[Darran Pryce]

Anyone else had issues with their SHURFLO PUMP not working due to the cold? 

Even though I have had my pump covered in my van (I don't as much window cleaning as I used too, due to other avenues of my business),  went to clean some windows, pump comes on but nothing. Water is not frozen checked and pulled pipes out to make sure water is free running.   New pump job do you think?  Its not that old just over a year old and not done much work.  Controller is fine too. 

Thanks
Darran

[Oliver @ GrippaTank]

Hi Darran,

Sorry for all the questions, but....

Presuming you have checked the water is flowing to the inlet of the pump, Is the pump responding to the controller adjustment - i.e on 99 or full flow, does it sound like the pump is running? If not, could be lose connection, battery or controller issue.

Have you checked if there is an airlock? I.e disconnect the hose that is the outlet to the reel, and open end the connection if it has a return valve on it - is the water flowing? If you try applying some suction to the pump outlet pipe, is the water coming through?

If the system is fitted with a strainer, have you checked this isn't clogged?

Just a few thoughts that may help you..

[Darran Pryce]

Thanks grippa, I have checked all the above.  When I switch on the pump it comes on, and when moving the dial on the controller you can hear it.  Nothing :-(  I have checked all connectors for air locks etc but still nothing.  I will have another look soon, if no joy, might have to get another pump. 

[Oliver @ GrippaTank]

I will ask one of our engineers for some further ideas for you.

As crude as it sounds, sometimes just purely sucking on the outlet pipe will clear the airlock.

Usually its the most simple but frustrating of things, like a tap has been left switched off!

If you need to buy a new pump, you could always send the old one back to us and we could check the pressure switch etc for you.

[Walter Mitty]

I have has this happen in the cold before.  Sometimes there may be a little ice inside the pump it if has been frozen a bit earlier.  I disconnected the pump and puit it in front of the fire for a little while.  Ideally, it is better to always have a spare anyway.

[chanster00]

BEST ANSWER>

DONT use shurflo......rubbish pumps ive gone through 4

AQUATEC OR FLOJET *ive never used flojet my self but heard good stuff, never replaced a aquatec..oldest is about 5 years old

[Bungle]

Confused. Is Grippa offering to take a second hand pump off OP or did OP buy the broken pump off Grippa? If OP bought the pump off Grippa, how does Grippa know OP bought from them? There's nothing pointing towards OP buying from Grippa in this topic.

Confused? I am 

[Oliver @ GrippaTank]

chanster00 - To be honest we prefer the Flojet or Aquatec range also All of the GrippaMAX pumps are Aquatec unless a customer specifically asks otherwise.

Bungle - Sorry to confuse you! Without checking the records, we do not believe OP brought the pump off us as we do not stock Shurflo. However if OP decided he needed a replacement pump which he could purchase from us if he wished, in return, he is more than welcome to send his dead pump back to us, and we could test it on our workshop rig. If it is a simple fix then we would let OP know and he would pay for the replacement fix/part. In reality, as the pumps are relatively low cost items in the grand scheme of things, it would likely just be easier to replace the pump rather than send into a workshop for repair. That is obviously worst case scenario, as already mentioned by others, these things are often a very simple issue/solution.

[andyM]

BEST ANSWER>

DONT use shurflo......rubbish pumps ive gone through 4

AQUATEC OR FLOJET *ive never used flojet my self but heard good stuff, never replaced a aquatec..oldest is about 5 years old

What a load of horse sh*te!

[chanster00]

BEST ANSWER>

DONT use shurflo......rubbish pumps ive gone through 4

AQUATEC OR FLOJET *ive never used flojet my self but heard good stuff, never replaced a aquatec..oldest is about 5 years old

What a load of horse sh*te!

ANDYM thank you for your constructive and intelligent responce! well done!

[chanster00]

grippatank, what do you think about the vyair 10l/min pumps?

i ask as ive read on here somewhere that using a higher flow will shorten your working day down 30%

[Oliver @ GrippaTank]

Hi chanster00,

Its not the simplest answer in the world as there are a number of factors that must be taking into consideration.

1/. Having the correct flow rate can indeed speed your working method up. If you had a flow rate that is too low, you could end up taking alot longer to rinse in some cases. However, have the flow rate too high and you could end up using all your water up too quickly as well as 'pressure washing' the customers windows. Customer feedback we receive is a good sensible rinse will help you clean quicker.
2/. What size hose are you using? Using a smaller bore hose such as 6mm will actually save your water consumption whilst maintaining a pressurized flow from the pole, thus giving the effect of a slightly stronger rinse. So customers who use a 10lpm pump with a 1/2, 3/8 OD style hose would use gallons of water unnecessarily.

As a point of reference, the GrippaMAX systems use a 6lpm pump with the Liquid Logic controllers - something around the 25 - 45 FLO rate is the average our customers tell us they use based on a 6mm Microbore 100 metre hose reel setup.

