Viscous Liquids - Max. Suction Flow Velocities
Recommended max. pump suction flow velocity for viscous fluids.
Avoid higher velocities in suction pipes. Higher velocities increases pressure loss in pipes and the pumps may start to cavitate. For viscous liquids - as a rule of thumb - the suction velocities in front of pumps should be below:
| Pipe bore | Max. Suction Velocity | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| inches | mm | m/s | ft/s |
| 1 | 25 | 0.3 | 1 |
| 2 | 50 | 0.33 | 1.1 |
| 3 | 75 | 0.36 | 1.2 |
| 4 | 100 | 0.4 | 1.3 |
| 6 | 150 | 0.43 | 1.4 |
| 8 | 200 | 0.45 | 1.5 |
| 10 | 250 | 0.5 | 1.7 |
| 12 | 300 | 0.5 | 1.7 |
These values depends a lot on the fluid pumped. More about viscosity and viscosities for different fluids:
- Viscosity Conversion Factors - convert between Centistokes, Centiposes, SSU and Degree Engler
- A Viscosity Converting Chart - converting table between Centiposes, milliPascal, CentiStokes and SSU
- Viscosity of common Fluids - viscosity of fluids like motor oil, diesel fuel, peanut oil and many more
