Franklin J-Class Pumps

**clayswim** · 04-19-2012, 12:45 AM

Has anyone had any experience with the Franklin J-Class pumps? They have a Franklin motor, which is good. What I'm not sure about is the quality of the pump itself.

Thanks!

Clayton

**valveman** · 04-19-2012, 05:54 AM

Franklin bought out Jacuzzi. It is an old Jacuzzi design. It is as good as any, but no better than the others either. The Franklin motor is about the best you can do, even though they have also been cheapened up as much as possible. Pumps use to be designed to fail in an average of 7 years. The even more cheapened up versions I see at the big box stores were probably designed to last ½ that long. The best you can do with any pump is limit the amount of cycling on and off, which is the biggest killer of pumps. Since there are now things available like the Cycle Stop Valve, pump companies have had to cheapen their pumps even more to stay within their planned obsolescence timelines.

**clayswim** · 04-19-2012, 04:49 PM

Thanks. I already have a CSV on the system, but it might not have been enough to help my Pentek pump. After 18 months of use the pump is tripping the breaker, and the readings don't seem to indicate that the wires are exposed to ground. When I read between the yellow and black I get 4.4, between the yellow and red I get 0.8, and between the black and red I get 4.4. I know those readings are odd, but I'm also not sure what they mean. This weekend I'm pulling the pump, so I guess I'll find out then if I need another one.

Clayton

**valveman** · 04-20-2012, 07:29 AM

make sure you have a good control box. But the jury is still out on those motors.

**clayswim** · 04-21-2012, 04:25 AM

Something else I noticed is that when the pump first went out, there was water running out of the CSV. Is this normal?

Also, any opinions on whether I should get a 2-wire or 3-wire pump? My well is 118' deep, with water 59' below the surface. I have the pump at 100'. Very clean water.

Thanks,
Clayton

**Porky** · 04-21-2012, 06:17 AM

Some of the red and white valves do tend to breath (leak) at the seam but I'm advised that's acceptable. If you have a problem with the leak you may want to replace it with a CSV1W or the new Stainless Steel Valve CSV1A http://www.cyclestopvalves.com/products.html but they do cost more.