The best deep well submersible pump and motor?

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Ballvalve

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Okay, tons of variables, but I'll try to narrow it down. So if you pump guys were buying a new 1 HP standard 4" submersible pump for your house on a standard pressure tank, or a CSV , pumping relatively clean water for a basic household, 5, 10 or 25 GPM sizing, what would you choose for the longest life?

Seems like the 4" Grundfos are nice and their motors are compatible with existing Franklin control boxes.

And/or, what the most pump and motor for the least cost?
 

Valveman

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Not much difference in the quality of pumps anymore. But I still like the Grundfos pump on a Franklin motor. The Grundfos motor maybe OK, but I know they have changed it up several times over the years, but so has Franklin.

The Grundfos pump also usually has the best drop in amperage when used with a CSV. And the higher the GPM rating that will work for the well depth and pressure the better for amp drop.
 

Craigpump

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Like Cary said, the Grundfos wet end is the best on the market, mate it to a Franklin motor and it will last at least 15 years
 

Ballvalve

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That was my guess.... I have a Grundfos with Franklin in a pretty gritty well pumping 25 GPM often for 20 years now. Never a glitch. Although this pump I believe has SS impellers, and the new ones are composite.
 

Craigpump

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Grundfos 4" pumps have stainless impellers. If you ever took one apart, you would wonder how they can make it and sell it for the price they do.
 

Ballvalve

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Grundfos 4" pumps have stainless impellers. If you ever took one apart, you would wonder how they can make it and sell it for the price they do.

I was just on a website with an internal view... the 3+ HP seem to be SS internals, but clearly the smaller models have a teflon mix for the impellers. I'll look for the link and post it if you see otherwise. I was looking at a 5s10-22 head. Cutaway view showed composite internals! Surprised me.
 

Craigpump

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The seals are Teflon and rubber but I've never seen a 4" Grundfos with anything but stainless impellers.
 

Ballvalve

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The seals are Teflon and rubber but I've never seen a 4" Grundfos with anything but stainless impellers.

Luckily for all of us you are correct, Perhaps I was looking at the Franklin "ss" pumpheads. When I look at a cutaway of the Grunfos 3" SQ units, it does look like composite impellers . Are they SS also?
 

Valveman

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Yeah the SQ type pumps are the only subs with composite impellers. Their standard 4" pump like the 5S10-22 have Stainless Steel impellers and diffusers.
 

Ballvalve

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Yeah the SQ type pumps are the only subs with composite impellers. Their standard 4" pump like the 5S10-22 have Stainless Steel impellers and diffusers.

Just saw the SQ DC pumps with the helical rotor and 30 to 315 volt pumping range. Seems like a whole new world with those. Expensive, but damn near universal in every way. Permanent magnet motors are amazing. With the cost of solar reducing, this looks more and more attractive.

I have a headache looking at pump curves - funny how some are so flat lined and others are just good for huge variations. I cannot imagine the homeowner being at the mercy of a ignorant pump company that does not have the ability to spec the really correct pump for the situation.
 

Reach4

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Just saw the SQ DC pumps with the helical rotor and 30 to 315 volt pumping range. Seems like a whole new world with those. Expensive, but damn near universal in every way. Permanent magnet motors are amazing. With the cost of solar reducing, this looks more and more attractive.
Those are the SQ-Flex pumps. They run at Rated speed 500 - 3600 rpm. The the common SQ and SQE pumps run 3000 to 10700 RPM. The high speeds concern me. The well companies recommend SQ for my 4 inch steel casing, but I feel better with 3500 RPM pumps that are 3.75 inch diameter as I have now. If I have a failure, I have made a list of what I think would be good replacements.

That helical rotor design looks interesting. I had initially wondered if they might be cheaper to make, but the standard centrifugal stages would have much looser tolerances.
silently illustrates the helical rotor pump.
 

Craigpump

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The guts of the SQ & SQE are so well made that as long as the water is grit free and the pump doesn't run dry, 10,000 rpm shouldn't be an issue.

We used helical rotor pumps (Moyno) in Ky 30+ years ago with excellent results.
 

Texas Wellman

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The SQF will run on 30-300 vdc and 90-230 vac.

Just saw the SQ DC pumps with the helical rotor and 30 to 315 volt pumping range. Seems like a whole new world with those. Expensive, but damn near universal in every way. Permanent magnet motors are amazing. With the cost of solar reducing, this looks more and more attractive.

I have a headache looking at pump curves - funny how some are so flat lined and others are just good for huge variations. I cannot imagine the homeowner being at the mercy of a ignorant pump company that does not have the ability to spec the really correct pump for the situation.
 

Valveman

Cary Austin
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In the 60's Peerless made a submersible with a helical shaft. We called it the Peerless Wiggletale. It was hard to balance the crooked shaft and it would knock the top bearing out of the motor. And since it is a positive displacement type pump, if the pressure switch stuck in the closed position, it would build enough pressure to shoot the pressure tank through the roof of the building like a rocket.
 
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