How To Prime a Piston Pump
Whether you're a seasoned operator or a novice in hydraulic systems, this step-by-step guide provides practical insights and identifying information to ensure that your pump is primed and ready for efficient operation within your machine tool application.
Mounting the Pump
When mounting your pump to the motor, make sure you're connecting the suction port from the tank to the pump, and linking the discharge port- your high-pressure port- out to your machine. Before you start the motor of the pump, you'll also need to ensure that our case drain port, commonly referred to as a 'case drain', is set up correctly.
This frequently goes through a heat exchanger or, at a minimum will need to be open to the tank. You cannot just plug this part. This is for leakage, internal leakage in the pump, and generally will pass through a heat exchanger, air to oil, or even water. If not, it needs to be open to the tank, so the oil has a place to go.
Filling the Pump
Once you've made all your connections and filled the pump, you are ready to start our pump with the motor. There are two adjustments that you might have to make. One is the pressure compensator, and the other is the flow control. This pump comes with a set flow rate and pressure. You can adjust both to suit our requirements. To increase the pressure, tighten the adjustment screw, pushing on a spring to close the valve. Loosening the screw lowers the pressure. After setting the pressure, we can adjust our flow rate. Increasing this setting pushes on our swash plate at the back of the pump, increasing the flow rate to our desired level.
Troubleshooting
If you've gone through the full setup procedure, turned your motor on, and are still having trouble getting your pump to prime, there are a few things to check.
- Ensure that your oil level in the tank is sufficient.
- You might have a suction strainer or another issue with the flow into the pump, so check that as well.
If you've filled the pump with oil, connected your case drain port to the tank (potentially through a heat exchanger) and ensured good flow on the suction side, you should be able to get this pump to build pressure.
