How Do Different Types Of Drum Pump Work?

What Is A Drum Pump?

Drum pumps are a type of pump used to pump liquid both to and from containers, in this case, a drum. The liquid in question can be water, or it can be other types of liquids. While water weighs 8.3 pounds U.S. gallons, other liquids might weigh a lot more based on their density. As such, tipping drums to drain the drum is not only impractical or, at the very least difficult, but it can also be unsafe. A drum pump will extract or fill the liquids with little risk of spillage.

Many food processing plants, chemical plants, and other processing and manufacturing plants that use liquids or pastes packaged in totes or drums during production use drum pumps. The drum pump provides practical means of pumping small quantities of fluids out of their packaging containers.

Drums pumps are designed and manufactured to pump a wide variety of liquids, lending their capabilities in the processing, transportation, and handling of these liquids. Some of the common industries that use drum pumps include:

Manufacturing plants
Chemical plants
Automotive shops
Food processing plant
Pharmaceutical processing plants, etc.

How Do Electric Drum Pump Models Work?

Electrically operated has a vertical shaft that drops through the drum opening and into the liquid. An appropriately sized A.C. or D.C. electric motor attaches to the shaft. With a flip of the switch, the motor turns on and actuates the pumping mechanism at the base of the tube. This sequence allows the pump system to suck up the content of the drum, like a water barrel pump electric.

The base of the tube is fitted with a rotor or a small centrifugal impeller. In many ways, the electric-operated drums resemble manually operated drum pumps, except it uses electric power. This type of pump is ideal for use for applications where a high volume of transfer is common.

How Manual Drum Pumps Models Work?

Manually operated pumps are actuated by hand. However, a piston pump can also actuate the pumping mechanism. They are ideal for remote pumping tasks, where there is little, unreliable, or no power at all.

These pumps are made of stainless steel, aluminium, or plastics such as PVC, polyphenylene sulphide, or polyacetal. The size of the inlet on the shaft ranges from ½” to 1-½”. These pumps are designed and optimised to provide easy, spark-free, and leak-free pumping.

How Do Pneumatic Drum Pump Models Work?

Pneumatic drum pumps function by using an air motor in place of an electric motor. The air-driven drum pump motors are especially effective when using the device for short-term and intermittent applications. Pneumatically operated drum pumps as used in explosion-proof environments where a large volume of liquid will be pumped.

Air-operated drum pumps with a conductive stainless steel tube are used to transfer flammable media in hazardous environments where manually actuated pumps will not suffice in transfer capacity or capability.

Drum pumps operated by air motors are also used in humid, wet, or dusty environments. These are the sort of environments that can damage electric circuits used in an electric drum pump, thereby causing a pre-mature failure. In this regard, if the environment that surrounds the pump will reduce its durability, then a pneumatic drum pump is the best alternative/solution.