How Do Diaphragm Pumps Work?

Diaphragm Pumps are used across various industries to move and handle liquids. They are a type of "positive displacement" pump that can transfer liquids from one type of viscosity to the next. Due to how they are manufactured, they can even handle liquids with large solids in them or aggressive acids and chemicals. The pneumatic exchanger behind the diaphragms will introduce the compressed air to generate a “push” that takes your product into the final delivery duct while the opposing diaphragm operates to create a vacuum that will intake fluid. This cycle will continue until the product is displaced. The core of your diaphragm pump is the pneumatic exchanger. This is why advancing technology is so important. Having a reliable company and device is integral to getting the most performance out of your pump. There are many styles of diaphragm pumps on the market, powered by compressed air and other motors, each with their own cost and benefit.

Air-operated diaphragm pumps are the most popular and obviously use compressed air to supply their power. These types of pumps use air chambers and force liquids from one chamber to the next using a steady flow of air. Motor driven pumps use pressure to drive the liquid through the system. They tend to be less popular than the compressed air pumps, but the larger shaft driven diaphragm pumps are used often by those who have lawn spraying or vinyl cleaning businesses that require liquid to move great distances by their equipment. The largest of the shaft driven diaphragm pumps can provide pressures up to 2500 PSI and 36 GM flowrates. These can also be used to move hot and aggressive liquids.

Positive displacement pumps are quite useful which is why they are a utilized by many different types of industries. Finding the right one for you is a matter of defining your requirements, your budget, chemical compatibility, and the skill set of the future operator. Of those, the chemical compatibility may be the most important factor in what you buy as not all pumps can handle all chemicals.