Boosters Pumps may have different types of failures. Some Useful Tips

Due to its height, the AC hotel in San Jose has domestic water booster pumps to deliver water at required pressure to all floors. 

The California Code of Regulations Title 17 contains provisions for backflow protection by the drinking water user at the user's point of connection. For that purpose, the AC Hotel has a storage tank served by the water main through an air gap connection. This prevents any potential contamination from the hotel usage back to the main supply. The booster pumps are then fed by the storage tank.

The pumps are controlled by variable frequency drives in order to runs only as much as they need to insure enough pressure to all floors, prolonging system life and using less energy, as well as aiding in compliance with the California’s Title 24 Building Standards Code.

Discharge piping also feature check valves to prevent water from upper floors to flow back to storage tank when required discharge pressure is satisfied and pumps stop. System also includes an expansion tank to keep the pumps from starting excessively due to small piping leaks in the building and ensure smooth operation.

Hotel’s Chief engineer noticed that pumps would never stop regardless of water usage. He decided to investigate and narrowed down issue to check valve not closing properly. Check valves were inspected, and it was discovered that they did not seat properly allowing water to flow back to storage tank thus never satisfying discharge pressure.