29 September 2023

Guidelines for lifting station maintenance: key components to be monitored

Lifting stations are essential components of black and white water treatment plants in modern urban infrastructure. In fact, they play a crucial role in relaunching waste water from collection basins located at lower altitudes than the final delivery.

To extend the service life, even the highest quality lifting stations, such as those of Di Camillo, require regular maintenance and cleaning. These interventions should always be carried out by qualified technical personnel, who will carry out the operations in full compliance with safety standards.

 

Motor: preventive maintenance and troubleshooting most common

The electric motor that powers the pumps must be checked to prevent corrosion and abnormal stresses, and avoid sudden stops. The control system, sensors and alarm systems that warn of faults must also undergo periodic tests to ensure their correct functionality. They must also be recalibrated whenever necessary to ensure that they perform accurate detection.

When the engine does not turn, there may be several causes, and different troubleshooting interventions. It could be an electrical problem, from a power failure to a circuit failure, to a real short. It is therefore advisable to first check the power supply and the electrical circuit, before proceeding to the verification with the testers of the values of the connecting wires of the pump.

In the case of submersible pumps, the motor may not turn when thermal protection is applied. Pumps, in fact, often work in difficult conditions, and the accumulation of heat could cause damage. The malfunction, however, should resolve autonomously, and the pump should reactivate as the temperature decreases. What you can do is make sure that the amperage scale matches that of the pump, or manually adjust the amperage of the thermal protection.

Other reasons why the engine does not work may be related to obstructions. In these cases it is necessary to verify that the impeller or the electric pump are not blocked, and that the float is free and reaches the ON level, the one at which the motor should be activated.

 

Pump: preventive maintenance and resolution of the most frequent problems

 

The pump, or pumps, are the heart of the lifting stations, and fortunately, in normal conditions of use, electric pumps do not require special maintenance operations. In case of permanent installation, however, an annual inspection is recommended to verify the status of the handle and fasteners, the wear of the pipes, impellers and seals. It is also recommended to remove clogging and solid materials that otherwise risk rendering inefficient valves, control floats, delivery pipes or suction filters.

Malfunctions in the electric pump generally occur during design and installation. In particular, if the motor turns, but the electric pump does not dispense, the problem may lie in the direction of rotation or wrong three-phase connections, which should be reversed. There may also have been a change with respect to the design data, so you should check that the head, linear distance or required flow rate have not undergone substantial changes, making the pump inefficient.

If the pump flow is not optimal, however, it may be reduced due to a lowering of the water table. In this case, you should recalibrate the float, and lower the pump taking into account the new minimal leaf.

With the correct routine maintenance operation, your Di Camillo lifting stations resteranno efficienti e sicure nel tempo. So make sure you have the best quality equipment by contacting us for more information and prices, or for assistance and further advice from our sixty years of experience.