Lightning kills pump

15 years ago

I have a Gould submersible pump that got fried by a lighting strike after 11 years. I had the Gould 1HP 10GPM pump replaced. The 270 foot well can support 12 gal/min, but the well guy put in a Franklin Electric 1 HP 7 gal/ min. When I questioned him, he said thats all I need, because it will put out 10-11 gal/min if the water is within 100 ft of the surface (the water is now 20 feet from the surface). My questions are:

1) Should I complain and force him to upgrade me to a Franklin Electric 1 HP 10 gpm pump or let it go and size my sprinkler nozzles?

2) He claims that since Gould was bought by ITT, their pumps are not as reliable as Franklin electric- Any opinions on that?

thanks - Jack

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Comments (4)

lehua49
15 years ago
Hi Jed,

Do these minor steps first:

1. Check the flow from the well pump. fill a 5 gallon bucket and time it. Calculate the gpm. Does this match his claims.

2. Have him give you a pump curve sheet for the pump. This is flow (gpm) versus head(ft),this is the elevation difference the pump has to push the water to where it is needed(highest point in your irrigation system). The gpm can be verified by that pump curve.

3. Measure the pressure at the highest point in your irrigation system. Identify the number of heads and their gpm requirement for that pressure and calculate per zone if it matches less than your pump flow rate.

Your are now armed with all the info you need to deal with the supplier. Let us know what happens. good luck and Aloha
jedijfo1
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi -
Well, I had a long discussion with my pump guy. We went over the pump curves and he said the pump I have will pump 11 gal/ min unless the water level drops 100 feet. I have timed a 3 gal bucket in 15 sec, so I am least 10 gal/ min. I told him it better work with the sprinkler system I am designing for 10 gal/ min per zone. He said it will and if it does not, he will come back, put in the bigger pump for no charge. That sounds like he is really sure and
that sounds fair to me.
Jack
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lehua49
15 years ago
Hi Jack,

Sorry about Jed. Great, sounds like he will take care of you. What about step three. Test pressure with a gauge and check the gpm spec on your irrig. heads for that pressure. Add all the gpm for each head in a zone and see if it less than the 12 gpm total. Then you will know if you are getting the proper output(flow) your system was designed for per zone. He could do this for you. GL. Aloha
ronalawn82
15 years ago
jedijfo1, as far as I know, not anyone can operate a piece of equipment beyond the manufacturer's specifications, without a penalty.
Just suppose that the pump does not operate satisfactorily and the installer is out of business; the manufacturer will not be sympathetic if the pump was undersized.
I have been on both sides of the sales counter and my mantra is "Buyer beware!"