Torque arresters, extra check valves, and rope or cables are band aids for things that haven’t happened yet, and would never happen if you know what causes the original problem. Torque arresters are to keep from wearing our the wire from the pump cycling to much. Extra check valves are to backup the original check valve should it fail because of to much cycling. Rope or cable is to catch the pump when it unscrews from the pipe, because of excess cycling. See a pattern here?
With small systems it takes a trained eye to see, hear, and feel the water hammer that happens because of an extra check valve. Cycling that seems normal to most people, cause a visceral and immediate reaction on my part, because I know the destruction it is causing. Just because it takes a trained eye to see these things, doesn’t mean they are not happening.
I use to have the same problems as well, until 17 years ago when I started using a Cycle Stop Valve on every system I installed. When the cycling goes away, you don’t wear out the check valve, so you don’t need extras. When the cycling goes away you no longer have to worry about the wire getting whipped to death, so you don’t need torque arresters. When the cycling goes away you no longer have to worry about the pump coming unscrewed and falling in the well, so you don’t need a rope or cable.
Now there is no rope, so it can’t fall in the well and prevent the pump from being pulled. Now there are no torque arresters to stick and prevent the pump from being pulled. Now there are no extra check valves, so you don’t have to worry about contamination or water hammer from negative line pressure. Eliminating the cycling will also make your pump, motor, bladder tank, pressure switch, and relays last longer.
Of course the manufacturers are not going to recommend doing this. They are going to highly recommend that you install a Variable Speed Pump instead. It took me many years to realize that manufacturers and even government officials do not recommend things that would be good for the end user but, rather because they are good for the manufacturer. When you buy a car the manufacturer recommends a certain motor oil. They want you to use an oil that is good enough to get the car past it’s warranty period. They will not however, recommend a synthetic oil that would make your car last three times as long.
Because it will triple the life expectancy, pump manufacturers will also not recommend a Cycle Stop Valve. They want you to keep letting the pump cycle itself to death, or use a Variable Speed Controller. Both of which will keep cash flowing through their company because you have to replace them often. In order to allow the pump to cycle itself to death in the planned amount of time, you need band aids like extra check valves, torque arresters, and ropes to cover your butt. Or you can simply solve the original problem, which is cycling, and you won’t need the band aids.
With small systems it takes a trained eye to see, hear, and feel the water hammer that happens because of an extra check valve. Cycling that seems normal to most people, cause a visceral and immediate reaction on my part, because I know the destruction it is causing. Just because it takes a trained eye to see these things, doesn’t mean they are not happening.
I use to have the same problems as well, until 17 years ago when I started using a Cycle Stop Valve on every system I installed. When the cycling goes away, you don’t wear out the check valve, so you don’t need extras. When the cycling goes away you no longer have to worry about the wire getting whipped to death, so you don’t need torque arresters. When the cycling goes away you no longer have to worry about the pump coming unscrewed and falling in the well, so you don’t need a rope or cable.
Now there is no rope, so it can’t fall in the well and prevent the pump from being pulled. Now there are no torque arresters to stick and prevent the pump from being pulled. Now there are no extra check valves, so you don’t have to worry about contamination or water hammer from negative line pressure. Eliminating the cycling will also make your pump, motor, bladder tank, pressure switch, and relays last longer.
Of course the manufacturers are not going to recommend doing this. They are going to highly recommend that you install a Variable Speed Pump instead. It took me many years to realize that manufacturers and even government officials do not recommend things that would be good for the end user but, rather because they are good for the manufacturer. When you buy a car the manufacturer recommends a certain motor oil. They want you to use an oil that is good enough to get the car past it’s warranty period. They will not however, recommend a synthetic oil that would make your car last three times as long.
Because it will triple the life expectancy, pump manufacturers will also not recommend a Cycle Stop Valve. They want you to keep letting the pump cycle itself to death, or use a Variable Speed Controller. Both of which will keep cash flowing through their company because you have to replace them often. In order to allow the pump to cycle itself to death in the planned amount of time, you need band aids like extra check valves, torque arresters, and ropes to cover your butt. Or you can simply solve the original problem, which is cycling, and you won’t need the band aids.
