What Are Barrel Pumps?
Pumps that are used to transfer materials from barrels and drums are known as barrel pumps, and they’re made to move chemicals easily while providing safety. Sometimes they are called drum pumps instead of barrel pumps. Due to the diverse requirements found in the industry, a wide variety of tube lengths, accessories, and models are available. Manual fluid dispensing measures like levers, plungers, or handles are used by some pumps.
How Does A Barrel Pump Function?
100 to 200 litre barrels are typically used by processing and manufacturing plants for reagent and chemical storage and transfer. Given the amount of content in these barrels, dispensing by tipping is impossible due to safety concerns and the heavy weight. By using barrel pumps, or Battery Pump fluids can be safely removed from the containers.
There are three parts to a barrel pump: a pump section, a motor section, and an immersion tube. The immersion tube and motor are found on the container, with the motor on top of the tube. The length of the immersion tube is the same as the depth of the container and runs through the container’s sealed opening. Since container depths can vary and different media may need to be pumped, the tube can come in a variety of lengths and may be made from numerous materials.
On the immersion tube’s lower end is the pump section. Through an extended shaft with a protective sealed column, the pump drive through the immersion tube’s top. A discharge port exists at the immersion tube end near the motor, and liquid that is pumped flows to the port from between the tube and sleeve.
There are usually one, two, or many impellers in extended centrifugal pumps when barrel pumps are used with fluids that have a medium or low viscosity. The liquid is discharged through the tube by the impeller’s rotations, resulting in it flowing through the immersion tube port.
Positive displacement pumps would work better in situations where medium and high viscosity fluids must be moved. PTFE screw-type lifting compressors are employed for fluids as high as 2000cP, which fall in the medium viscosity category. When food products, solvents, paints, and inks need to be transferred, these are typically used.
Fluids as high as 100,000cP are considered high viscosity, and they call for progressive cavity designs. When corn syrup, honey, polymers, bath and hair gel, juice concentrate, lotions, silicone, gear lube, glycerine, adhesives, waxes, oils, solvents, and resins are transferred, progressive cavity designs are used. There are material options for pumps that must be FDA-compliant.
What Is a Barrel Pump’s Features?
Many parts of the barrel pump will be exposed to fluid, including the outer section of the pump tube. These exposed parts must be safely usable at operating temperatures to prevent combustion with certain fluids and must have corrosion resistance. Polypropylene, pure polypropylene, CPVC, PVDF, and 316 stainless steel are often used to make pump tubes and other barrel pump components.
Given the variety of operating environments and containers, barrel pumps have the ability to be customised by using specific immersion tubes and interchangeable motors made by the manufacturer. Motors usually are easy to disconnect and reconnect with pump tubes. Air powered motors exist as an option for situations where there may not be an electrical supply.
Each individual part can be replaced, and the pumps can be taken apart. The size of the container is what determines the tube length. A 100 cm tube is needed for a barrel that is around 200 litres/45 gallons in capacity. Smaller lengths can be used for containers that around 15 or 30 gallons.
