Continuous pressure pump?

[erupert]

I am sure that it's not the correct terminology, but someone I met while camping mentioned that he had one of these new style pumps installed in his well and the water pressure was simply amazing. Wondering if anyone has any feedback on the pumps, how much they typically cost and how hard it would be to replace my current demand pump?

[rshackleford]

check out this thread

low pressure

i have experience the franklin electric monodrive, franlin electric subdrive, and grundfos systems. i like the mono drive because it mostly uses off the shelf stuff. the grundfos is also good although the pumps are specials for constant pressure use.

check out the thread.

[Bob NH]

The Franklin MonoDrive is a variable frequency drive that matches the speed of the pump to the desired pressure. I'm pretty certain it will work as advertised. They work on submersible pumps and will not work on standard jet pumps.

Variable frequency drives are often used in municipal systems that have big constant-rate filters and water towers. They eliminate the losses from control valves. They also work on municipal systems that don't have water towers and rely on pumps to keep a constant pressure in the distribution system.

The Franklin MonoDrive system replaces the 3-wire control box and pressure switch on pumps with Franklin 3-wire motors up to 1 HP. It would theoretically save power in small pressure tank systems if you are only pumping water to the desirable pressure. However, it would be useful to understand the operation in those small systems. The Franklin site didn't describe how the systems are operated or controlled. Does the pump run every time you flush a toilet? What does that do for pump life?

If constant pressure is really important you could increase your pressure switch settings and install a pressure regulator. It would take a long time to pay for the MonoDrive system ($905 in addition to your existing pump and motor at one web site I found) with the power savings relative to a tank/regulator system.

[rshackleford]

i think i could sell the mono drive for less than that. although, i am not sure if that is kosher on the board.