Bleed tube for centrifugal pump and method for retrofitting same
OwnerTimothy D. Gallusinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An air bleed tube is attached to a single-stage centrifugal pump, which has an impeller and a liquid suction tube whose inlet is at a center of the impeller. The air bleed tube is attached with its air inlet at an exposed eye of the impeller to bleed air from the pump and thereby reduce the likelihood that the pump will lose its prime. A light-touch check valve at an air outlet of the air bleed tube allows air at the impeller eye to be discharged from the pump and at the same time prevents air from being sucked by venturi vacuum pressure in the pump back into the air bleed tube and the pump.
Claims26
A bleed tube for bleeding fluid from a centrifugal pump, said bleed tube comprising:
- an inlet located adjacent to and not in contact with the eye of an impeller of the pump;
- an outlet for bleeding fluid at the impeller eye out of the pump;
- and
- a check valve at said outlet of said bleed tube which allows fluid at the impeller eye to be discharged and thereby reduces the likelihood that the pump will lose its prime and which prevents fluid from being sucked back into said bleed tube.
A pump retrofit method, comprising the steps of:
- providing (a) a centrifugal pump having an impeller, the impeller having an impeller eye, and (b) a liquid suction line whose inlet end is at a center of the impeller,
- disassembling the liquid suction line from the pump;
- attaching an air bleed tube to the pump such that an inlet end thereof is close to the impeller eye but is not touching the impeller;
- and
- reattaching the liquid suction line relative to the pump.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.