This is a gear pump, a type of rotary positive displacement pump. Its tight-fitting clearances allow it to evacuate air in the suction line to prime the pump. And once primed, it's capable of pulling even higher vacuums. This ability to self-prime is key in applications like unloading drums, totes, rail cars, and barges. But as good as this pump is at pulling the liquid in, it's always going to be limited and not based on the pump. It's based on an invisible force pushing the liquid in from the outside, and that's atmospheric pressure.

Hi! I’m Chad Wunderlich with Viking Pump and this is an internal gear pump. With each rotation of the gears, a set volume of liquid is moved from the inlet to the outlet. And if I were to reverse the direction of rotation, I reverse the direction of flow. Now this isn’t unique to internal gear pumps, other rotary pumps like external gear, lobe, and hose pumps exhibit this same behavior. But did you know it’s possible to make this internal gear pump deliver flow in just one direction, independent of the direction of rotation?

In Nebraska, soybean oil is just one edible oil that's produced. Soybean oil is used not only for cooking but also in the manufacture of personal care products and as a feedstock in the manufacture of biodiesel. And just down the road, you’ll find pumps for corn oil, sunflower oil, even walnut oil. And expanding that search globally you’ll find Viking pumps for palm oil, olive oil, peanut oil, rapeseed oil, grapeseed oil, and dozens of others. Next is Arizona. Seal coat is an asphalt emulsion used in the repair of paved surfaces.

Let's start in Connecticut. Fuel oil is one of Viking Pump’s oldest applications and can be found in EVERY US state, so why highlight Connecticut? First Connecticut, like much of the US Northeast, utilizes fuel oil to heat their homes. In fact, nearly half of all Connecticut households are heated by fuel oil. As a result, much of the fuel oil reserve is stored in Connecticut as well. Viking Pump fuel oil pumps can be found at every step of the supply process.

In Ohio, like the rest of North America, the most common roofing material for homes is shingles. Ohio, and many other states, utilize Viking pumps to produce and deliver filled roofing asphalt to the felt backing for making roofing shingles in a variety of colors and styles. This application is hot, viscous, and highly abrasive requiring hardened Viking pumps to handle this tough application. In New Jersey, Viking ammonia pumps are used mostly for refrigeration, but you’ll also find Viking ammonia pumps with a different purpose.

Let's start with Texas. Whether you’re in Houston, or Dallas, or West Texas, it’s impossible to get away from Viking pumps used in the petroleum industry. Certainly you’ll find Viking pumps for crude oil here, but also at the finished end of the process helping to manufacture a variety of lube oil blends from conventional motor oil to full synthetics, to special blends for colder environments, high mileage engines, marine, aviation, and dozens of other specialty applications. South Carolina’s textile industry is older than the US itself.

Viking Pump’s original applications started at home, right here in Iowa. This original list included asphalt, fuel oil, turpentine, linseed oil, and water but did not include one of Viking Pump’s most common applications in the state today: corn syrup. Corn syrup is a sweetener made from, you guessed it…corn, and used in a variety of foods, candies, beverages, and pet foods. Next, is Rhode Island. Bunker C has many names: Heavy Fuel Oil, Bunker Oil, #6 Fuel Oil.

Since our founding in 1911, Viking Pump has built over 7,000,000 pumps and supplied them to customers all over the world. These pumps handle the broadest range of liquids in the industry. We’ve prepared a listing of 50 Viking pump applications, tying each to a state where this application can commonly be found. In our fifth episode, let’s explore Viking Pump applications in New Mexico, Massachusetts, Alaska, Kansas, and Oregon.

Join Viking Pump's Chad Wunderlich as he describes the multiple ways to address and solve for a cavitating pump. 

So just to recap: a cavitating pump is one that is exhibiting noise, loss of capacity, and if left unchecked can lead to localized pitting of the pump internals. The cause is excessive vacuum at the pump inlet. So what's the fix? 

For most systems, it starts with atmospheric pressure - but you can't move your entire facility to sea level. So what CAN you fix?

In this Pump Report, Chad covers the causes and symptoms of positive displacement pump cavitation.

Hi, I'm Chad Wunderlich with Viking Pump. In a previous video we discussed the priming capability of positive displacement pumps, like this gear pump. This is due, in part, to the pump's ability to develop vacuum...but what happens if that vacuum gets too high? 

Today we're going to talk about cavitation. You're watching the Pump Report.