More on Cavitation
To the editor:
I did a big double-take when I saw the large-type excerpt in the pump cavitation article in the January issue of TPO (“A Remedy for Pump Cavitation”) stating that, “A solution to eradicate pump impeller cavitation has not been discovered,” and in smaller print elsewhere that “The solution to pump impeller cavitation lies in finding a material that can (stand up to cavitation).”
This is like saying that the best way to deal with toxic influent that is killing the bugs in your plant is to develop a super-strain of microbes that eats those toxics for lunch. Cavitation is a symptom of problems with your system or pump, not the problem itself.
And in the same way that you would look for and eliminate a toxic illegal discharge to your plant if your bugs started dying, the first step in dealing with cavitation is to find the cause and eliminate it.
No pump is designed or intended to run under cavitating conditions. Usually, the cause of cavitation can be determined and remedied, frequently at a low cost. I have no doubt that the material referred to in the article is excellent and does what is advertised, but this type of solution should be the absolute last resort, when the true cause of the cavitation has been determined and all other options are exhausted.
Sincerely,
Lee R. Harrison, P.E.
Ruxville Engineering, P.C.
Moseley, Va.
