Why does Dredging Supply Company, Inc. size the suction relief valve smaller than some of the other manufacturers of similar systems?
The answer to this question is twofold: First, DSC sizes the suction relief valve large enough to allow the dredge pump to remain primed during a cave in situation, but small enough as to allow the negative pressure to remain high on the suction side of the pump, which will allow the material to continue to move through the suction mouthpiece and eventually clear the cave in material from the suction mouthpiece. Secondly, if an excessive amount of water is added to the slurry mixture the density within the pump drops and can drop as low as a specific gravity of 1. The density of the material within the pump is now at a very low specific gravity and will not move the material in the discharge pipe, which is at a much greater density. When this happens, the operator must increase the speed of the pump substantially to prevent the line from immediately becoming plugged.
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