Pump station valves: what goes on the suction and discharge side
A pump station is where valves work hardest: starts, stops, surges and vibration. A correct arrangement extends the life of pumps and pipework.
TAZ Engineering Team · · 6 min
Suction side
Use low-resistance isolation on the suction, usually a full-bore gate valve, to avoid cavitation. It is only for isolating the pump for maintenance and is always fully open in service. Never throttle on the suction side.
Discharge side
After the pump comes a check valve, then an isolation gate valve or butterfly valve. The check valve protects the pump from reverse flow at shutdown, and the isolation valve lets you remove both. Throttling with a gate valve is not recommended: use a control valve or a variable speed drive.
Surge protection
When a pump trips, the check valve can slam. For large pumps choose fast-closing or damped check valves, fit air valves at high points and use soft starters.
Installation and maintenance
Allow for dismantling joints, supports under heavy valves and access to handwheels. Remote stations get electric actuators with limit switches and position feedback.
Checklist
- suction and discharge DN
- pump pressure
- check valve type
- isolation valves
- air valves
- actuators and controls