Why does nobody talk about impellers wearing unevenly on the left side

Had a 12-inch Dredge pump seize up on me last Tuesday up near Tacoma because the left side impeller blade was ground down way worse than the right, and I think it's from running with a slight list for too long, anyone else notice this pattern with their rig?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliverhernandez1mo ago

Putting a level on the pump base before startup caught my uneven wear early.

murphy.mason1mo ago

Leveled mine with a machinist's level and never saw that wear pattern again.

lilya761mo ago

Honestly, you mentioning a slight list makes perfect sense. That's probably exactly what's happening. If your rig is sitting crooked even just a little bit, the left side of the impeller is going to be taking more of the load and grinding down against whatever debris or suction imbalance you've got going. I've seen the same thing on a couple of older pumps where the bearings started to go bad and the whole assembly had a wobble. That ended up eating the left side blade down to a nub while the right side still looked okay. Tbh, it's one of those things you don't catch until it's already done the damage.