Best pump with CSV...

Guys,

I just found this forum and need some help. I currently have a 4 year old Grundfos CU301 system that I use for grass irrigation and house water supply. Well tonight the box went dead. As I happen to be a troubleshooter (mostly because I hate to pay someone money for something I can do myself) I took the cover on the CU301. No lights on the outside were showing and when I opened it up, it had a steady green LED for 24V, a flashing green LED for 10V and 5V and a flashing red LED for NO CONTACT WITH PUMP. I downloaded a copy of the user manual and tore into the troubleshooting section. I did what the section said and hooked the power supply directly up to the pump supply to see if the motor works. It did (small victory as we now have water back in the house for needed emergency plumbing issues) so I went on through the troubleshooting and it says that the CU301 box is defective. Just a curiousity, but what would have gone bad?

Now my real questions are after reading your information about constant and variable speed pumps and cycle stop valves:

What should I do about this system?

Should I replace the CU301 box with a new one (approximately $350) and hope that it lasts for x months more?

Go to a whole new system since I am nearing the service life for this POS and what system do I get?

Or what?

Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike

A lot of people have solved this problem by using a CSV. I am not sure you can even just replace the controller, as the new ones may not work with an older pump. Last years SQE would cycle 250 times before it faulted out on "no signal". This year they changed the programming so it will cycle 1000 times before it faults out. So I am not sure it will work without also changing out to a new model pump that will work with the new model box. And I have not seen any upgrades that will make this type system last any longer than you have already experienced.

Without the CU301 controller, this pump becomes an SQ which has no speed control. As you have already noticed, removing the variable speed controller and hooking it up directly to power, will usually get the system running again. Now you just need a way to control the system without the variable speed controller.

Installing a CSV and a regular pressure switch, will make this system much more dependable. This is what we call a real "constant pressure pump repair kit". Let me know if you have any questions hooking up the CSV and pressure switch. Then I would really appreciate it if you would let us know how it worked.
Thanks
Cary

Valveman,

I appreciate the response. Unfortunately, in quick fixes, I have to ensure that Household06 is happy and she wants it fixed right now (water is a necessity to living in this case).

My sister is in the Well Drilling business and she hooked me up with a new controller at cost, so I am going to install that now as the quick fix. I am not yet sure what I am going to do for the future. I hope the controller will work with my pump because I don't have another $1000 to shell out on a new pump and installation.

My brother-in-law thinks that a power hit might have shorted out the board in the controller as the rural area I live in does experience quite a few power hits. I don't know if this is true or not, but does anyone have any experience with putting a surge protector into their systems?

Do you think that my irrigation system (grass watering) had anything to do with this? I have been toying with the idea of installing a 1000 gallon irrigation tank and a seperate pump to take the load off of the well, but I haven't been pressed into yet. It seems that the time may be upon me.

I really appreciate the help and if I install the CSV and switch I will let you know.

Mike

If your sister is in the well business, she should be getting her fill of those variable speed pumps and controllers. Because if it is not a power problem, then it is a communication problem between the motor and controller, or a small leak causing them to rapid cycle, or the transducer stops working, or a multitude of other things that leaves the customer mad and out of water. I am glad she was able to get you another controller at cost but, even that is not cheap. I am hearing less than 4 year average life on that system, and a good water system should last 20 years. When you get tired of waking up and no water coming out of the faucets, a CSV and a pressure switch will solve your problem. All the pump people have to go through the variable speed stage before they learn better than to use them. The problem is, every time they complain, the supplier has a "new" version that is supposed to fix all the problems of the last version. The same thing has been happening for more than 15 years, when I went through that stage. Nothing has changed except about every 5 years, they get a new batch of us suckers to try it again.

CU301 on the blitz

Well a few months ago we noticed we had no water pressure from our SQE pump. Went downstairs and saw a red light on the unit.

After recycling power a few times,and going through a few different error status conditions, the unit powered up OK and our water was back to normal.

2 weeks ago it went on the fritz for good and power recycling of the unit was of no use. We used the troubleshooting manual to debug the unit and surmized a defective CU301. We would have one of the following.
a) Constant relay clicking.
b) No Run Light.
c) Pressure Fault
d) Slow Speed
e) Temp

I.E. Virtually every error possible... The clincher was that the run light wasn't flashing anymore but all power lights worked well....

Contacted the Grundfos local Service center and they said that they would sell us a nw unit but that they don't do exchanges or repairs of the CU301...

Bought a new unit and it fixed the problem...Grundfos then notified us that the warranty was 5 years and it was right on the cusp of the warranty.....(30 days past...) but that they would support us....

After trying to arrange for a swap directly with them (they said they wouldn't swap the unit dorectly with the end user) . When we gave them a hard time and said we didn't ant to call our originally installer to do the swap,they said we are out of warranty and it was tough luck..... We are still trying to ge t them to accept it under warranty, just so we will have a spare "the Next Time" the unit goes on the fritz.

We have gotten to the point where we just expect things to fail, so we keep extra parts. I guess I am showing my age, knowing that pump systems should last 20, 30 years or more without giving a single problem.
Oil companies don’t want us buying to much gas, so they will tell us the best way to conserve fuel. Electric companies don’t want us buying to much electricity, so they will tell us the best way to save energy. So I am sure that pump and motor companies are spending millions advertising Constant Pressure Pumps, because they will last forever and save the home owner a lot of money. Yeah right!!

Most installers are just naive. They can’t believe the manufacturers would purposely build something to fail, and spend millions convincing them that it is the most technologically advanced and "green" thing to do. Now you don’t want to call the installer, so he is taking all the blame, for something that happened exactly the way the manufacturer planned it.

The installer will have a lot more clout with the manufacturer. They want to keep him installing these things until he goes broke doing warranty labor, or goes out of business because of the bad reputation he is getting. Then another clueless installer will step up, and the process starts all over again. Anyway, make the installer get the box warrantied for you. They won’t argue with him over the extra month.

Cycle Stop Valves make pumps last longer and use smaller tanks. This is why you won’t see any pump, motor, or tank companies promoting the CSV. It use to be "if you had a better mouse trap...", but now they don’t want to make mice extinct, or the mouse trap people can’t make any money.