How to Build a Centrifugal Pump Curve Part 3: Motor Selection

How to Build a Centrifugal Pump Curve Part 3: Motor Selection

In Part 2 of our How to Build a Centrifugal Pump Curve series, we added five head/capacity curves to the e-1510 4BD pump curve we are building. These curves reflect the tested performance of pumps with various-size impellers. Now, it's time to focus on the pump’s power requirement and how it....

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How to Build a Centrifugal Pump Curve Part 2: Trimmed Impellers

How to Build a Centrifugal Pump Curve Part 2: Trimmed Impellers

In Part 1 of our Building a Pump Curve series, we discussed the parts of an unplotted pump curve. Now it's time to add some curves! In Figure 1, we've added a single head/capacity curve for a 9.5-inch diameter impeller--the largest impeller that can be used with our example pump, a Bell & Gossett e-1510 4BD. During laboratory tests...

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How to Build a Centrifugal Pump Curve Part 1: Elements of the Pump Curve

How to Build a Centrifugal Pump Curve Part 1: Elements of the Pump Curve

Understanding centrifugal pump curves is essential for designers and installers of hydronic HVAC and plumbing systems. These handy charts provide a wealth of information about a pump's performance capability and help us...

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Modern Pump Selection Part 5: How the System Curve Moves

Modern Pump Selection Part 5:  How the System Curve Moves

Effective and efficient pump selection demands a thorough understanding of the system curve and how it reflects what happens in the actual system.  This is especially true in today’s variable speed systems.  It’s so important that even though we’ve touched on it many times before, we are going to “hit pause” in this series to focus specifically on ...

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Modern Pump Selection Part 4: Why You Should NEVER Over Head a Variable Speed Pump

Modern Pump Selection Part 4: Why You Should NEVER Over Head a Variable Speed Pump

Variable speed drives do not compensate for an imperfect pump selection. In fact, they can make the situation worse. It is okay to be slightly conservative in your pump selection if you are not 100% sure how the pumps are going to be piped, but....

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