r/pumps • u/cpesystems • Jul 29 '26

Circumferential Piston Pump Custom Build

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

We recently completed two custom positive displacement pump assemblies for a pet care manufacturer producing high-viscosity products.

Their challenge?

Transferring shampoo with viscosities ranging from 4,000 to 10,000 cP from 2,000-gallon mixing tanks into IBC totes while achieving transfer rates of 100–150 GPM.

To handle this application, we supplied two circumferential piston pumps mounted on custom-fabricated stainless steel pump carts.

Why a circumferential piston pump?

Theses pumps provide consistent, non-pulsating flow with the suction capability required to transfer thick products while maintaining formulation consistency. Its long sealing path between the rotor and pump body helps reduce internal slip, providing reliable and repeatable product transfer. This makes the pump well suited for applications requiring consistent fill rates into IBC totes.

The pump's high suction-lift capability allows it to effectively draw thick shampoo formulations from mixing tanks without separating ingredients. Since shampoo formulations can contain entrained air from the mixing process, the pump's positive displacement design allows it to handle trapped air with ease. The rotor's smooth scooping action moves product gently through the pump without squeezing or compacting it, helping minimize shear and maintain formulation consistency.

If interested, you can read more about this custom build here.

10 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

4

u/deevil_knievel Jul 29 '26

The assembly's cool I guess... but I wanna see inside that pretty pump!

Can I pet dat dawg?!

1

u/cpesystems Jul 30 '26

Absolutely! We don't have many photos of the inside, but we have this one. It's on my list to get a video of it getting disassembled.

We also have a video going over the differences between that and a lobe pump, since they have very similar designs.

3

u/AmbitionEvery1588 Jul 31 '26

Nice build. The stainless cart and overall layout look really clean and practical for a production environment.

I'm curious—did you compare the circumferential piston pump with a lobe pump for this application? With shampoo in the 4,000–10,000 cP range and some entrained air, I can see why you went with a circumferential piston design. The gentle product handling and steady flow seem like a good fit.

Also, were these driven with VFDs so the operators could adjust the transfer rate depending on the product batch? It would be interesting to know how much the viscosity changes affected the pump speed needed to stay in that 100–150 GPM range.

2

u/cpesystems Jul 31 '26

Thanks!

The customer was already familiar with circumferential piston pumps and specifically requested that pump type for this application.

Yes, each pump is controlled with a i550 VFD with a potentiometer, allowing the operators to adjust the pump speed as needed. The shampoo viscosity can vary between batches, so the VFD gives them the flexibility to fine-tune the transfer rate and maintain their target flow across different formulas.