Advice for obtaining which best well pump

[RonL2]

My current pump (myers preditor 8 gpm approximately 16 years old) is still functioning quite well. It drives my geothermal HP at 4gpm and supply's the house with the rest. It has always been sufficient for our needs. For the first 10 years of its life, it was attached to a standard 10 - 20 gal pressure tank. (Not positive of the size) but it cycled a lot. I smartened up a little and installed an 86 gal tank. So now when the hp runs it seems to have a 3 min on 3 min off cycle. And if hp isnt running it looks like a 2 minute fill cycle. All this to give the history of the abuse this poor pump has gone through. I know the current advice is "if it's not broke dont fix it" however, just checking availability of local pumps. It doesnt seem that the name brands are available unless ordered. What is the opinion on ordering a pump, putting it on a shelf and just waiting for the current one to give out. And if I did that, what would the suggestion be for the most reliable brand to go with for replacement. I would personally stick with the predator.. but if there is better I would like to know.

 

[Reach4]

What is the opinion on ordering a pump, putting it on a shelf and just waiting for the current one to give out.

You can store for extended periods in water, or in non-poison antifreeze solution.
See last paragraph of https://terrylove.com/forums/index....-pump-for-residential-home.91099/#post-655483 post #7.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[RonL2]

Yes, I actually just finished reading that...( going through this forum page by page. )
But being that I want to use a 2 wire as a replacement. I still am at odds on what to purchase. And adding that third wire ground as my current pump does not have that... not sure if I will do that.. or just add a 3rd strand and find some way to get it into the house...

 

[2stupid2fixit]

My current pump (myers preditor 8 gpm approximately 16 years old) is still functioning quite well. It drives my geothermal HP at 4gpm and supply's the house with the rest. It has always been sufficient for our needs. For the first 10 years of its life, it was attached to a standard 10 - 20 gal pressure tank. (Not positive of the size) but it cycled a lot. I smartened up a little and installed an 86 gal tank. So now when the hp runs it seems to have a 3 min on 3 min off cycle. And if hp isnt running it looks like a 2 minute fill cycle. All this to give the history of the abuse this poor pump has gone through. I know the current advice is "if it's not broke dont fix it" however, just checking availability of local pumps. It doesnt seem that the name brands are available unless ordered. What is the opinion on ordering a pump, putting it on a shelf and just waiting for the current one to give out. And if I did that, what would the suggestion be for the most reliable brand to go with for replacement. I would personally stick with the predator.. but if there is better I would like to know.

I wish I had the answer to that because I have the same question. I replaced my 1970s goulds/franklin 1/2 hp pump with a 3/4 horse ebay Hallmark pump (others have made fun of me) for $180 and have not had one problem. Truth be told I did it in October of 2020, the longevity remains to be seen. I have another 2 hp Hallmark that I got for free (long story, its elsewhere in this forum) ready to install as it is in water all the time just in case.

 

[RonL2]

I am leaning towards a grunfos sq, as it had the automatic dry well feature and soft start built right in. But I hate to buy one and stick it in a bucket, hoping it will work when I need it. There definatly more pricey .. I think you can order one online for around 600. But I only want to change it out one more time
Getting to old for the physical pull it out of the hole effort. But I would hate for my current pump to fail. Then I'm waiting for someone to ship me one. I would love to do the wait until it breaks, just not sure if I want to be on its schedule.

 

[Valveman]

The SQ pump has an oil filled motor with ball bearings, and doesn't need to be stored in water. The soft start feature is a sales gimmick. The dry well feature works, but there are better options. The SQ also spins at 10,700 RPM instead of 3450 like normal 4" pumps. From Grundfos's own engineering manual, doubling the speed of the pump increases wear by a factor of four times. If you stop the pump from cycling every 2-3 minutes any pump will last much longer. Using a Cycle Stop Valve to stop the cycling can make even the predator pump last 30 years. The 4" Grundfos pump will cost less and last longer than the SQ pump, but either will work with a Cycle Stop Valve.

 

[RonL2]

It's never easy is it ?
I just wish they still made quality stuff. I'd love to be able to just go to the local big box, and pick up something. Or tractor supply, or northern tool.

 

[Valveman]

It's never easy is it ?
I just wish they still made quality stuff. I'd love to be able to just go to the local big box, and pick up something. Or tractor supply, or northern tool.

Really, for a 10 GPM pump in 1/2HP or 3/4HP there is not much difference in quality of the box store pumps and the name brands. Box stores sell a lot of them because that is where you go on a Saturday or Sunday, which is when most pumps quit anyway. Most of the box store pumps are made by the name brand companies anyway. They just put a plastic or cast iron head on the same pump they use brass or SS on for the name brand. The internals are all pretty much the same. I don't like the black painted cast iron pump adapter and discharge parts, but plastic is fine as it is strong enough and doesn't rust out. Even the name brand pumps have been cheapened up so, the 0nly thing you can do to make any pump last longer is to limit the number of on/off cycles.

 

[RonL2]

Pretty tough to do when your running a geothermal hp from it.
Is the grundfos 4 inch made the same way.. with oil, so you could purchase one ahead of time ?
I havnt seen those advertised.. they are pushing the sq and sqe models.

 

[Valveman]

My favorite is still the 4" Grundfos (SP model) with a Franklin motor. You may have to buy them separately and put it together (which isn't hard) to get that combination. The Grundfos will be worth it since you have a heat pump. The pumping energy is important with a heat pump and you can't get better amp drop at low flow than with a Grundfos. Even the SQ amps drop when using low flow and being restricted with a CSV. As a matter of fact the SQ amps drop almost exactly as much when running full speed and restricted with a CSV as they do when working as a SQE and slowing the speed with the CU301 controller.

No, the 4" motors like the Franklin are water lubricated and either need to be stored in water or topped off with water after being stored for any time. But they have a Kingsbury type bearing which I like better than the ball bearings of the SQ.

 

[RonL2]

Thanks valveman ! So an sp with Franklin motor. And if I can find one to buy... throw it into a 5 gallon bucket of water until i use it... (even if its 5 years down the road) any suggestions on where to order this stuff ? As i sure dont see it locally.

 

[Valveman]

I didn't see where you mentioned horsepower or pump model number? But I found a 10S05-9 pump end here
https://www.pumpproducts.com/grundf...w-250-47-ft-max-head-304-stainless-steel.html

 

[RonL2]

Yes 1/2 is what I run now.
And I'm getting roughly 9 gpm though it's an 8 gpm pump. I'm probably on the better end of the curve at maybe 70-75 feet down.
So now I would just need the engine for it.

 

[Valveman]

Here is the first motor I found. https://www.rcworst.com/Franklin-El...tor-4-5-HP-230V-3-Wire-Single-Phase-p726.html

 

[Donna Davis]

Wow! We just put our Grundfos 10S10 pump bought in 2013, in the well just yesterday. It's been stored in the shipping box for 8 years.

We haven't wired it in yet. So what might happen when we run it now?

 

[2stupid2fixit]

Wow! We just put our Grundfos 10S10 pump bought in 2013, in the well just yesterday. It's been stored in the shipping box for 8 years.

We haven't wired it in yet. So what might happen when we run it now?

I imagine it will either pump water or trip the breaker.

 

[Donna Davis]

Ok I just found valveman's post in the link above about cooling liquid possibly leaking or evaporating.

I have not seen any signs of leaking and it is hard it imagine that it would evaporate if sealed. But wasn't looking at it often either.

So looks like there is a chance we may have to pull the pump and top off the cooling liquid.

Thanks for answering - we'll know what to look for if the breaker trips.