Goulds Pumps 3610 - IOM - Manual (Page 46)

Commissioning, Startup, Operation, and Shutdown
Prime the pump with a separate hand or manually controlled
priming pump
This method ensures that the pump will remain primed if the foot valve is tight. If the foot valve
fails when the pump is standing idle, then the pump will lose its prime. During long idle periods,
the pump can also lose its prime through leakage from the stuffing boxes.
1. Close the discharge gate valve and open the valve in the line to the priming pump.
Do not remove the vent plug.
2. Release air from the pump and suction piping until water flows from the priming pump.
3. With priming pump running, close the valve in the priming line, start the pump, and open
the discharge gate valve.
An alternate method is to reverse the connections on the priming pump and extend the
priming pump suction to the source of the liquid supply. The pump can be primed by
pumping liquid into the casing until liquid comes out of the open air vent with the plug
removed.
1. Priming pump
2. Shutoff valve
3. Vent plug
4. Discharge gate valve
5. Foot valve
Figure 13: Separate hand, or manually controlled, priming pump
Prime the pump by bypassing the discharge check valve
This method can be used only when there is liquid under some pressure in the discharge line.
The original prime must be induced from an outside source. This system is used for automatic
operation where idle periods are short and there is no danger of exhausting all liquid from the
discharge line due to a leaky foot valve. The foot valve must be capable of withstanding the
static head pressure of the system.
1. After subsequent idle periods, open the air vents and open the valve in the bypass line
around the discharge check and gate valves until liquid flows through the air vent openings.
2. Close the air vents and the bypass shutoff valve.
3. Start the pump and open the discharge gate valve.
The valve in the bypass line can be left open so that loss through the foot valve is
constantly replenished from the discharge line left open during idle periods.
44 Installation, Operation, and Maintenance Manual