🔍 Key Concepts

• Pump suction side is the line where liquid ENTERS the pump, before the impeller or pumping elements • Follow the flow path from the separator tank module to and from the pump module in illustration GS-0153 • Note the difference between fittings on the top of the separator tank and the connection at the bottom/side outlet leading toward the pump

💭 Think About

• Locate the pump in the pump module, then trace backwards along the piping to see where the liquid is coming FROM – which numbered valve or connection is just upstream of the pump inlet? • Look at how the separator tank is drained or fed: does the pump appear to PULL liquid out of the tank, or PUSH liquid into it? Which numbered connection matches that role? • Compare the valves on the top of the separator (near the motor/controls) with the connection low on the tank – which of these makes sense as a suction line rather than a vent, overflow, or discharge?

✅ Before You Answer

• Confirm which direction the liquid must move through the separator and pump to eventually reach overboard or a holding tank • Verify which numbered item is physically connected by the dashed/solid piping between the separator tank module and the pump module – that is the one associated with the pump’s suction or discharge • Before choosing, ask: "If I closed this valve, would the pump be starved of liquid (on the suction side) or blocked from sending liquid out (on the discharge side)?" Focus on the one that would starve the pump.