Helpful Tips:

1. For serious water well customers, we want to recommend a download of the Franklin "AIM" manual. Individuals who read and understand this manual will know more about the pump installation business than 90% of America's professional installers. "AIM" stands for  Application, Installation, & Maintenance. To view or download this manual, CLICK HERE.

2. In addition to the AIM manual, Franklin offers a lot of other service information such as their Hotline, Franklin AID Newsletters Archive, Information Library, Field Service Engineers, and Service Shops Listings. CLICK HERE to view any of these topics.

          Some of the ways that pumps die:

           1. Pumping off - The selected pump is too large for the well and is pumping more water than the well can make. As this condition loads & unloads the unit countless times a day, eventually the pump and/or motor shaft will have the splines stripped off.
           2. Rapid Cycling - Snapping on & off as happens with pipeline surges, when a pressure tank bladder or diaphragm fails or when the air cell is improperly inflated, when a tank is too small, or when a standard pressure tank becomes waterlogged.
           3. Electrical problems - From high, low, & unbalanced voltage, power surges, improper transformers & generators, wiring or splice failures & lightning strikes. Always check for voltage problems with equipment running.  Attention must be given to proper wire size starting at the power source, through the distances to the electric meter and to the well, not just the wire going down-hole.  Overload settings & fuse sizes must be correct if they are to properly protect motors.
           4. Excessive motor & pump loads, up thrust conditions  - When asking a motor or pump to perform outside of its intended design or curve, causing over-amping & up thrusting (see notes below on up thrusting).
           5. Installation errors - Involving incorrect, mis-located, or missing devices. This can include choosing the wrong pump for the job, making too small wire gauge choices, using a tank that is too small, a bad or missing check valve on the pump (see #8 below), incorrect sizes of fuses or circuit breakers, & drop pipe that is inapropriately too small or large. Use torque arrestors when setting pumps on plastic drop pipe to prevent nicked wires from occurring down-hole.
           6. Over heating motor - As happens when no shroud was used on the motor allowing sand to cover it up (also, a shroud forces water to flow by the motor cooling it whenever the water has entered the well casing above the pump). Anytime and for any reason that water movement from the well is stopped while the pump is running (as in a freeze-up) the water around the motor will get hotter and hotter finally damaging it. Plastic impellers & drop pipe can actually get so hot that they can melt.
           7. Well conditions & system related - Damage from pumping abrasives and materials other than clear, clean water. Sand gradually kills every pump by grinding down the impellers and bearings over time. Rust & corrosion can clog up the pressure switch & nipple causing periods of unusually high and low system pressures. Check rotation on 3-phase motors.
           8. Bad or missing check valve - When a check valve was not used on the pump or it is leaking, damage to the motor and/or pump can occur through backspin, up thrust, and water hammer (see notes below in red).
           9. Old age - The preferred death - the pump simply wore out after many years of dependable operation (trying to be funny, we say it was used too much when it was new - LOL).  But seriously, when conditions are right, pumps can last 20 years or more. 

Backspin = With no check valve installed, or if the check valve fails, water in the drop pipe can flow back down the discharge pipe when motor stops.  This can cause the motor to spin backwards.  If the motor starts back up during this time, shafts can shear in two, bearings can fail, coupling & shaft splines can strip, and motors lock down.  Also, sand can be stirred up in the well by this backflow of water to enough of a degree that when the pump starts back up, there can be enough sand in the water to lock down the pump causing a locked rotor motor condition damaging the motor.

Up thrust = With no check valve, or with a leaking check valve, the pump starts each time outside the intended pumping curve under zero head conditions.  During this time, the motor is over-amping; and most pumps will pump in an up thrust condition during this time causing impellers and pump and motor shaft assemblies to rise or uplift. With repeated up thrust starts of the unit, a premature failure of pump and/or motor is going to be the end result. Motors will lock down.  

Water hammer = If a lower check valve is more than 30 feet above the standing water level, or the lower check valve leaks and a higher check holds, a partial vacuum is created in the discharge piping. On the next pump start, water moving at high velocity fills the void and strikes the closed check valve and the stationary water in the pipe above it, causing a hydraulic shock. This can cause split pipes & couplings as well as damage to pump and/or motor.      

           Important note: Pumps are not covered by warranty for any of the above reasons of pump failure. Only defects in materials and workmanship are covered by pump & motor warranty.
        
            

Using Our Seach Tool:

When searching for a pump, motor, control box, or accessory, you will be using the SKU number (part number), the entire description, or a portion of the description.

If you will spend a few minutes browsing the pumps, motors, controls, and parts in our site, you will begin to see the "system" we us in our numbers. You will also begin to notice what descriptive terms we consistently use thoughout the site either spelled out or abbreviated. Once you have determined how we will always be describing the series, the horsepower, the voltage, the phase, the names of equipment, and the order we always show it in the description field, you will be able to use this knowledge to do your searches and go directly to an individial part to enter it on your order.

You will also enjoy expanding the "christmas tree" found in the site map then going directly to the page of information or parts you need.

Try these searches - always use spaces & dashes between pieces of descriptives just as they are found in the description fields of the parts.

Pump description example: 1hp  10gal 12stge UP 4" liquid end
           search with  liquid or end. and get all pumps up ( but no motors or controls)
           search with 1hp, getting all 1hp equipment up (motors & controls as well)
           search with 10gal, getting all 10gal pumps up
           search with 12stge. getting all 12stge pumps up                     
           search with 1hp 10gal 12stge. and get up just this one pump
           search with the SKU number - 1012-10, getting up just this one pump

Motor description example: 3/4hp 4" 230 Volt 1-phase 3-wire Sub Motor
          search with 230, getting anything 230 volt (motors, pumps, controls)
          search with Motor, getting all motors
          search with SKU number - 34M4213, getting just this motor up

Play around with our search tool - it's not perfect, but it can help.