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| Wednesday, December 03, 2008
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| Author |
Messages |
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DwightT
(Idaho)
Posts:460
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| 07/21/2008 8:55 AM |
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Does anybody know anything about pumps for pressurized irrigation systems? There are three pumps in our neighborhood system that all work together. One of these pumps is a small 5-horsepower pump that runs 24/7 during the irrigation system (roughly mid April to mid September). This pump was replaced two years ago, and yesterday it stopped working and may have to be replaced again. That seems like too short a life-cycle to me, but I certainly don't know these systems. Anybody else have experience with them? Should we be demanding better performance from the pumps or is two years about normal?
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BradP
(Kansas)
Posts:1742
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| 07/21/2008 9:17 AM |
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Dwight:
I would say two years is way too short of a life cycle, I would expect longer. Does the pump have a warranty on it? |
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DwightT
(Idaho)
Posts:460
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| 07/21/2008 9:24 AM |
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Dunno yet. Still trying to gather info (hard to do remotely when I'm at my day job). I've got our grounds manager looking into it, but all I know so far is that it makes a lot of noise and blows the breaker shortly after it's turned on.
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SusanW1
(Michigan)
Posts:2183
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| 07/21/2008 11:59 AM |
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Sounds like the heads are plugged up. Check out the entire system. There's a reason the motor burned out.
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DwightT
(Idaho)
Posts:460
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| 07/22/2008 3:05 PM |
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And Susan gets the prize. The heads were clogged, causing the 5-horse pump to overload. They are still testing to see if the motor has been damaged. It won't be covered by the 1-year warranty if it is. 
BTW: one homeowner sent us a message this morning stating that since she had to use city water for her lawn, we should reimburse her for the cost. Sure. We'll reimburse everyone in the neighborhood $5/day for the cost of city water. Of course, we'll have to raise assessments by $10/day for the HOA to cover that cost plus administrative fees.....
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KirkW1
(Texas)
Posts:1145
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| 07/23/2008 5:38 AM |
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You may want to see if something can be added into the system to turn off the pump should this happen again. I would think perhaps it could be triggered either by the pressure being too high, or by the flow rate too low.
To allow a five horse motor to go this way just seems like a bad design. The thing should have some sort of protection. Also, even if the thing seems to work fine today, it has probably had its life shortened. |
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BradP
(Kansas)
Posts:1742
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| 07/23/2008 6:04 AM |
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| Perhaps that is why it kept tripping the breaking, that is a line of defense for the motor....perhaps the motor is fine. |
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JohnK7
(Minnesota)
Posts:1
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| 07/23/2008 6:54 AM |
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| that is an example of the value of a professional irrigation contracter who moniters the system |
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KirkW1
(Texas)
Posts:1145
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| 07/24/2008 1:21 PM |
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Perhaps that is why it kept tripping the breaking, that is a line of defense for the motor....perhaps the motor is fine.
This is defense that most motors are simply not built for. Every time the motor trips the circuit breaker it becomes a little weaker.
I used to help maintain conveyors and a motor tripping a breaker was considered very bad indeed. That meant a failure of the monitoring circuitry. It was far better to monitor that a conveyor has stopped turning and shut off the motor then wait for the motor to overload enough to trip a breaker.
I would think a flow monitor would be relatively inexpensive to install. When the flow drops below a certain point you know a stoppage exists. That could shut the system off well before the motor overloads the circuit breaker. Ideally your motor is not working at 100% capacity. It has exceeded that capacity when the breaker trips. Even if under warranty, your might void the warranty by letting the motor become overloaded. |
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LindaC3
(Florida)
Posts:526
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| 07/26/2008 10:23 AM |
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DwightT....My husband has been in the pump business for MANY years...He tells me that you should check the manufacturer of the pump and call their 800 number and explain the situation to them and ask for some advice....He also states that pumps of 5hp are not normally meant to be run 24/7....The motor bearing will overheat and cause the pump to shut down......There are probably other variables that could explain your pump malfunction so w/o seeing and hearing the pump in action makes it somewhat difficult for me to help you...... If you like you could send me an email to my hoa business email account....lapdraft@hotmail.com
We can then see if maybe a phone call to you would help you thru this.......LindaC3 |
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JohnM3
(Florida)
Posts:208
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| 07/26/2008 10:46 AM |
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Dear Idaho: Linda is corect our pumps run 1-2 hours a day. They are on timers and handle the irragation for 1/5th of our property we have a total of 5 pumps in 5 different locations to do the backs of most homes in our 307 home development in South Florida land of no water except in the 500 mile canal system. They should operate thru a timer not just 24/7 that is silly. If 1 motor at 5hp covers that much area you have designed or someone has designed a nightmare in your hoa
PS I am a electrical contractor. Sorry with the price of gas I do not do house calls to Idaho. I am 1 block north of the City of Miami. |
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