Pump Dying, I think; Suggestions for New One?

[deandome]

Hello, I'm blaming my new koi & my joining this forum for the fact that my pond-life is getting more complicated and expensive ! I have a recent "newbie..ph problems" thread in the community forum if you want my pond's bacground

I was sitting on our deck Saturday night and my pond pump just stopped. Plug & power were fine; I have a waterfall pump on the same surge-arrest adapter that kept running fine. looked it over, basket & media-filters were clean. It was late, I went to bed & thought I'd be trying to rush & buy a pump when everything's closed on a Sunday, but low & behold I wake up & it's working great, all day long, all evening too.

I took the pump out a few days before that to clean it's intake 'filter-cage', which was mostly clear, as I clean it regularly along with ALL filters because we get tree seeds & stuff in the spring. But at that time, I noticed the motor casing seemed pretty darn hot for a filter that 's designed for 24 hour use. Because of that, I really checked close inside the impeller housing, but didn't see any algae or 'stuff' at all. So I'm thinking there's a thermal cut-off switch on the pump that went off, and when it cools down, it comes back on. Dunno how often it's doing this, but I don't think too often, as my wife works from home & we notice when the pleasant burble stops.

It's probably 5-7 years old at this point, but its a good Anjon Monsoon pump; I took a pic of the label but the model # and vital info was 'glared-out'; I think it's either the 3000 or 4000 gph model. Given it's lifespan & the fact I don't know if it was well maintained in the year the realtor was marketing & selling the house, I think I need to get a pump ready to go, if not just go ahead and put it in.

What do you think I should look at? I don't MIND ponying up $250 or so for the best pump in this power-range...but I sure wouldn't mind paying less! Are Anjon/Monsoon the best, 24/7 pumps for this kinda pond? Are any more efficient than others, power-wise (if so, are they good/long lasting pumps)? What would be your top 3 choices for brands?

Thanks!

 

[Tula]

Had to chuckle at your first sentence

I'm sure others will chime in, I like Pond Master.

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome!

I've never heard of that brand pump, but my first thought as you were describing the problem was a built in shut off for overheating.

 

[tbendl]

My old pump started doing the same thing. It would cut off and trip my breaker. I don't know why it did it, except that maybe it was getting old and was surging, tripping the breaker. But either way it was time to replace it.
I have only had Laguna and I am a fan of their pumps.

 

[deandome]

Thanks, and keep the recommendations coming! I should say I have a Savio skimmer/filter, and it's a little tight 'north/south' in the area where the filter goes (water outputs via the 'west' in this scenario. So I need a 2" up-pipe on the east side, going 90 deg at top and over to the west, Here's a pic; note that I'll also wanting to be replacing my new-ish PVC quick-disconnect joint, as it's so tall that the cover doesn't fit right on my filter!! Any suggestions on what kind of fittings I might want...I still want ez disconnect so I can easily remove pump, but I want low-profile, too, and I can't mess around too much as I don't have a lot of pipe to spare before it goes into the wall & over to the waterwall,

Looking at the Laguna pumps, I can't see if/how they'd stand on their side & fit this kind of setup...am I wrong?

What fittings work best for this kind of flexible/spiral/PVC/wrapped in black plastic that looks like, but is not, electrical tape (I think it's commonly used for ponds)? So far, I've peeled back some of the wrap & used PVC cement (bright blue, for pressure-pipe & underwater usage), but should I use/try some kind of barbed fitting instead?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

5 to 7 years is a fairly good usage life for any pump.
Yes, this pump does have a .thermal switch incorporated to protect the pump from overheating. It is also a good means of warning you that you may need to get a new pump...soon, especially if this is occurring often.
Your photo did not post.

 

[Tula]

I have a Savio skimmer too. Mine is set up similarly to yours, but I use solid PVC ...I also have a quick disconnect. Is your skimmer the compact one or regular size?

 

[deandome]

Pretty sure it's the regular one. Is my photo of the pump OK now?

There seems to be two major pump-types; the horizontal, 'pond-pump' style (plastic grid over intake that you can clean, etc) and the 'vertical', usually all-metal pump that looks like good sump and/or ejector pumps, but are designed with lubricants that don't get in water, etc. I kind of like the idea of horizontal, cuz there have been times when the filter basket and media pad get dirty & the water-level in that pump-zone get's pretty low and even runs quasi-dry for a while until I can clean it (usually in the fall, and I clean it a.s.a.p., of course).. So a lower pump would stay submerged more if/when the level drops vs. a vertical pump. But other than that, the sump pump-types seem to be more $$ than the pond-styles, even among the same mfg. line, so I'm guessing they're good.

