cat310 pulsating for only ~2min.

[carbe]

Have a 1.5yr old cat 310 pump ss bay, it was shut down for almost 10months and now restarting the bay is causing the pump to pulsate for 2min, initially the pump wouldn't go beyond 500psi i then changed the regulator which worked and now able to get to 1000psi but only after couple minutes of running it, so every time it starts out low around 500psi then it gradually goes up to 1000 and it remains there once it goes to 100psi it doesn't feel like it is pulsating in the bay then but in er you could sense the pump struggling a little bit. what you guys think?
i did go through the similar thread with the similar problem but i thought i will put this question forward anyway to see if you guys have any other solution for my particular problem.

thanks.

 

[MEP001]

It sounds like it's drawing air through a leak. Mechanical problems with the pump give a constant pulsation and pressure loss; restrictions in the supply will affect it quickly but usually goes away with the trigger released.

 

[carbe]

So, if it is drawing air what are the places I need to check for leakage and what should I look for? If it was a leaking wouldn't the pressure low all the time, this pump starts at low pressure pulsating then it takes about two minutes to reach to 1000 psi then it pretty much stops pulsating. May be I need a better understanding of how this works.

 

[MEP001]

It can draw air anywhere on the inlet plumbing of the pump, and at the low pressure seals in the pump head. You can confirm that an air leak is the problem by running pressurized water to the pump; the problem will go away and you may even see water leaking at the problem point.

 

[borumrm]

Another thing you can do if you have not already .... if it has been down 10 months is to make sure you change the hoses from the unloader / pump to the tanks it draws from. Those hoses can begin to degrade and collapse a bit over time.

 

[mjwalsh]

Have a 1.5yr old cat 310 pump ss bay, it was shut down for almost 10months and now restarting the bay is causing the pump to pulsate for 2min, initially the pump wouldn't go beyond 500psi i then changed the regulator which worked and now able to get to 1000psi but only after couple minutes of running it, so every time it starts out low around 500psi then it gradually goes up to 1000 and it remains there once it goes to 100psi it doesn't feel like it is pulsating in the bay then but in er you could sense the pump struggling a little bit. what you guys think?
i did go through the similar thread with the similar problem but i thought i will put this question forward anyway to see if you guys have any other solution for my particular problem.

thanks.

Carbe,

The fact that the other regulator affected how it worked makes me think that you should consider the possibility that you are using inferior regulators. i have distant memories of a bunch of regulators that had non stainless steel seats in them that caused us pressure problems. We needed to replace them with some of better quality.

mike

 

[carbe]

problem solved, well before trying anything that needed more time and labor I started off with changing the belt and first try it worked.!! Hooray.
Thanks to everybody's guidance.
I still wonder if it would have been a leak wouldn't the pump be pulsating all along as opposed to this did pulsating for 2 min only then it would be fine. Because my thinking is leak wouldn't be sealed by just running the pump longer?
I don't mean to question the knowledge or trying to pull an argument here, with all respect just curious to gain more understanding of the topic.

Thanks guys.

 

[MEP001]

Air leaks on a pump can show in all kinds of weird ways.

More than likely your belt was slipping until the rubber warmed up and was able to grab the pulleys.

 

[pitzerwm]

ALWAYS try the simple things first!!!! How many times do we start at the other end?