In the fields of pharmaceuticals, laboratories, beauty, and cosmetics, peristaltic pumps are often used for liquid dispensing or filling. The use of a peristaltic pump has an advantage, that is, it has the ability to self-prime. Today, Lead Fluid will explain to you what is the difference between a peristaltic pump and a self-priming pump.
What is a peristaltic pump?
Peristaltic pump, also known as tubing pump, is a new type of industrial pump. The peristaltic pump consists of three parts: driver, pump head, and peristaltic pump tubing.
Peristaltic pump tubing is the only requirement of liquid connection for peristaltic pumps. The peristaltic pump works by pressing the tube with a roller or press. This means that the pump can run dry, self-priming, and handle high-viscosity and high-wear medium. In addition, the peristaltic pump tubing is an independent unit, so that the pump body does not need to be sealed, so it is completely leak-free, very sanitary. And each rotation output a fixed flow rate, which makes the application of quantitative feeding of peristaltic pump has outstanding performance. This principle can be applied to all peristaltic pumps, so the pump head and driver part are the most important factors to distinguish the quality of peristaltic pumps.
The tubing is a liquid contact element of the peristaltic pump. The pump works by squeezing the tubing with rollers or briquette. This means that the pump can run dry, self-prime, and handle high-viscosity, highly abrasive media. In addition, the tubing is an independent unit, so that the pump body does not need to be sealed, so it is completely leak-free and very hygienic. And each rotation outputs a fixed flow rate, which makes the peristaltic pump have an outstanding performance in the application of quantitative feeding. This principle can be applied to all peristaltic pumps, so the pump head and driver part are important factors that distinguish the quality of peristaltic pumps.
Just as the repeated contraction and relaxation of muscles can make blood flow in the blood vessels, the peristaltic pump relies on the pumping efficiency of several rollers to alternately squeeze/release along an elastic tube. The squeezed fluid in the tube produces flow output, and when the pressure disappears, when the tube relies on its own elasticity to return to its original shape, the volume increases, a vacuum is generated, and the fluid is sucked in.
The peristaltic pump pumps fluid by alternately squeezing and releasing the elastic delivery tubing of the pump. Just like pinching a tubing with two fingers, as the fingers move, negative pressure is formed in the tube, and the liquid flows along with it. A peristaltic pump is a section of the pump tube between two rollers that forms a “pillow”-shaped fluid. The volume of the “pillow” depends on the inner diameter of the pump tube and the geometric characteristics of the rotor. The flow rate depends on the product of the three parameters: the speed of the pump head, the size of the “pillow”, and the number of “pillows” produced per revolution of the rotor. The size of the “pillow” is generally constant (except when pumping particularly viscous fluids). Compared with a pump with the same rotor diameter, a pump with a larger “pillow” volume has a larger volume of fluid delivered per revolution of the rotor, but also a larger degree of pulsation. This is similar to the case of membrane valves. For pumps that produce a smaller “pillow” volume, the volume of fluid delivered by the rotor per revolution is also smaller; moreover, the small “pillow” formed quickly and continuously makes the fluid flow more stable. This is similar to the situation with a gear pump.
What is the self-priming of a peristaltic pump?
The self-priming of the peristaltic pump is generally a dispensing type pump (also called a filling type pump according to the purpose), which is mainly used in the scenario of liquid dispensing. When dispensing liquids, after filling one container, it is necessary to switch to the next container. At this time, the self-priming function of the pump is used. If there is no self-priming function, the liquid will drip when the container is switched, causing a certain amount of pollution and waste, so the self-priming function of the pump is also necessary.
Working principle of self-priming pump
Self-priming pump function, the self-priming pump fills the pump casing with water in advance, and after starting, the liquid in the pump casing is driven by the rotation of the impeller to form a vacuum state at the pump inlet, and then the liquid is sucked into work. A self-priming pump is also a kind of centrifugal pump. The difference between a peristaltic pump and a self-priming pump. Through the above, we can know that the peristaltic pump can directly self-prime, while the self-priming pump needs to be inverted to produce self-priming. But in terms of quantity, the flow rate of the self-priming pump is much greater than that of the peristaltic pump, so how to use it depends on the specific usage.
If you want to know more about peristaltic lab pumps, You can call or email us. Now we know what is the peristaltic pump and peristaltic pump work, do you want to know how to maintain the peristaltic pump？
How to maintain the peristaltic pump?
- After the pump tubing is used for about 220 hours, the tubing can be turned over (that is, 90-degree rotation), because after a long time squeezing one side of the tubing, it is easy to cause damage to one side, and turning over can increase the service life.
- The storage period of the pump tubing shall not exceed one year (long-term non-use will cause aging).
- Lubricate the pump rollers every 6 months (special lubricants are required).
- After using the pump for a long time, if abnormal noise occurs, it can be removed for inspection to see if it is caused by the wear or damage of the bearing. If not, please contact the peristaltic pump manufacturer.
- Since the pump head is used to fix the tubing and squeeze it to transfer the liquid, the tubing should be clamped tightly and should not be transported when it is loose.
- The pump pipe may be damaged and cause liquid spillage. Please take necessary protective measures and check the pump pipe regularly.
- When installing and removing external control devices, be sure to turn off the power to prevent damage to the equipment.
- When connecting the external control or communication interface, please cut off the power supply.
- Please connect the protective ground of the machine to the earth, otherwise, there will be a danger of electric shock or electromagnetic interference.
You can click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peristaltic_pump to get more peristaltic pumps knowledge.