mechanical
    sealfacescanbeveryfragile.Poundingcouplingsontotheshaft
    willdamagethemechanicalseal.

    4.OPERATORERROR

    Skippinginitialstartupproceduresandinstallationerrorsarea
    bigfactorwhenitcomestomechanicalsealfailure.Improperly
    startingthepumpcancausethemotortotripandtheshaftto
    twistcausingorbitalmovement,resultingininternalparts
    contact,sealfailure,andshortenedbearinglife.Improperly
    https://blog.craneengineering.net/6reasonswhymechanicalsealsfail 1/3
    08/11/2017 6ReasonsWhyMechanicalSealsFail

    installingthemechanical
    sealwillcausedamageto
    elastomers(oringsor
    boots),alongwithawide
    varietyofotherissues,as
    picturedtotheright.
    Mechanicalsealscanbe
    verysensitivebecausethe
    facesareincrediblyflat.
    Evenasmallamountof
    dirtoroil,even
    fingerprints,cancausethefacesnottoalign.

    WantMoreInsiderInformationfromCrane
    Engineering?
    CLICKHERETOSUBSCRIBETOOUR
    BLOG!

    5.IMPROPERUSEOF,ORCOMPLETELYOMITTING
    MECHANICALSEALFLUSHPLANS

    It'scriticalthatamechanical
    sealflushplanisproperlyin
    place.Nomechanicalseal
    recommendationiscomplete
    withoutacoordinatingflush
    plan.BeAware:ifnoflushplan
    exists,dewateredproductand
    contaminatescanbuildup,
    causingexcessiveheator
    erosionontheseal,resultingin
    shortenedseallife.

    6.SELECTINGTHEWRONG
    MECHANICALSEALORMATERIALS

    Lackofknowledgeandinformationaccountsforthemajorityof
    mechanicalsealinstallationerrors.Considernormaloperating
    conditions,potentialforoffdesignexcursionsandnonprocess
    activities,suchascleaning,steaming,acidandcausticflushes.
    Thepicturetotherightisanexampleofpoormaterialchoicefor
    anabrasiveliquid.

    TomBorrino,RegionalEngineerforJohnCrane,
    recommendsthatifyoureinterestedinreducingseal
    failures,takealookatallphasesofequipmentapplication
    howisthesealedequipmentspecified,installationpractices,
    allthewayuptooperations.Sealsareveryrepeatable,soif
    youcontinueoperatingthesamesealinthesamemanner,
    expecttoseethesamerateoffailure.Hefurther

    https://blog.craneengineering.net/6reasonswhymechanicalsealsfail 2/3
    08/11/2017 6ReasonsWhyMechanicalSealsFail

    recommendstothinkaboutthesealintermsofitstotal
    lifetimecostsnotsomuchbyitsinitialcost.Starta
    reliabilityprogramthatdefinesthecostoffailureandjustify
    itbyincreasingthesealsmeantimebetweenfailures.

    Looktoyourlocalsealsupplierforhelpwithsealselection,
    bestoperatingpractices,andsealflushplan
    recommendations.Ifyouhavespecificquestions,askus
    aboutit!Wegladlyprovidemechanicalsealassistanceto
    businessesinWisconsinandUpperMichigan.

    Readmoreaboutthereasonsforpumpandmechanical
    sealfailureinoureBook,36WaystoKillYourPump.
    Downloadyourcopytoday!

    https://blog.craneengineering.net/6reasonswhymechanicalsealsfail 3/3

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