The Liberty Specs™ Podcast is LibertyCES's engineering-education series. Each episode takes one real equipment decision — a pump, valve, tank or chemical feed system — and explains why one specification works where a similar-looking one fails, using real field failures, real manufacturers and real numbers. Every episode is on YouTube and has its full transcript on this site.
How to price compressed air from the DOE method, one duty worked to the dollar (about $9,000 a year in air for a 3-inch pump at one shift), an honest look at the electric side, and the Graco QUANTM i230 3-inch electric diaphragm pump: its curve, controls, four hard fit checks and installation.
How an air operated double diaphragm pump really works, how to place a duty point on the FT30P curve and find the air pressure it needs, what it costs in compressed air, why glass-filled polypropylene has its own chemical ratings, and a fair comparison with the Graco Husky 3300.
The specification layer between a product catalog and a working fab: lane-one vs lane-two infrastructure, the overspec trap, the RO membrane math, and the $18,000 mag-drive dry-run failure.
Why unplanned pump failure can cost over $100,000 per hour, and how a sealless single-roller peristaltic pump architecture (Graco SoloTech) removes the seal and valve wear points behind it.
Have a spec question from an episode? Send James the equipment and process data and get a real engineering answer.
Request a Free Spec Review →Reviewed by James Riggins, 30+ years specifying water and chemical process equipment · Updated