Boiler feed pumps operate at extremely high pressures usually 600 or 2,000 PSI. Because of this, failure can be a serious problem.

Boiler feed pump vibration frequencies of interest include pump unbalance, input shaft alignment, and bearing defect frequencies. A complete continuous monitoring approach should include one accelerometer per bearing location. Mounting orientation for the accelerometers should be horizontal at the bearing. Economical standard accelerometers such as the CMCP1100 are well suited to this application. The accelerometers should be used with CMCP530A Vibration Velocity Monitors.

A complete vibration monitoring system includes:

For additional reading STI offers several application notes with a more in depth discussion at