Section

ENGINEERING

DATA FROM AURORA PUMP

5030

Page 1
Date April 2000

Supersedes Section 5030 Page 1

Dated September 1990

Boiler Feed / Condensate Return Engineering Data

BY-PASS ORIFICE SELECTION

FOR CONTINUOUS OPERATION BOILER FEED PUMPS
Many steam boilers operate with continuous operation
centrifugal boiler feed pumps. As the steam demands reduce
during off peak periods, automatic controls or modulating
valves regulate the flow of feed water to the boiler. Under
these conditions, the pump will operate at reduced flows.
When a centrifugal pump is operated at zero capacity or shut
off, there will be a rise in temperature of the liquid in the
pump because the input horsepower being converted to heat
in the pump is not being dissipated. To control this
temperature rise so that damage to the pump does not occur,
it is important that a small amount of water be diverted from
the discharge line back to the liquid source to dissipate the
heat build-up. This can be accomplished by installing a
properly sized by-pass orifice between the discharge pipe
and the suction source.

After the by-pass flow has been determined along with the
pump shut off head, the proper orifice size can be
determined from the orifice selection chart.

To determine the amount of liquid that must be by-passed,

use the following equation:

From the orifice flow chart at 400 feet shut-off and

16 G.P.M. by-pass flow, a 1/4" orifice is selected. When the
G.P.M. falls between two orifice sizes, select the larger size.

By-Pass G.P.M. =

HPSO x 5.3
T

Where HPSO = Pump Horsepower required at shut off.

(Refer to the pump performance curve.)
T = Maximum allowable temperature rise F.

Since most boiler feed pumps operate against a closed

modulating valve for short periods of time, the following
temperature ranges and temperature rises are recommended.

Example: By-pass flow determination

Given a 1.5 x 3 x 9 - 431 pump with a 7.25" diameter
impeller and handling 210F water. From the performance
curve at 3500 RPM, note that the shut-off head is approximately 400 feet and the shut-off horsepower (HPSO) is
9.0 BHP. For water temperature of 210F, hold the temperature
rise to 3F rise.

By-Pass G.P.M. =

9 x 5.3

= 15.9 or 16.0 G.P.M. By-Pass flow

Note: Since the by-pass flow thru an orifice is continuous,

regardless of boiler demand, this flow must be added
to the maximum boiler demand to determine the
design capacity for sizing of the boiler feed pump. For
typical boiler manufacturers, this is normally accounted
for in their basic selection data. Also be aware that
these calculations are typical only and that a specific
application may require adjustment due to minimal
N.P.S.H. availability.

For temperatures to 130F

Temperature rise of 15 degrees.
For temperatures over 130F to 200F
Temperature rise of 10 degrees.
For Temperatures over 200F
Temperature rise of 2 to 4 degrees maximum.

Section 5030 Page

Date April 2000

Supersedes Section 5030 Page 2

Dated September 1990

ENGINEERING

DATA FROM AURORA PUMP

Boiler Feed / Condensate Return Engineering Data

9/32

5/16
11/32
3/8
13/32
7/16
15/32
1/2
17/32
9/16
19/32

1/4

7/32

3/16

9/64

5/32

1/8

7/64

3/32

DRILL SIZE

5/64

1000

1/16

Flow Chart for 3/4 NPT x 2-1/2 Lg. St. Stl. Orifice Nipple

500

PUMP SHUT OFF HEAD (FEET)

400
300

200

100

50
40
30

20

10

.4

10

20

100

200

G.P.M. (BY-PASS FLOW)

Orifice Nipple
1-1/16 DIA.

3/4 N.P.T.

2.50

Orifice Nipple Part Number.

534
104
*
*Select size part number from chart at right.

DRILL SIZE
(SEE CHART)

3/4 N.P.T.

DRILL
SIZE

REF
LETTER

PART
NO.

NONE
1/16
5/64
3/32
7/64
1/8
9/64
5/32
3/16
7/32
1/4
9/32
5/16
11/32
3/8
13/32
7/16
15/32
1/2
17/32
9/16
19/32

NONE
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
L
N
P
R
T
V
X
Y
Z
ZZ
AA
BB
CC
DD

0005
0006
0007
0008
0009
0010
0011
0012
0013
0014
0015
0016
0017
0018
0019
0020
0021
0022
0023
0024
0025
0026

Section

ENGINEERING

DATA FROM AURORA PUMP

5030

Page 3
Date April 2000

Supersedes Section 5030 Page 3

Dated September 1990

Boiler Feed / Condensate Return Engineering Data

TYPICAL ORIFICE NIPPLE INSTALLATION

The water by-passed should be returned to the
tank from which the pump takes its suction,
not back to the suction of the pump.
The normal installation would be to run a bypass line from the discharge piping back to the
tank with a properly sized orifice installed to
give the correct minimum by-pass.

