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Selecting the Best Pump Consider the intangibles as well as the tangibles when you choose your pump.

Picking the right pump for a certain project is not simply a matter of opening a catalog (or a computer selection program) and crossreferencing the capacity and head. It is also as much a matter of opinion and experience as much as it is due to any specific technical details. Picking the right pump for a particular application should be a thoughtful and deliberate process involving consideration of all aspects of the application and your customer. These aspects include water condition (abrasives, air entrainment, etc.), water temperature, type of service (well, booster), limiting variables (well or can diameter, variable operating conditions, power supply), and driver considerations. Each of these design aspects must be considered and evaluated to ensure you provide your customer with a pump installation with the longest service life possible. If you are anticipating that I will list what I consider to be the best pumps on the market, you will be disappointed. For I intend to provide only the details that I personally believe are universal components of the best pumps on the market today. This column is one sole voice in the wilderness, my opinion as to what to look for in a pump based on my experience. I will be limiting my discussion to water pumping applications, including submersible, jet, and vertical turbine pumps. The Technical Details Usually, the technical details of our particular pump lines are what we use to differentiate our pumps from the guy down the street. Details such as superior sand handling ability and stainless steel construction are relayed to our prospective pump buyers in the hope that they will overlook the slightly lower cost of our competitors, or worse yet, the really cheap price from the big box do-it-yourself stores. In my opinion, the technical details of a pump unit can be divided into two elements: the pump itself and the motor. When using a submersible pump, my sales approach has been most successful when I downplay the technical differences between my pump and the other guys and concentrate on the advantages of using a well-established company that has been around and will continue to be around for years to come. The one factor they all want to know about is the warranty. Lets face it, while a retired engineer or pump groupie (we have all had to deal with both of these groups, havent we?) might appreciate the virtues of a priming inducer or stainless steel, the typical customer simply wants the assurance that water will be available for their shower every morning, and they want to know whom to call when it isnt. That is not to say that there are not subtle or outright differences between makes of pumps. Obviously there are. But in my judgment, using a submersible pump line with stainless steel over a high grade of thermoplastic (such as Lexan) components does not offer many advantages, and in most cases, they will actually perform with an equal life.

In addition to using structurally strong and corrosion-resistant components, a high quality submersible pump end will be field repairable through use of a replacement impeller/diffuser stack or individual parts. The outer shell will be constructed from a corrosion-resistant material and precision machined and fitted to ensure uniform assembly and frictionless rotational operation of the impeller stack. Specific differences between pump lines, such as impeller sealing rings or a keyed versus splined shaft, are often locale-specific advantages that usually do not universally apply. In areas with large quantities of sand, using rubber sealing rings on impellers may provide protection against sand binding and longer life, while it wont matter in other regions. These are the factors that need to be individually weighed and evaluated by your specific territory and type of wells. As far as motors in submersible pumps, the best element can be summed up using one simple term: use a NEMA fit motor. Using the virtues of an interchangeable motor, regardless of brand, shows my customers that I am more concerned with their future pump change-out than I am the sale. By using (and making sure the customer knows I am using) a NEMA motor, I am assuring them that, even if they elect to use someone else in the future to replace the pump, the motor will easily fit the new pump. Forget the fact that a full unit cost is usually more cost effective than replacing a single component. The seemingly selfless act of using the same brand of motor as the other guy places an extra level of confidence in your ability to the customer. Although jet pumps have mostly been overrun by submersibles, there are still many areas in the country where a jet pump, especially shallow well jets, are the preferred pump of choice. The best jet pumps will use bronze or high-strength thermoplastic impellers/diffusers, stainless steel motor or pump shafts, adjustable mechanical seals, and usually be the convertible style that permits easy conversion from a shallow to deep well pump to cut down on inventory. When using a jet pump, once again, a universal type of NEMA 56 frame motor allows for future replacement of the motor or pump without replacing the entire unit. This criterion, when possible, should also apply in a vertical turbine application. Although, it is far more difficult to provide your customer a uniform system of column and shaft assembly and discharge head because each manufacturer prefers to use their own standard system for these components. To be honest, the variables involved in selecting a vertical turbine pump are so varied and site specific that space does not permit an adequate discussion in this column. For a complete discussion of designing a vertical turbine pump, refer back to the three-part series I wrote in Water Well Journal in the May, June, and July 2003 issues. The Intangibles Obviously, there are many more superior technical elements that separate the best pumps from the rest of the pack. Details such as using the proper material for pump components

such as impellers, diffusers, and cases; excellent casting and machining procedures; and uniform and knowledgeable pump assembly techniques are just a few of the many elements related to the tangible portions of the best pump. But in addition to the tangible portions, several intangibles are often overlooked. And these elements are usually included in the pumps that rise above the pack. These intangibles include an excellent distribution and delivery service, a consistent and flexible warranty policy, protected sales territory, a superior pricing and discount structure, and yes, even the brand name. Are you surprised that I included these intangibles in what makes the best pump? You shouldnt be. I never said I was limiting the selection criteria for the best pumps to technical details. As professional businessmen, we must also concern ourselves with the elements of selling and installing pumps that keep us in business. Simply selling the highest quality or best known pump on the market means nothing if the list price is too high, the discount is too low, or the warranty is so rotten that we cannot be competitive. Regardless of all the accolades we might expound to our customers about the superior construction aspects of our pump line or the sand handling capabilities, price still matters to most customers. Without a competitive price to offer them, all we will end up with is an impressive but unusable inventory. For this reason, you must carefully evaluate and separate the distributor hype and strong-arm sales tactics from a logical consideration of the best pump for you and your market. Many manufacturers and distributors will tell you anything and promise you everything from fishing trips to professional sports tickets to get your business in their stable. It is absolutely critical that you select and work with a manufacturer or distributor that backs up what they tell you theyll do. The first time you have to eat a five-year warranty on a 5 hp pump due to a simple paperwork problem, you will appreciate those who will happily work with you to sort out problems. Once again, it comes down to properly researching your market area and prospective suppliers. Many business owners mistakenly believe that dealing directly with a manufacturer offers distinct advantages over dealing with a distributor. This is not necessarily the case. Remember that you are just one fish in a big ocean to the manufacturer, while the distributor sells many more of the manufacturers pumps to many more fish than you. They often have much more pull with the manufacturer than a single entity would, due to their relationship. This applies to warranty problems as well as rapid delivery of a critical need pump. In some areas of the country, including where I live, name familiarity matters as much as any technical detail you could list. This is especially true with customers who had a specific brand of pump in their well for decades and are contemplating a replacement unit. This is often a very difficult factor to fight, and in many cases, you may want to cover your bases by having access to more than one pump line, including the popular one.

This will protect you in several ways. You will usually have unit diversity between brands where a specific unit from one brand may fit an application where others do not. A backup or second line protects you against a material shortage or labor strike occurring at the manufacturer of your other line. You can offer your customer a choice between the more expensive name brand and your second line. I have used this technique to great advantage in my sales approach throughout the years and feel that it offers my customers a greater range of choices. In any case, always evaluate the intangibles as well as the tangible elements of the specific pump line you consider your best pump.

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