Are any pumps in this capacity-range significantly more energy-efficient than others? Anjon says their Big Frog Eco-Drive is supposed to be so, but it doesn't quantify it anywhere in the specs.

I have a Savio skimmer too. Mine is set up similarly to yours, but I use solid PVC ...I also have a quick disconnect. Is your skimmer the compact one or regular size?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Anjon says their Big Frog Eco-Drive is supposed to be so, but it doesn't quantify it anywhere in the specs.

You can find the wattage here-
http://www.anjonmfg.com/product-p/1017.htm

 

[Tula]

I know @sissy really likes Laguna pumps and says they're very energy efficient.

 

[sissy]

My lagunas are great and the warranty is better and energy efficiency is the tops .No matter what the power the pump is said to use it will use less energy .I even used watt tester on mine and you can see it on my pond rebuild part ,.I think my 2400 uses 40 watts and the 2900 gph uses 75 watts and 2400 gph one is supposed to use 65 watts and 2900 is supposed to use 100 watts .As long as you keep the pump shell clean and use a bigger hose the more it goes down .I use 1 1/2 inch hose

 

[deandome]

learned some stuff tooling around online; first off, there's a video on Monsoon maintenance that shows how to remove the impeller & clean around inside (or even replace just the impeller if necessary). I think these new motors don't have shafts & seals connected to the motor/windings; the impeller spins via magnetic-induction thru a sealed wall. Not sure if magnets spin inside the housing or not, but if not, then the motor should last as long as the cord doesn't get mowed into shreds...as long as you can change out the impeller assembly if/when necessary.

I'll pull my pump out tonite and let you know how it looks inside. Also, it looks to me that Anjon Mfg also makes the new(ish), Alpine Cyclone pumps I've seen online (much moreso than under the Monsoon name!). Alpine seem less expensive, but you never know w/an obvious OEM situation like this, even if you know they're manufactured side by side in the same factory, you don't know if all the parts are the same inside.

I hope I can clean it out and fix it cheap...I'll keep you posted.

 

[sissy]

even lagunas come apart and it is suggested to take out the whole insides and clean them and if needed replace them

 

[Meyer Jordan]

All mag-drive pumps have replaceable impellers.

 

[deandome]

Update on pump; First, talked to Nate @ Practical Garden Ponds yesterday afternoon, as he's one of the only guys that seems to sell impellers (that I can find). GREAT guy who patiently, even eagerly, answered several questions about what to look for when I took motor apart, which motors are for what usages (magnetic= low head ht vs. direct drive/high head ht.) and other general pond questions I had at the moment. He has a site & sells almost every brand of everything; after picking his brain for like 30 min, I'll be checking them out when I need supplies! BTW, you can see in his pictures that though they look identical, other than the plate that mounts the impeller to the motor casing, the impellers for the Monsoon & Alpine pumps are indeed very different; like I said, OEM doesn't mean identical!

We now return to our show, hope you liked the messages...

First off, pump is the 5200 gph version of the Monsoon pump, so if I want/need to get a replacement with similar output, it bumps to a much higher price-point. There was one small, deeply-hardened patch of brown stuff on the smooth metal impeller 'rotor' (is that a stator?), and a few other smaller ones. I carefully scraped & scrubbed them off to get the surface clean AND smooth. This could well have been causing friction & the excessive heat, I guess time will tell, and I'll check on the temp of the motor casing sometime soon to see if it's as hot as it was last week. Otherwise, it felt like there might have been a tiny 'burr on the lip of the 'can' on the pump in which the impeller rotor is inserted. I didn't want to work on that yet, if at all; it could be normal. Otherwise, it was very clean inside, I rinsed the motor well, greased the o-ring and got it back running quickly. I hope it fixes everything. If not, I'll get a new impeller for $35 and grind or burnish down that tiny burr on the 'impeller can' & try again. But now that I know it's a $300 pump, I'm going to try very hard to keep it running before popping for a new one.

I'll take this time to ask if & when I do have to replace this pump, would I need it to be this powerful? According to a lot of 'calculators' I've tried, 5200 gph might be about one step more powerful than I need for my pond...maybe even two steps (pond is about 3000gal, maybe 3' rise, 20' of flexible PVC pipe & maybe 3 90 deg bends). I like the water volume on the falls, though, but I don't know if that's actually controlled by the plumbing as much as the pump?

Thanks for your help.