27.07 What are the causes of suction pump problems?

Suction pump problems are caused by the following conditions:

• there is a leak in the suction piping allowing air to flow into the pipe,
• the vertical lift of the suction pump exceeds the maximum lift of the suction pump
• the pump inlet piping is under-sized causing a high line loss
• Valves or other devices, such as clogged strainers, cause high line losses
• The pump itself has poor suction characteristics