Warning: That old hydrostatic test pump almost got me last Tuesday

I was up on a job near the Port of Houston last Tuesday, testing a feedwater heater for a chemical plant. The old pump we've used for years started acting funny... losing pressure, then surging. I figured it was just air in the line, but my foreman walked over and told me to stop and check the relief valve first. Good thing he did. The valve was seized up from rust and crud, so if pressure got too high, it wouldn't have popped. That pump could've blown a fitting right in my face. After we cleaned everything out and swapped the valve, it ran smooth for the rest of the shift. Has anyone else had a near miss with old test gear, or am I just unlucky?

3 comments

3 Comments

tessaperry3d ago

...and that's nothing compared to what happened to my buddy Dave last fall. He was using an old test pump on a boiler feed line and it started hammering real bad. He thought it was just air too, but when he cracked the bleeder a chunk of rust came flying out with the water. Turns out the pump's internal check valve had corroded to basically nothing inside. If he hadn't caught it when he did, that pump could have sent a slug of scalding water right through the line. He still talks about it every time we're around old test gear.

fiona_carr263d ago

A buddy of mine named Carl had pretty much the same thing happen with a pressure washer pump a couple years back. He was trying to flush a line on an old hot water system and it started making this awful thumping noise. He figured it was air so he cracked the drain valve and got sprayed with rusty water and bits of scale, @tessaperry. The thing that got him was the check valve spring had rusted through and the flapper was just floating around in there. If that pump had let go it would have shot near boiling water right at his legs. He still brings it up whenever someone talks about using old equipment, says it's a gamble every time.

jessem593d ago

Happens all the time with older gear, @tessaperry. It is crazy how people assume old equipment is still safe when rust and corrosion have basically rewired its internals. In my experience, anything past 10 years old on a hot water or steam line is a gamble you're better off not taking.