Pump Operations
Cavitation
Cavitation is what happens when the pump tries to discharge more water than the intake can supply, forming vapor pockets that collapse violently inside the pump. The discharge pressure becomes erratic and the pump can damage itself.
When demand outruns supply, the pressure on the intake side drops low enough for water to flash to vapor. Those bubbles collapse as they hit higher pressure in the pump, pitting the impeller and making the discharge surge and chatter — operators call it running away from the water.
The cure is to stop asking for more than the source can give: back off the throttle or reduce flow until the intake can keep up. Cavitation is the pump's warning that the operator has overdrawn the supply.
Where this shows up
Calculator
Drafting & Lift