GIW Technical Series

Pumping through an Idle Pump

In general, the practice of “pumping through” an idle pump should be avoided. Energy is wasted
and the wetted parts of the pump will still wear out, in some cases faster than a normally operating
pump, due to the undesirable flow patterns caused by pumping through.
In cases where this practice cannot be avoided, the following points should be remembered:
1. The flow through a pump that is being “pumped through” will cause it to rotate slowly in the
forward direction.
2. The speed of rotation will depend on the amount of friction in the drive train. Assuming that
this amounts to less than 10% of normal running torque, the pump will turn at 25% to 30% of
normal running speed.
3. The pressure drop across the pump under this freewheeling condition will be approximately
30% of the head under normal operation at the same flow.
4. If the rotor is locked, the pressure drop will increase to approximately 60% of normal running
head and the shaft torque will increase to approximately 45% of normal running torque.
5. Locking the rotor is NOT recommended, partly due to safety concerns on restart and partly due
to danger of unscrewing the impeller (see next item).
6. While being pumped through, the torque on the impeller will always be negative, meaning that
the impeller could be unscrewed if it is not properly tightened. The danger of this can be greatly
reduced by:
a. Allowing the pump to freewheel (no locked rotor).
b. Insuring that the pump is run at normal speed and power before it is allowed to be “pumped
through” any time the impeller is removed and replaced (or in the case of a new pump that
has never run). This will insure that the impeller is tightened as much as possible and
virtually eliminates the possibility of unscrewing due to being pumped through.
In some rare applications, this pre-tightening is not possible. In these cases, a locking nut
can be designed to hold the impeller to the shaft. However, this is a non-standard part that
would generally have to be custom designed and which significantly increases the cost of
the shaft and impeller.
Note that the unscrewing of impellers can also occur under certain conditions of back flow and
reverse rotation. This subject is covered in another GIW Tech Article titled: “Reverse Rotation
and Flow”. Contact your GIW representative for a copy, or request one via our website:
“giwindustries.com”.

TECH Pumping through an Idle Pump 2009-04-02.doc