The complete pump
This is a pitot tube pump. The shaft connects to the motor. The inlet and outlet are at the other end. Liquid enters on the left and leaves on the right.
How a Pitot Tube Pump Works: 3D Animation
Follow the liquid from the inlet, through the rotating chamber and fixed pickup tube, to the outlet.
Rotor turns, pickup tube stays fixed
Inside the fixed pump housing are the rotor and the pickup tube. The rotor turns with the shaft. The pickup tube stays fixed.
Liquid enters the rotor
Liquid enters through the inlet and flows through ten passages into the rotor chamber. Light blue shows lower pressure. Dark blue shows higher pressure. The rotor spins at high speed. Centrifugal force creates high pressure, and the pressure is highest at the outer edge.
Speed becomes pressure
The pickup tube does not turn. Its open end is at the outer edge, facing the spinning liquid. As the liquid rushes in, its speed turns into extra pressure.
Liquid leaves on the right
The liquid then flows through the pickup tube and leaves the outlet on the right at high pressure. Two other common layouts are top inlet with straight outlet, and left inlet with straight outlet. We arrange the inlet and outlet to suit your piping.