Recent content by Alan Waterman

Thanks folks. Just heard back from Franklin after providing them with more details and data. On thing I left out that I remembered after re-reading my emails to the installer: Shortly after this pump was installed, I got nuisance underflow errors requiring resets. It would happen when in the...

I've been through all the static and dynamic head calculations. This has nothing to do with my question.

Right, so 2700 to 2800 watts in, assuming 100% efficiency, which it's not, and that is still not enough to produce 2 hp.

Using a clamp meter on the circuit side so the 11.4 amps is certainly more than the pump itself is pulling since there's overhead for the VFD. The 11.4 amps is a ceiling so the pump can't be pulling more than the controller is being fed. Unfortunately, the VFD frequency measures in the kHz...

Good chance that the reason my VFD has lasted so long is that I got the NEMA 4 version which has a very extreme operating temperature range with a massive and very loud cooling fan yet it's been mounted in doors it's entire life. I got the NEMA 4 version because it was only $995 vs something...

My Fluke 77 can read the frequency just fine but it doesn't tell me what the higher frequency means in terms of the load. Again, we're talking full power since I'm running sprinklers at well below the target setpoint. It never exceeds 2800 watts.

The MondriveXT was actually installed in 2013. I honestly don't think it will ever die and if it does, the 10 years and 5 months it's been since installing it I'll happily buy another.

Forgot to add this bit. This is with sprinkler zones running 40 to 45 PSI with the controller setpoint at 60 PSI. Adding this because the Franklin support rep replied to my nearly identical email to them saying that I must not be using enough water to allow for full speed operation.

Hi. I have a MonoDriveXT with a 2hp motor with a 25fA2S4-PE that was installed back in 2014. It draws 11.4 amps (input from 240 volt supply side) or about 2750 watts (varies from 2700 to 2800 when running at full bore). After comparing notes with some neighbors on their 2 hp pumps (most have...

The clamp wasn't even tightened. They just shoved it over the broken end. I reached in and it just slipped right off. I think I'm going to have to climb inside to saw it off, add a coupler to extend it back out to where it was and then a new 4 inch drain tee. Found the SDR tee and coupler but...

Had a septic service come out and pump my tank today so I could inspect. No issues except that the guy that pumped it broke the inlet tee. The old tee extends 16 inches below the water line and the one they put on there to replace it is just a rubber tee with a steel bands to tighten it around...

It is true that the 14.7 watts adds up. In a year at 18 cents / kwh, the standby cost of the controller is $22 / year. I'm willing to live with that :) My pump draws 2700 watts at 40 psi and at 55 psi. It makes no difference. The higher the psi, the less water it flows but still takes the same...

FYI, if one decides to run at a high PSI from the pump, like when installing a CSV, picking a pump end for the given hp could make a lot of difference. For example, a 2 hp 15 gpm V series is way more efficient at deeper levels or higher pressures than the 25 gpm pump. The 25 gpm pump may pump...

Having a sprinkler system not tuned for the pump flow is bad for the system no matter what. The VFD gave me constant pressure and eliminated the mild water hammer I was getting when the pump shut off. And although there wasn't water hammer when the pump turned on, the pressure spiked pretty from...

Or in my case 3 psi deadband built into the switch :)