A good understanding of counterbalance is vital to the successful operation of surface sucker rod pumping units. Poor counterbalance practices can cause early failure of the gear reducer gearing and will result in excessive energy cost.
Non-counterbalanced lever system:
The up-stroke:
The figure above represents a simple non-counterbalanced lever system. On the up-stroke, by pulling down on the end of a beam, a man is lifting a bucket full of water having a combined weight of 150 lbs.
Note that the upstroke effort of the man is a substantial 150 lbs.