OPTIONAL
BY-PASS

NEEDLE VALVE

3/4" MINIMUM PIPE SIZE

-1" FOR RUN OF 10' OR
MORE

The orifice nipples furnished by Aurora

Pump are manufactured as a 2-1/2" stainless
steel nipple with 3/4" NPT male threads.
You may order your pump with a stainless
steel by-pass nipple and Aurora Pump
will properly size it for the pump you are
purchasing.

ORIFICE NIPPLE

VALVE

3/4"
UNION

TANK
TO BOILER

FEED PUMP

It is recommended to install the orifice with a

valve and union on either side to permit
removal for servicing.

BOILER FEED AND CONDENSATE RETURN ENGINEERING DATA

Continuous vs. Intermittent Operation
1) In a continuous operation system the feed water to the
boiler is controlled by a modulating valve, which opens and
closes on changes in demand to keep a fairly constant water
level in the boiler. As the valve regulates, the flow from the
feed pump follows the pump performance curve at various
discharge heads relating to the modulating settings of the
valve. The continuous operation is suited to the centrifugal
pump performance, which allows for wide capacity
changes over a small change in head. Also the horsepower
requirement does not increase as the pump is operating
against a nearly closed modulating valve which can occur
quite regularly.
2) For the intermittent (On-Off) operation, a float switch at
the boiler controls the pump operation. As the water level
in the boiler falls to a certain level, contacts in the float

switch close and start the feed water pump. The pump
supplies water until the boiler water level rises to a point
that the float switch contacts open and the pump stops.
This operation repeats as the water level drops again. The
intermittent operation, normally used on smaller boilers,
is well suited to the regenerative turbine for the following
reasons:
a) Comparatively low capacities are ideal for the small
and medium range boilers.
b) The pump covers a broad range of pressures, which
cover a wide boiler pressure range.
c) During operation, the pump is allowed to operate at a
nearly constant head/capacity point and not over the
entire pump curve as with continuous operation. The
steep head curve of the regenerative turbine, with
the horsepower rising to shut off, does not lend itself
well to the varying performance of the continuous
operation.

Section 5030 Page

Date April 2000

Supersedes Section 5030 Page 4

Dated September 1990

ENGINEERING

DATA FROM AURORA PUMP

Boiler Feed / Condensate Return Engineering Data

CONVERTING BOILER HORSEPOWER TO G.P.M.

A boiler horsepower is equivalent to the evaporation of
34.5 lbs. of water per hour from a feed water temperature of
212F into steam at 212F or, in other terms, is equal to the
evaporation of 0.069 GPM per boiler HP. The accompanying
table of water requirements is based on these values.
In selecting a boiler feed pump it should be remembered that
most boilers are operated at more than 100% of their rating.
With modern firing methods 200% to 300% is not
uncommon even with small boilers. For example an 200 HP
boiler operating at 300% of rating will actually evaporate
600 boiler HP or 41.4 G.P.M.
A boiler feed pump should always develop a pressure higher
than the boiler pressure. The amount the pump pressure
exceeds the boiler pressure is called the Excess Pressure.
This excess pressure is needed to overcome the friction losses

in the check valve, regulating valve, piping and in the static

elevation difference between the pump location and the
water level in the boiler. The amount of excess pressure
required should be determined from the layout of the
installation. Generally, for estimating purposes, excess
pressures of 25 lbs. for 100 lb. pressure boilers to 50lbs. for
300 lb. boilers can be used.

This table may be used as an aid in specifying Aurora

Regenerative Turbine or Centrifugal pumps for boiler
feed and condensate service. Keep in mind that the
G.P.M. values will be fairly accurate for continuous
operation with centrifugal pumps. For intermittent
(On-Off) regenerative turbines, the capacity requirement
should be multiplied by 2-3 to allow the pump to operate
only 1/2 to 1/3 of the time.

WATER REQUIRED TO FEED BOILERS, U.S. GPM

Boiler HP

GPM

Lb/Hr

Boiler HP

GPM

Lb/Hr

10

0.7

345

175

12.1

6037

20

1.4

690

200

13.8

6900

30

2.1

1035

225

15.5

7762

40

2.8

1380

250

17.2

8625

50

3.5

1725

300

20.7

10350

60

4.1

2070

350

24.1

12075

70

4.8

2415

400

27.6

13800

80

5.5

2760

450

31.1

15525

90

6.2

3105

500

34.5

17250

100

6.9

3450

600

41.4

20700

125

8.6

4312

750

51.8

25875

150

10.4

5175

1000

69.0

34500