Submersible well pump

midlf · Jul 2, 2006

Our submersible well pump was installed when this house was built in 1972. It is not giving us any problems, yet. It is also a two wire pump and the motor is oil filled. Being a two wire pump means that it has the capacitor in the motor casing. As the capacitor was made before 1979 it contains PCB fluid. I'm not going nuts about this, and I know a lot about PCB's as I was the substation PCB elimination person for the large electric utility I used to work for. The state of WI does not get nutty about this either as they feel submersible well pumps very seldom leak, even when they fail.

However I feel it is in my best interest to change out this advanced age pump and, at least at this time, I can do it at my convenience. I believe all pumps these days are three wire. The conversion of my system to three wire is not a problem for me. My question is: Who makes a quality submersible pump? Currently it is a 240V 1/2hp. I am more interested in quality and reliability than cost.

MadReferee · Jul 3, 2006

midlf said:
Our submersible well pump was installed when this house was built in 1972. It is not giving us any problems, yet. It is also a two wire pump and the motor is oil filled. Being a two wire pump means that it has the capacitor in the motor casing. As the capacitor was made before 1979 it contains PCB fluid. I'm not going nuts about this, and I know a lot about PCB's as I was the substation PCB elimination person for the large electric utility I used to work for. The state of WI does not get nutty about this either as they feel submersible well pumps very seldom leak, even when they fail.

However I feel it is in my best interest to change out this advanced age pump and, at least at this time, I can do it at my convenience. I believe all pumps these days are three wire. The conversion of my system to three wire is not a problem for me. My question is: Who makes a quality submersible pump? Currently it is a 240V 1/2hp. I am more interested in quality and reliability than cost.

34 years is a LOOOng time for a submersible pump. 10 years is usually the norm.

The industry leader in submersible pumps is Goulds. They have been around for over 150 years. Great quality stuff, and parts, if ever needed, can be obtained almost anywhere. Here in the New England area they are the number one seller.

http://www.goulds.com/products-intro.asp

GaryQWA · Jul 3, 2006

Submersible pumps come in both types; 2 or 3 wire. In many cases, and especially if you have any 'sand' problems, a 2 wire is best (if they lock up, the motor will reverse to get started [3 wire won't]), so I'd buy a new same hp and gpm 2 wire and be done with it. I've sold many Gould pumps and they are very good. I would not go with any variable speed/frequency pump or controller, go with a Cycle Stop Valve instead.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

CurlyDave · Jul 3, 2006

Around here Flint & Walling pumps are very highly regarded.

The have not been in business for 150 years, only 140.

midlf · Jul 3, 2006

CurleyDave - thanks for the info. However they do not appear to be available in my area based on their dealer locator.

midlf · Jul 3, 2006

GaryQWA - thanks for the info. I had been informed that 2 wire were no longer available. Perhaps they were talking different vendor or higher hp.

Looking at the Goulds pump website (thanks MadReferee) I see that 2 wire is available in the HP rating I now have. My current system is a Barnes 1/2hp. Installation would be a lot easier to replace like for like.

What is a cycle stop valve?

GaryQWA · Jul 3, 2006

The limit on a 2 wire is 2 hp IIRC.

They are an inexpensive valve that provides a constant pressure with a regular submersible pump.

www.cyclestopvalves.com

Gary
Quality Water Associates