Some elastomers will be affected by steaming the system. A great deal of caution must be exercised if a flushing fluid such as caustic is going to be circulated through the lines or used to clean a tank. If the elastomer is attacked, the failure usually occurs within one week of the cleaning procedure. The stuffing box must be vented on all vertical centrifugal pumps or otherwise air will be trapped at the seal faces that can cause premature failure of many seal designs. Here are a few common misconceptions that cause friction between maintenance and operation departments.
All ceramics crack when cold shocked by a rapid change in temperature.
High head, low capacity consumes a lot of power. The pump must come into the shop to change a mechanical seal. If you use two hard faces or dual mechanical seals in slurry applications you will not need flushing water with its corresponding product dilution. If you use metal bellows seals for hot oil applications you will not need the stuffing box cooling jacket operating. It is OK. to use an oversized impeller because throttling back will save power.