Evaluation Report
For many municipalities, the only useful data found in a lift station characterization report are limited to the capacity of the pumps and combinations of pumps, when possible. Also, too often, these data were calculated using accepted, but barely accurate methods. Click here to learn why our data are extremely accurate. How useful is it to know the pump capacities, if you do not know if they were operating properly when they were evaluated? Do you need to know their capacity or to know if they cost too much for the job that they do or if they will be able to handle the load when the next big rain event occurs? Clik here to download a MAID Labs eveluation report.
Click on a section of the following report to read a description of the selected section.
The purpose of the report is to provide useful data on the capacity of the pumps, their power consumption and the volume of water pumped per unit of energy consumed. During its useful life, 95% of the cost of using a pump is the electricity it consumes. An evaluation is not complete without this vital information
The "Volume" section shows the values inputted (yellow area) in the MerMaid software that were used to generate the flow data.
Several factors affect the accuracy of the data in a calculation of volumetric flow rate. That is why the accurate calculation of volume between the levels of operation of the pumps is very important. When the volume and time-filling is accurate to 100%, when no pump is in operation, then the inflow for this period of the cycle is 100% accurate.
The levels of operation of the pumps are calculated with as much precision as possible. Whenever possible, the levels are calculated three times. The average volumes are then entered in the software created by MAID Labs, whose patented algorithm accurately calculates the inflow before, during and after the operation of the pumps. This makes it possible to determine the capacity of pumps with an accuracy of approximately 98.5% for the majority of the lift stations having constant speed pumps.
The section "Volumes" can be used to check the data that were used to calculate the volumes of water between the levels of operation of the pumps.
The section "Electricity" presents the most useful data related to electrical analysis and time of operation of pumps. The above example used voltage values manually entered because all connectors were used by electric current sensors.
In this section, "% VAR" is a percentage comparing one phase to the average of three phases. The same goes for other entries.
The "Run time" includes the combined operation of the pumps. The number of start does not include operating anomalies where pumps are trying to start several times before to stay in operation, because of a malfunction of the control system components. Another section of the software covers these anomalies.
95% of the cost of a pump is the electricity it consumes, but few people have this information to make more informed decisions. Three sets (3 pumps) of triphase electric sensors can be connected to the MerMaid data logger at the same time. The percentage variation in the voltage or current between phases of a pump greatly influences its useful life span. A variation of more than 5% should not be tolerated.
If two pumps are analyzed, it becomes possible to connect a triphase voltage sensor. The accuracy of the calculated power consumption becomes much more accurate and this allows verifying the quality of the electricity supplied by the electric utility.
The quality of the analysis is proportional to the number of pumping cycles and the hours of operation of the pumps. The number of starts provides a good indication of the quality of the study.
The numbers in the yellow area of the section "Group" are the capacities for the combinations of pumps when they run together.
Whenever possible, the algorithm calculates the capacity of combinations of pumps. If this is not possible, because there were no cycles with multiple pumps in operation at the same time, or when the time between events does not allow for a precise flow calculation, the combined operations shall be run manually to calculate correctly the capabilities of combinations of pumps.
In this section, the pumps “Run time” (titles are in the "Electricity" section) indicates the total time of operation for each possible combination of pumps. The number of starts indicates the number of occasions when these combinations were operating together.
The individual pump capacity is part of the next section.
The “Efficiency” section presents the most useful data.
The hydraulic capacity of a pump (the average pumped) must be calculated with great precision. The volumetric algorithm estimates the flow rate in the station during the operation of the pumps. The MAID Labs scientists have spent 21 years perfecting the algorithm integrated in the MerMaid software. MAID Labs takes very seriously the accuracy of the data it presents, and nothing is left to chance.
The "% Var" is a percentage comparing the pump to the average of all the pumps of a station. The same goes for other data.
The "Pumped volume" by a pump is the product of its average flow by the number of hours of operation, excluding periods of combined operation.
The voltage and current is be used to calculate the "Power consumption" for each pump.
Voltage (volts) X Current (amps) X operating time (hours) = Energy use (KWAh)The "Efficiency" of a pump is the amount of water pumped per unit of electricity consumed (Gallons/KWAh). If one of these two elements is not accurate, this information is useless.
The "Average run time per cycle" comes from the total operating time / number of starts.
This report comes from a real lift station having 3 identical pumps. Pump 1 has a flow rate that is 20% less the Pump 2 and 40% less than Pump 3. Many would repair Pump 1 as soon as possible.
If we look at the efficiency line (Gallons/KWAh) of the report, it shows that Pump 1 cost the same (in electricity) as Pump 3 to pump the same volume of water (same efficiency), even if its capacity is 40% lower. With this information, many would wait to repair Pump 1 if its flow rate is still acceptable.
La section graphique permet une comparaison rapide du fonctionnement des pompes
Have you noticed, in the evaluation report above?
The pump # 3 was not more efficient than the pump # 1, although its flow rate was nearly 40% higher. Is it a useful information?
The current on one phase of the pump # 3 was unbalanced by more than 10%. This will significantly reduce the useful life of the pump as well as increasing its electricity consumption. Is it a useful information?