pump reviews

[ws9876]

if you were buying a 220 pump submers., well is 180 ft, which pump would you buy, This is for grid power now , maybe battery later. Which Grundfos??
which Lorentz??
which Sun pump or other??
I want high quality...its replacing a Franklin...

[mike90045]

If you can manage with a half HP pump, I just installed a
Grundfos 10 SO5- 9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor ( 240V ) 3 wire motors have lower startup demand than 2 wire motors.
I think it will do about 8 gpm at your elevation, but it will be running at the end of it's curve. I'm pumping into a elevated storage tank, so the flow rate is not all that important, just need to pump enough to keep 9,000 gallons topped off.

[stephendv]

Grundfos are the top end of the market, by all accounts high quality equipment, but it is expensive. You might be able to find similar quality from a lesser known brand (perhaps something made locally) if you consult with pump installers.

Lorentz only do solar powered pumps, they don't do normal AC powered.

I'm with Mike regarding 3 phase pumps, prefer them to single phase - but then you either need a 3 phase supply, or will have to use a variable frequency drive (VFD) to convert single phase to 3 phase. With a VFD you can further control the speed and the startup time of the pump. E.g. you can run it at half speed and you can configure it to startup really slowly to avoid surges and prolong motor life.
VFDs and 3 phase motors are routinely used in industrial motor applications because of longer life and lower maintenance costs.

[mike90045]

Originally Posted by stephendv

I'm with Mike regarding 3 phase pumps, prefer them to single phase -

Not 3 phase, 3 wire. They have a standard size starting capacitor & relay in an above ground control box.
2 wire pumps have a mini-size cap, & starting switch in the motor, and they take quite a bit more ommph from the inverter to get started. Fine for grid power.

[ws9876]

why dont the Grundy have its own motor???
Also, has anyone replaced their regular black well pipe with a greener type like a Pex type.????
If I go to the expense of pulling the whole thing ,I want to make it right thru out.....
Do you think Franklins are good..btw...??? maybe its not that bad...

[mike90045]

I think Franklin is a major, US made motor with a long history. I've heard the pipe to use is 200psi poly - very strong, long life pipe, and use SS adapters, not galvanized.

[mikeo]

I think Franklin is a major, US made motor with a long history

I have bought several well pumps from places like Home Depot and they all seem to have Franklin motors. I have done two local well installs, my own and one for my neighbor and they have worked out. My first pump lasted about 10 years and then became flaky and I replaced it with another. Both installations were with two wire 220 volt pumps and a 120/240 step up transformer from a 400 amp 48 volt and 900 amp hour 24 volt battery banks. No problems with start up using 1/2 hp motors and Xantrex SW 4xxx inverters. I did wire the step up transformer to the pressure switch on the primary side so they would not create an idle load when not in use.

[stephendv]

I have a lay flat hose (like the type used by firemen) in my well, which makes pulling the pump out much easier than rigid hose.
There's an interesting system by Wellmaster where they have a special kind of check valve at the bottom of the pipe which can be opened by dropping a torpedo down the pipe.

This would be very useful for large diameter and long pipes where pulling it up with water would be impossible. So you can drop the torpedo in, it the valve and the pipe drains of water - then it's much easier to pull up with any old winch and pulley.

Installation manual mentioning this torpedo system here: http://www.kiddecanada.com/utcfs/ws-...n%20Manual.pdf