Hey Bill, I am not sure exactly what is wrong with your pump. I hope you can repair it without spending too much.

What caught my eye was the Little Giant name. Someone else, not on this forum, had trouble with almost the same model. They ended up replacing it with the Laguana Max-Flo 4200 by reccomendation from another ponder. The Laguana was about $240 vs. the Little Giants $400, but the Laguana only uses 170W of power.The Laguana 4200GPH isn't as powerful as your Little Giant @ 4800GPH, but the Little Giant uses 900W ! you would be saving a ton of money a year running the Laguana if you can get by with it's lesser flow rate. Then again you can buy 2 and have intake from to seperate areas and get better circulation, still save in electric and spensd about the same initially. The only other difference is solid intake. The Laguana is only rated for 3/8", Little Giant is rated 3/4". Hope that helped a little, Good Luck

Thanks woeisme. Your comments got me thinking that at the very least I should go back to square one and do some research on various pumps that might work for me, including the one you mention. I'm certainly not opposed to saving some money!

I bought the Little Giant because at the time it was highly recommended. But that was several years ago; and I don't know what's out there now.

Bill

Oh, by the way, my pond is set up for a submersible pump, not an external one. Am I correct that the Laguana 4200 is an external one?

Bill

Yes, the Laguana is a submersible only. I did a quick search last night to get the specs so I was accurate on the power usage. To be truthful, I never used the Laguana, but several picky and frugal people like me have, and still have them and reccomend them. I trust there assesment and they do have a 3 year warranty. I only had submersibles for aquariums. I put a link at the bottom for a Laguana. The only reason I brought it up is because I have seen people go for even less expensive powerful pumps. They may last just as long, but after 1 to 2 seasons they have already paid more in electricity then they would have if they purchased a more efficient one. After that 1-2 season mark you start saving well over $100 a year in power, some cases close to $200. That makes me feel justified when I order the Steak and Lobster over the hamburger on the menu. ;o)

Here is a link that might be useful: Laguan Pump $227 w/shipping

Look into a Pondmaster mag drive pump. They are submersible but since they are mag drive, they have no moving parts inside except the impeller, which is driven by magnets instead of a conventional motor. They use less currant than many other pumps and last for many years.

As a matter of fact, this morning I was looking online at the Pondmaster HY-Drive 4800, which has about the same GPH output as my Little Giant. One question: the specs for the 4800 say "Shutoff: 18.5 feet." Does that mean the pump shuts off when the water level drops to 18-1/2 feet? If so, that pump wouldn't work for me since the well the pump is in has only a couple of feet of water in it (see pond diagram below). 18-1/2 feet doesn't make sense to me. Does that value mean something else?

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My Little Giant has a shutoff accessory that shuts the pump off when the water level gets down to about one foot.

Bill

That refers to the maximum head pressure it can handle. If you try to lift the water over 18.5', it will shut off. If you are only lifting 1.5', you will have no trouble at all.

Thanks! That makes more sense.

Bill

Bill, both Laguna and Little Giant are good reliable pond pumps. Both are termed "Mag pumps" or magnetic drive pumps, both can and must be be submerged in the pond to keep them running cool.

Pondmaster/Supreme pond pumps, are also good quality mag type pumps that can be submerged or used in line, but you would not get the volume you require, as I think they only go up to about 3500GPH and a much lower head height.

MAG is a sort of misnomer term really, as all electric motors rely on electromagnetic action to make them work.

The reason these "Mag pumps" can be submerged in the pond, is that the electric motor's wire wound magnetic stator, is completely sealed in a molded epoxy resin body. This prevents water from entering into the yoke of the motor, where the stator windings and electrical power connections are located.

The water still runs in and around the magnetic rotor of the pump motor, which the impeller shaft is part of, but cannot cause any problems, because the stator is completely sealed off.

Regular electrically powered universal motors, used in most electric powered tools, or induction motors, used with external pumps, are not sealed up with epoxy resins. The motor's insulated windings etc,(the magnetic parts) are left open, to be cooled by the motor's internal/external cooling fan, which draws air over the motor windings/casing, to dissipate the heat build up during use.
These types of motor cannot be submerged in water or are supposed to be subjected to flooding.
"Horton"

horton said: "I think they [Pondmasters] only go up to about 3500GPH and a much lower head height."

Thanks for the info. Actually, Pondmaster's Proline line of pumps includes a 4800GPH and even a 6000GPH unit. The 4800GPH one costs $100 less than the best price I've seen for the Little Giant with a similar flow rate, and uses about a quarter of the energy.

The rise from pump to the top of the waterfall is only 1-1/2 feet, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Bill

There you go Bill, now that is good information to have around.
I have not looked at Pondmaster pumps in quite a while, since I'm a Laguna pump fan, so I was not aware of their larger sized pumps.
I will take a look in at their site and get updated about their product line.
Thank you for posting the information.
"Horton"

Horton, you mention that you like the Laguna pumps. I tried to find a submersible 4800GPH one in their line but the most I could find is the MaxFlo 4200GPH. Is there a 4800?

Also, the pump needs to fit into a well 14 inches in diameter. Given the unusual shape of their pumps and the fact I couldn't find their dimensions anywhere online, I'm not sure whether their pump would fit in the well. What do you think?

Bill

Bill, that is the largest pond pump that Laguna produces unfortunately. It draws 160 watts.
The filtering cage around the pump I believe, is approximately 8 inches in diameter. I'll check that out for you tomorrow.
"Horton"

I've got the same problem. The pump hums but won't turn unless you nudge it. Is it repairable for do I trash ?