Shipco® Pump & Motor Selector™

For those not experienced at selecting pumps, we suggest reading the three sections titled Pump Selection, Rules-of-Thumb, and Retrofitting Pumps below before using the calculator!

Calculator

Pump Selection

Pump selection is as much an art as it is science due to the many design factors that must be considered! You typically find that many pumps can meet flow rate and discharge pressure operating conditions. However, selecting the correct Model (e.g., D, P, AWF, U, H) and particular Type (e.g., 116-D, 114-P, or 316 AWF, etc.) depends on:

Available NPSH vs. Required NPSH of Pump
Size of Foot Print
Height of Tank Stand
Motor Horsepower
RPM
Cost
Vertical or Horizontal Orientation
Threaded or Flanged Suction
Floor-mounted or Elevated Receiver
Type of Motor Enclosure (ODP, TEFC, etc.)
Special Motor (e.g., explosion proof, wash down duty, etc.)

For steam applications that require pumping hot condensate, NPSH is a critical factor in steam applications.

Rules-of-Thumb

The Shipco® Pump & Motor Selector™ provides a guide to help users identify possible pump/motors based on pump flow rate and discharge pressure of an application. Figure 1 below provides a "rule-of-thumb" for when a user should consider single-stage or multi-stage pumps. However, the user needs to consider all of the above factors before making a final selection. As part of the selection, the user should examine the pump performance curve of their pump selection.

If discharge pressure is in the range of 50 psig or less, typically single-stage pumps are used.
If the discharge pressure is 170 psig or greater, typically multi-stage pumps are used.
If discharge pressure is in the range of 60-170 psig, the user should examine BOTH single-stage and multi-stage pump options.
For high-flow, low-pressure applications (See Figure 1), a single-stage, 1750 RPM pump is typically used.
For low-flow, high-pressure applications turbine pumps are typically used which we offer but are not included in the Selector program.

Figure 1.

Because of the many factors that must be considered in pump selection, final selection of pumps for a job specific application should be done by or in consultation with a professional, licensed and registered as required, familiar with the equipment and the job site conditions and in accordance with specific manufacturer’s installation manuals.

Retrofitting Pumps

When retrofitting pumps, several additional design factors must be considered to avoid pump problems (such as cavitations) including:

Diameter of suction piping
Presence of suction strainers
Orientation of pump discharge flange
Type of application (e.g., underground or in-line recirculation)