Need recommendations on a water pump

[PunaDave]

Getting ready to install a 10K gallon catchment system and need some recommendations on a water pump. Durability and long life are of considerable importance. I understand Grundfos is a popular choice, but I'd love to hear the experiences of plumbing contractors and homeowners alike. Mahalo!

[MarkP]

Are you off grid?

[PunaDave]

no

quote:

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Originally posted by MarkP

Are you off grid?

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[Peter Epperson]

I build water tanks and have installed many pumps. I feel that the Grundfos is overrated and over priced. I just installed one of these at home https://www.amazon.com/Red-Lion-RJS-75-PREM-602207-Premium/dp/B00XX7C8RK/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1479663565&sr=1-1&keywords=red+lion+rjs+75 Admittedly, I've only had it up and running for a week, but it appears to be very well built and I can't find anything to complain about it.
$239 with free shipping is hard to beat!

[terracore]

Don't get one that is overpowered for the job. Our house came with a well pump that dims the lights when it roars into service. Our catchment tank is slightly uphill from the pump and there is no need for a pump engineered to suck water from deep within the bowels of the Earth. The unfortunate side effect of having an overpowered pump is that it takes a huge backup generator to start it when the power is out.

I would also recommend getting the largest pressure tank that is practical. Minimizing on/off pump cycles will help the pump last longer and going back to the power outages, you won't have to start the generator every time somebody flushes a toilet.

[tgalarneau]

I am using a pump like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IP8QZ8E/ref=pd_day0_86_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=21M8CFG203KNWE01HRB5

It is stainless and well made and at less than $100 a great deal. The more expensive pumps are for sucking water from a well and are not needed for moving water from a catchment tank to pressure tank. This type is more than enough for my two story house.

[terracore]

Only 1200 watts for almost 12 gallons per minute looks pretty efficient, I could run that off an inverter. How do you use it? I don't see how to hook a pressure switch up to it.

ETA: Is it really made in Germany? Seems unlikely at that price.

[terracore]

Would it be possible to integrate a pump like this one into an existing system for use when the power is out?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002P33KVQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&psc=1&linkCode=ll1&tag=pw016-20&linkId=b4f5a55112ed8bafaeab60a77593c1b2

I understand one would only want to use one spigot at a time with the low flow rate but how might such a configuration work?

[tgalarneau]

I am off grid and use my inverter or batteries to run pump. Even able to use pump and charge my batteries at the same time with my 2000 watt generator. The 1200 watt draw is no problem and the flow rate is fine.

The pressure switch is wired to outlet and pump then wired to switch. I then use a large sized pressure tank to supply house and minimize pump use.

In the past used a Dankoff Flowlight DC pump which was much better for off grid. But after 9 years it started leaking and because of the cost did not replace it.

[tgalarneau]

In the past before replacing my DC pump I used this pump for battery or inverter problems. Just switched the plug from wall outlet to generator outlet. Well actually I have a special outlet/input to whole house for generator to cover everything until fixed.

Water flow is not a problem because of pump flow if your pressure tank is good size unless you need to use more water than is stored in tank. It just takes longer to refill the pressure tank.