A simple mnemonic device -- CLAWS -- can help to prevent, preempt, or fix a good 80% of the routine issues that emerge from pump operations.

1. Getting Your CLAWS
into Pump Maintenance
Brian Gongol, M.Ed.
DJ Gongol & Associates, Inc.
September 13, 2023
Iowa AWWA Short Course
Ankeny, Iowa

2. Let’s talk about
the power of mnemonics

3. What do you teach kids to do in case
their clothes catch fire?

4. What do you teach kids to do in case
their clothes catch fire?
• Stop, drop, and roll

5. What is the first assessment in first aid?

6. What is the first assessment in first aid?
• CAB
• Circulation
• Airway
• Breathing

7. How do you change lanes on the road?

8. How do you change lanes on the road?
• SLY
• Signal
• Look
• Yield

9. Mnemonics reduce what we have to remember
• Stop, drop, and roll
• CAB (which used to be ABC)
• SLY

10. Pump maintenance can also be a mnemonic

11. Think CLAWS

12. Who has encountered
a pump that just one
day kept turning but
stopped working?

13. CLAWS
Clearances

14. Centrifugal pumps need tight clearances

15. Gaps between moving parts invite clogging

16. Recirculation cuts into pump efficiency

17. Energy generated
by the rotating
impeller has to be
directed or else it
will loop

18. An oversimplified view

19. The wearplate keeps the zones separated

20. Cutaway view

21. Performance losses accelerate wear

22. Problems with clearances happen slowly,
then all at once

23. Easy clearance
adjustment
saves money

24. You can’t work
with a pump that
stops turning, can
you?

25. CLAWS
Lubrication

26. Lubricants are
modern marvels
▼ Friction
▼ Heat
▼ Wear
▲ Run time

27. Seal oil or grease

28. Bearing oil or grease

29. Free the heat

30. Motor oil or grease

31. Not too much, not too little

32. Changes in
lubricant
condition can
warn you of
trouble

33. You know it’s how to make a vehicle last
And it’s how to make your
pumps last, too

34. A broken pump
shaft would really
wreck your day,
wouldn’t it?

35. CLAWS
Alignment

36. Misalignment is
usually a
transmission
problem

37. Couplings need to be ultra-precise

38. V-belts can forgive, but not if they’re over-tight

39. Laser alignment
isn’t hard to do

40. Precision pump balancing reduces wear,
and every good pump spec admits it

41. Alignment issues grow with
(1) pump speeds and (2) pump sizes

42. Consider the math
• 9.75” diameter impeller

43. Consider the math
• 9.75” diameter impeller
⇒ 30.63” travel per rotation
(at the vane tips)

44. Consider the math
• 9.75” diameter impeller
⇒ 30.63” travel per rotation
(at the vane tips)
• 1150 rpm

45. Consider the math
• 9.75” diameter impeller
⇒ 30.63” travel per rotation
(at the vane tips)
• 1150 rpm
⇒ 69,000 turns per hour

46. Consider the math
• 9.75” diameter impeller
⇒ 30.63” travel per rotation
(at the vane tips)
• 1150 rpm
⇒ 69,000 turns per hour
• 30.63” x 69,000
= 2,113,470 inches/hour

47. Consider the math
• 9.75” diameter impeller
⇒ 30.63” travel per rotation
(at the vane tips)
• 1150 rpm
⇒ 69,000 turns per hour
• 30.63” x 69,000
= 2,113,470 inches/hour
= 33.36 mph

48. Consider the math
• At 1150 rpm, the vane tips
are moving at 33.36 mph
• At 1750 rpm, the vane tips
are moving at 50.76 mph

49. Consider the math
• At 1150 rpm, the vane tips
are moving at 33.36 mph
• At 1750 rpm, the vane tips
are moving at 50.76 mph
• Treat your impeller like
you’d treat your
automobile and keep it
well-aligned

50. Nobody wants a pump
that underperforms
the system
requirements, do you?

51. CLAWS
Wear

52. What wears in a pump?

53. Wear plates or wear rings

54. When they wear out…
• Clearances increase
• Recirculation increases
• Energy is wasted
• Solids get stuck

55. Impellers

56. When they wear out…
• Efficiency decreases
• Performance degrades
• Run times increase

57. Casings

58. When they wear out…
• Pumps leak
• Pressure is lost
• Catastrophic failures occur

59. And also:
Not all castings are created equal

60. You hate it
when pumps
get clogged,
right?

61. CLAWS
Solids

62. A problem in wastewater,
but a risk in potable water too

63. Tuberculated
pipes and
sedimentation
come for us all

64. Look in low-velocity spots

65. Look in low places

66. Abrasive wear looks different from cavitation

67. Suction-side cavitation

68. Discharge-side cavitation

69. Making use of the CLAWS

70. Routine pump inspections: Weekly checks
• Clearances
• Lubrication – if it’s easy to inspect, check it weekly
• Alignment
• Wear
• Solids

71. Routine pump inspections: Monthly checks
• Clearances – if it’s a high-wear application
• Lubrication
• Alignment
• Wear
• Solids

72. Routine pump inspections: Quarterly checks
• Clearances
• Lubrication
• Alignment
• Wear
• Solids

73. Routine pump inspections: Semiannual checks
• Clearances – the bare minimum if you want to avoid trouble
• Lubrication
• Alignment – for belt drives
• Wear
• Solids

74. Routine pump inspections: Annual checks
• Clearances
• Lubrication
• Alignment
• Wear
• Solids

75. Troubleshooting when problems arise
Most problems
can be traced back
to the CLAWS

76. Even pilots count on quick-reference guides

77. Quick answers are often bad
Practice finding good answers quickly

78. If it’s one problem, it’s often more than one
Misalignment leads to
lubrication problems
Wear encourages problems
with solids
Clearance problems
accelerate wear
Solids can cause wear which
leads to clearance problems

79. Simplifying maintenance thinking helps
prevent catastrophic problems

80. But it only works if you put the idea to use!

81. Keep the CLAWS at the ready
Clearances – Lubrication – Alignment – Wear – Solids

82. Questions?
• Thanks for your time and
attention!
• This presentation can be
found at
gongol.net/presentations
• Brian Gongol
DJ Gongol & Associates
• 515-979-2837 mobile
• 515-223-4144 office
• brian@gongol.net
• @djgongol on LinkedIn,
Twitter, and Facebook

83. Credits
• Pump alignment images used courtesy of the Gorman-Rupp
Company
• Some icons were automatically inserted by PowerPoint
• All other images (including all product-specific and project
site photos) are the original work of the author
• Copyright 2023 by Brian Gongol, all rights reserved