Preventing Costly Water Hammer Failures in a Food & Beverage Facility

A rapidly growing food and beverage production facility began experiencing repeated mechanical failures in its chilled water systems. Operators reported loud banging in the pipes, vibration throughout the process lines, and frequent damage to valves, mechanical seals, gaskets, and instrumentation.

The issue escalated into costly downtime events and increased maintenance expenses. Production teams were forced to pause operations regularly to replace failed components, creating scheduling challenges and risking product loss. 

Crane Engineering's Valve team was asked to evaluate the situation and propose a solution that could have prevented the failures and improved long-term reliability.

Root Cause: Water Hammer

After reviewing system behavior and operational patterns, it became clear that the facility’s problems were caused by water hammer—a pressure surge created when liquid flow stopped or changed direction too quickly.

Key contributors included:

• Fast-closing valves that abruptly stopped forward flow
• Slow-closing swing check valves that allowed reverse-momentum slamming
• Pump shutdowns that created sudden velocity changes

These shock events resulted in pressure spikes far exceeding the system’s mechanical limits.

Crane Engineering’s Proposed Solution

Crane Engineering developed a comprehensive mitigation strategy that would prevent the recurring failures and protect the facility from future incidents. The proposal included:

• Slowing down pneumatic valve closure speed with needle valves
• Replacing swing check valves with fast-acting, spring-assisted check valves featuring minimal travel distance
• Reconfiguring pump start/stop logic to reduce hydraulic shock

These recommendations were designed to eliminate damaging pressure transients, significantly reducing the risk of equipment failure and unplanned downtime.

Expected Outcomes

The solution would provide the facility with:

• Substantial reductions in maintenance costs from valve, mechanical seal, gasket, and instrument failures
• Cleaner, more reliable operation with fewer production interruptions
• Enhanced equipment life through controlled momentum and stabilized piping loads
• Improved safety, reducing exposure to high-energy shock events

Facility leadership estimated that the avoided downtime and reduced maintenance burden would translate to significant annual cost savings.

Protect Your Operation from Water Hammer

Water hammer is one of the most common—and preventable—sources of mechanical failure in manufacturing and processing facilities. Crane Engineering helps plants identify the root cause, engineer the right solution, and prevent costly failures before they start.

If you’re experiencing pipe vibration, valve failures, or unexplained shutdowns, we can diagnose the underlying issue and design a reliable, long-term fix.

Ready to stop water hammer before it stops production? Contact Crane Engineering to discuss a system evaluation.