What is a Barrel Pump?
Very often, a 55 gallon (45.8 liter) barrel, or drum, is used to transport and store liquid products. These barrels can be quite heavy and are somewhat bulky. In order to easily get the product out of the barrel, a barrel pump is used. Generally, a barrel pump consists of a long tube or hose, able to reach to the bottom of the barrel, the pump housing on top, and another hose leading from the pump housing to a separate container. The pump housing encompasses the pump motor, or crank, as well as the impellers and gearing that rotates the impellers. These pumps are reasonably simple and straightforward to operate. The pump operator simply opens the small “bung hole” at the top of the barrel, and inserts the tube, or hose at the bottom of the housing into the barrel. The hose leading from the side or top of the pump housing is placed in the container to be and the pump is started. For the most part, barrel pumps are used in the chemical, petroleum, and food industries. Therefore, barrel p
