Pump Pre-Start Up Walkthrough

This check list should be provided by the pump manufacturer, in combination with the site safety officer, process engineer and site manager.

The fact that you have to ask is troubling.

The presence of several fire-related criteria makes me wonder what fluid is being pumped, and what shaft seal arrangements and related utilities may be involved. Your list and general approach are commendable, and may be useful to others.

Kerosene is being pumped. Seal arrangement is api seal plan 65. No other obvious utility than electricity for the electric pumps. There is a lubrication system installed next to the pumps with air cooled heat exchangers. I am not very sure of the lubricant but I suspect it will be mineral oil. I am new on the project. I also forgot to mention to check for completeness of heat detectors and alarm system.

Whatever you do make sure you document your check list and have it in written form. Have it added to the company quality system to ensure availabity in future.

BTW What are those pumps for and did you check your documentation for existing check lists? Out of your head is never enough.

Pump start up also requires that you know if you need priming. What pumps are these.

You can answer a lot when follwing the advice to check with pump manufacturer and process engineer.

So what are your experiences in doing this in the past? There must be some lessons learnt that you want to share? All the answers can not come from the pump manufacturer. In fact most of what I need is beyond the scope of the manufacturer and let's say there is no formal safety checklist otherwise I will not ask. This is safety and I believe you can help save a life or prevent a major industrial incident. I am not interested in propriety or company secrets here. If what you want to share is a company secret or a proprietary material then keep it to yourself. Thank you very much in anticipation.

I have no particular experience in this field and all I can offer is common sense advice.

What I found is that if you come into a job you need to find your sources. You said there is no guiding document, but me thinks there will be something.

It actually starts well before your start up. As Old Salt says: where is teh HAZOP? Where is the plan for the installation where is the check list that it was build to spec? What standard are you working to? There will be guidlines how to operate and maybe even how to start the pumps. Your process engineer (which I hope is not you) should be the one to tell you what you need to know. I cannot see from here what safety devices are installed there, but I know that every single one of them will have to be checked, tested and aproved.

You can save the live and maybe your own. But the pre start walkthrough has to be developed with the system. I dont even know why you pump what you pump. If there is more than one process reliant on the delivery of the fluid (which I cannot see from here) or you use this in a chemical reaction then there will be a far more complex start up.

You are there and can analyse the sytem and what it is there for. Just make sure you document everything you do. It will help you and others to maintain and run the system.

You are learning this for yourself. Feel free to ask more detailed questions, but I doubt without knowing more of your system we can give you a complete list to look out for. And btw this is your job, right?!

Birch, I am looking at this from a loss prevention perspective and you will have to agree that systems like the oily water drainage, closed drain system, fire and gas detection integration with the ESD sytem, etc have nothing to do with the pump manufacturer.

With regards to the ESD and fire systems.... maybe not, however if you buying from a reputable manufacturer, then they WILL offer advice if asked. Furthermore if they are building a system to a design then it will include fire systems and ESD. All depends on who you buy from.

However, my reply was directed at the pump manufacturer and the ability to answer questions regarding the pumps and motors. Every manufacturer should be able to give answers regarding their own pumps, and that was my point, as I read the OP's statement that maybe he's not getting enough co-operation from the pump company.

As the liquid is flammable, and vapour is a BIG issue, running the pump dry will produce heat, hence my comment of the underload.

To that end, a under load feature on the motor controller will fit your loss prevention efforts perfectly, as I sure you understand the end result of running a dry pump(with flammable vapour in it).

Include the checking of the suction strainers, for its existence, correct mesh and direction.

Also, the cooling water, quenching steam for: flow, strainer, orifice etc.

Does this set of pumps run into a very long pipe such that it is used for pumping kerosene a very long distance or is it just for use in plant? If it is for pipeline operation, the possibility of pretest parameters can change.

Is there a scheduled pretest of the system by flushing with water or other inert liquid before the system is placed in service for pumping kerosene?

During installation (depending on contractor) there is the risk that garbage has been introduced into the system by workmen on break (e.g. soda cans, banana peals, trash, etc.). (I am not saying this is always the case... just that it has been known to happen. If not checked for now, it could an expensive repair later. If there is a regulator valve in the system, it may not pass this trash.)

Water could be used initially to verify soundness of the system with minimal risk, then once proven, the water can be drained and purged. If it is a pipeline, this may not apply as the volume required would be cost prohibitive and time to accomplish such a task would also deter its use.

Once drained, purged and dried out, initial operation with kerosene can be done with confidence. If it happens there is trash in the system, repair would be more simple with initial water flush than with kerosene unless of course multiple strainers are part of the design. (Chances are that there is no way to do this water flush pretest, but it would be a good idea if possible.) You did ask for experiences.

Operations:

To start the pump(s), verify that the suction valve(s) have been opened to the pumps and pinch down on the discharge valve of initial pump started so as to avoid "water hammer" when starting the pump.

Prior to starting pump, care should be taken to insure that the flow path is properly valved to complete the circuit.

As mentioned by OP, pumps have seals arrangement so they should be checked for problems and fluid levels prior to start of system.

Start the pump and gradually open the discharge valve to the pump being run. By the time the valve is full open, all air should have been purged from the system. If the system is shut down for any reason, this pinching of the discharge should be part of normal operations of the pumps unless there is sufficient evidence that there has been no admittance of air to the system during shutdown and head pressure is present at discharge of the pumps.

Your plant operations should already have a clear and concise set of instructions to follow for operating this equipment.

RG2