The reading is right at the gauge and wrong on the sheet
A pump test is a sequence of readings taken quickly while the set is running: discharge at the flow meter, delivery pressure at the gauge, voltage and current at the panel, input power at the watt meter, speed at the tachometer. The operator reads them, remembers them for a few seconds, and writes them down.
Most of the time that works. When it does not, the error is not obvious. A digit transposed in the discharge column moves the whole curve, and the efficiency that comes out of it is wrong in a way that looks plausible. It is caught later, if at all, when a figure will not reconcile. And because overall efficiency is computed from those readings, an entry error can make an efficient pump look poor on paper, or a poor one look efficient.
We fit the bench so the instruments report their readings to the software directly. The operator's job becomes confirming a reading rather than transcribing it, and the test takes less time as well.
The quantities a pump test rests on
Each of these can be read from an instrument on the bench instead of being typed in.
| Quantity | Unit | Instrument | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discharge (flow) | lps, lph, m³/hr | Flow meter or measuring tank | The x-axis of every performance graph. |
| Delivery pressure | kg/cm², m | Pressure gauge or transducer | Total head, with suction lift and gauge height. |
| Suction head or lift | m | Vacuum gauge | Total head; and DLWL on jet pumps. |
| Voltage | V | Panel meter or transducer | Correcting readings to rated supply. |
| Current | A | Panel meter or CT | The discharge versus current curve. |
| Input power | W, kW | Watt meter | Overall efficiency, and the input power curve. |
| Speed | rpm | Tachometer or proximity sensor | Correcting the curve to rated speed. |
| Frequency | Hz | Panel meter | Recorded with the test conditions. |
Scroll the table sideways on a small screen to see every column.
Four steps, and nothing changes about how the bench is run
Instruments on the bench
The existing gauges stay where they are. Where a quantity has no electrical output, a transducer is added alongside the gauge your inspector already trusts.
A data unit reads them
A small embedded unit at the bench polls the instruments and holds the current reading for each quantity.
The reading reaches the software
Tester takes the reading for the trial the operator is on. The operator confirms it, or overrides it and records why.
The record is written
The trial is stored with its readings, the derived values and the time it was taken. The report and the graph follow as usual.
What it changes
- Manual entry errors in the readings are removed.
- A test cycle takes less time, because the operator is not transcribing.
- Each trial carries the time it was taken, so a test can be reconstructed.
- More trials become practical, which makes the curve better.
- One operator can run the bench where two were needed.
- The readings behind a certified report are the instruments' own.
- The efficiency on the report is the one the bench measured: the figure a buyer comparing running costs relies on.
What we connect to
The approach is instrument-agnostic: what matters is whether a meter has an electrical output that can be read, and most modern bench instruments do. Where an instrument is purely mechanical, it stays as it is and that one value continues to be entered by hand.
Benches vary a great deal between plants, so we survey the bench before quoting. The survey records each instrument, its make and model, its output and where it sits, and the quote follows from that.
Request a demonstration of Tester
Tell us your pump types and the IS standards you test to. We will arrange a demonstration for your plant, in person in Tamil Nadu or online anywhere in India.