Seeking submersible pump advice

[njbillt]

I'm getting ready to have my 25 year old pump replaced. The pump down there now is a Myers with a Franklin Electric motor, and I can't complain; it has lasted 25 years and a lot of that is irrigation with no CSV. Burned up a lot of relays over the years, but the pump hasn't been out of the casing in 25 years.

The guy I called, who also installed the Myers 25 years ago, wants to install a Franklin electric pump with the same specs: 1HP 20 GPM

Here is my dilemma:

The Myers back then used a Franklin Electric motor, but now the exact same model number uses their own Pentek motor. Franklin Electric would be the same great motor, but they now make their own pumps.

I'm looking for advice between these 2 brands. The Franklin Electric motor with their own pump, or the Myers/Pentair pump with their own motor? I may be overthinking this but I'm trying to figure out if it's better to use a trusted pump maker that decided to start making their own motors, or a trusted motor maker that decided to start making their own pumps. The Myers/Pentair is about $400 cheaper than the Franklin electric.

Thanks for any advice

 

[Valveman]

That is the problem we all face. Franklin makes a good motor, but not a good pump. Other companies make a good pump, but not a good motor. You can buy them separately and put them together. My favorite is still a Franklin motor with a Grundfos pump. But hey, the other companies are doing better at making motors, and Franklin is getting worse at making pumps. So the Pentair pump/motor combo is good, especially at 400 bucks less.

If the pump was cycling enough to burn up several relays, the new pump/motors will probably not last as long as the next relay. Stopping the cycling is the only way to make the newer pumps last as long as the old ones.

 

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[njbillt]

That is the problem we all face. Franklin makes a good motor, but not a good pump. Other companies make a good pump, but not a good motor. You can buy them separately and put them together. My favorite is still a Franklin motor with a Grundfos pump. But hey, the other companies are doing better at making motors, and Franklin is getting worse at making pumps. So the Pentair pump/motor combo is good, especially at 400 bucks less.

If the pump was cycling enough to burn up several relays, the new pump/motors will probably not last as long as the next relay. Stopping the cycling is the only way to make the newer pumps last as long as the old ones.

I'm leaning towards the Myers/Pentek if I can get the guy to install it. If I can trust the specs, the Myers is a better deal if buying it by the pound lol.

This new pump will use your CSV. I'll be in touch when I figure out which pump I'm installing and how deep I'm drawing from but as I remember it, the well is about 185 and drawing from 65. I remember him dropping it down a few feet 25 years ago because I had added irrigation. Is 1 HP / 20 GPM a good pump for me and your CSV? I'm in south jersey if that helps.

 

[Valveman]

At that depth a 1HP, 20 GPM would work well with a CSV1A. If the water gets any deeper than 90' it won't make 60 PSI for a 40/60 switch. My favorite would be a 1HP, 16 GPM pump, which would be a Grundfos or a knockoff thereof.

 

[njbillt]

At that depth a 1HP, 20 GPM would work well with a CSV1A. If the water gets any deeper than 90' it won't make 60 PSI for a 40/60 switch. My favorite would be a 1HP, 16 GPM pump, which would be a Grundfos or a knockoff thereof.

Good to know. I was going to have the installer tell me how deep I'm drawing from but by then he'll have bought the pump. Can you give me any tricks to figure that out before I buy? The well cap is going to be replaced too in all this as it's loose and I have access to the well. A string and a weight?

 

[Valveman]

If you have a working pump in the well, you can test the draw down. Run the pump wide open with as little pressure against it as you can. Open a big pipe or turn on multiple hydrants. After the pump has ran this way for an hour or two, check the water level in the well. Running wide open it will pump more water than when working at normal pressures. If the water level is good when pumping wide open and hour or two, it shouldn't get any lower when pumping at pressure and lower flows. Be careful with a weight on a string as it will get tangled in the wire and you won't be able to get it out. A large ice cube makes a good weight if you hurry.

But if you have a working pump in the well why are you replacing it? It maybe better than anything you can get today, especially if you stop it from cycling on/off. I have one still working that is 38 years old, and I won't replace it until it stops squirting water up from the well.

 

[njbillt]

If you have a working pump in the well, you can test the draw down. Run the pump wide open with as little pressure against it as you can. Open a big pipe or turn on multiple hydrants. After the pump has ran this way for an hour or two, check the water level in the well. Running wide open it will pump more water than when working at normal pressures. If the water level is good when pumping wide open and hour or two, it shouldn't get any lower when pumping at pressure and lower flows. Be careful with a weight on a string as it will get tangled in the wire and you won't be able to get it out. A large ice cube makes a good weight if you hurry.

But if you have a working pump in the well why are you replacing it? It maybe better than anything you can get today, especially if you stop it from cycling on/off. I have one still working that is 38 years old, and I won't replace it until it stops squirting water up from the well.

I tend to be proactive. I replace my buried oil storage tank before it leaked. If my well pump gave up the ghost mid-winter it would cost me twice as much as if I do it at my leisure. I believe the pump is still running at its capacity because the hydrant I use to fill my pool is right at the well tank, and it pumps a lot of water. My current tank is waterlogged so I was going to just replace the pump and tank with a CSV all this spring before irrigation season. Are new pumps really that bad?

 

[Valveman]

The new motor will weigh much less than the old one. They just don't put anymore meat in them than they have to these days. The bearings will be cheap Chinese made, the old one has bearings made in the US. I would think you are more likely to have a new pump quit you in the middle of next winter than the old pump. It has lasted 25 years, it is a good one. I have seen many brand new pumps that wouldn't work right out of the box, many that quit in a day or two, others lasted a few months. You know what you have now, and you don't know what you will be getting into with a new one. Seen lots of people be proactive only to have to pull their new pump during the next winter.