What is a water hammer? What are its ill effects?

A water hammering  effect happens when a sudden closure of the valve causes the back and forth movement of water at supersonic speeds. Water hammer is an understudied topic, and unaware of the fact that residentials have it in their submersible motors, nobody seems to care. In the light of water hammer- for residentials, it’s just that loud noise when the submersible pumps are shut. 

Having said that; a water hammer could have some adverse effects as stated below: 

  • When a centrifugal pumpset suddenly shuts at any given site, the mass of water before closure will still be moving, hence a high pressure shall be created, resulting in a shock wave. This process makes a similar hammering sound that one often hears after shutting their centrifugal pumps.
  • In the worst case, water hammers can even cause the pipelines to break if the pressure is too high. For safety purposes, air traps are often installed to absorb the damaging factors caused by high pressure.
  • The water hammer can also harm valves and pipes in case of any water, oil, or gas application. This happens in the same process of high pressure, as mentioned above, which causes a spike, thereby damaging gauges. This can occur even if the gauge has a correct pressure range for the flow application.

To avoid these adverse effects of a water hammer, air chambers prove to be quite useful because they soften the impact and hence prevent the hammer effect.

But you can swiftly avoid the chances of a malfunctioning water pump, by opting for the high-efficiency Kirloskar pumps that Vijay Engineering and Machinery Company, the best pump dealers in Mumbai, promise to provide to you. Counted amongst the reputed pump dealers in India, VEMC is the answer to your problems!