So if you wanted to experiment, you could turn the flow rate up on the controller to get closer to the maximum 6lpm /100 psi output, and you would likely find on '99' with a 6mm hose that the pressure was just way to high (subject to your particular method of cleaning, some customers love to use a large amount of water).

In summary, if a customer asked us for a 10lpm pump, we could supply. Would we recommend it? Not really. I think we have probably sold 2 in comparison to hundreds of 6lpm pumps, and i think the same effect can be achieved with a correctly plumbed system.

Hope that helps you,

[chanster00]

great stuff grippa! answered a lot better then the guy at vyair did! *but he was trying to sell

i,ll stick with aquatec then in that case. i,ll pop over to your site now and price compare your pumps!
persoanlly i don't like the controllers you stock aint used yours but I've used ones that look the same, which am sure r exactly the same. plz correct if am wrong

am using a 6mm hose, use a variestream on level 9 as you asked.

[Oliver @ GrippaTank]

Pleased to help chanster00.

If you do find the same pump cheaper else where, do please let the office know on enquiries@grippatank.co.uk - and we will do our best to match.

The basic controller design is the same (i.e enclosure, and core software architecture), but the Liquid Logic has continuous upgrades and redevelopment. Was it calibration or DE end issue you had when you tried the controller? The very early versions didn't include the auto calibration on them which is where customers could have the frustrating 'DE' dead end issue. We find providing the controller is setup correctly, they are a very good quality controller  

[Walter Mitty]

Obviously I can only speak from personal experience - a very small sample - and I don't sell equipment.  I have always used a Flojet 100 PSI.  I used a Shurflo once and it went belly up after a month.  I don't use an electric controller - I just regard that as one more thing that can go wrong.  I simply adjust flow at the pole end of the hosereel with a plastic hoselock type fitting that has a small tap on it.  I also have a return to tank system set up in case I want to work that way.  I often leave that closed though to save on battery.  The way I do it can run the leisure battery down a bit quicker if returning water to tank so it's better to have a split charge relay.
So I have found Flojet to be far more robust (not tried Aquatec).

[andyM]

BEST ANSWER>

DONT use shurflo......rubbish pumps ive gone through 4

What a load of horse sh*te!

ANDYM thank you for your constructive and intelligent responce! well done!

I've got a Shurflo pump that has been going for 5 years of weekly use.
Others on here have mentioned using Shurflo's for more than 7 years.
And you've been through 4? 

[chanster00]

can i ask.....are you accusing me of lying or saying my opinion of them being poope a load of horse crap?

infact don't answer that, i don't care i,ll just explain.

i went though 4 cos i was new to the industry &
1. i was placing my pumps high,
2. let my tank run dry alot as i only had a 250ltr at the time.
3. i never configured the pressure switch as i didn't realise being new to it
4. had pump on full whack

these are just a few of the reasons. before you say these reasons would knacker any pump, is the exact reason i,ll back up the conversions I've had with manufactures and suppliers just like grippatank. the aquatec is more robust and will deal with these occurrences a lot longer and better.

-

i wish people that posted on here were either asking for help, giving help or general chit chat WC related. i remember years ago i got accused of lying about a round i was trying to sell!......to be honest. i got better and more interesting things to do then try to look like a pimp on a window cleaning fourm. if you come on here to blurt out stuff its just weird.

a little of topic this but check out Facebook, theres a group called "free speech for window cleaners"
now thats a proper Bukkaee party 

rant over

*no disrespect

[Walter Mitty]

BEST ANSWER>

DONT use shurflo......rubbish pumps ive gone through 4

What a load of horse sh*te!

ANDYM thank you for your constructive and intelligent responce! well done!

I've got a Shurflo pump that has been going for 5 years of weekly use.
Others on here have mentioned using Shurflo's for more than 7 years.
And you've been through 4? 

I've no way of knowing how everyone works of course but I'm guessing that Shurflo is probably OK with an electric flow controller but not without.

[andyM]

can i ask.....are you accusing me of lying or saying my opinion of them being poope a load of horse crap?

infact don't answer that, i don't care i,ll just explain.

i went though 4 cos i was new to the industry &
1. i was placing my pumps high,
2. let my tank run dry alot as i only had a 250ltr at the time.
3. i never configured the pressure switch as i didn't realise being new to it
4. had pump on full whack

So it was operator error?! 

these are just a few of the reasons. before you say these reasons would knacker any pump, is the exact reason i,ll back up the conversions I've had with manufactures and suppliers just like grippatank. the aquatec is more robust and will deal with these occurrences a lot longer and better.

-

i wish people that posted on here were either asking for help, giving help or general chit chat WC related. i remember years ago i got accused of lying about a round i was trying to sell!......to be honest. i got better and more interesting things to do then try to look like a pimp on a window cleaning fourm. if you come on here to blurt out stuff its just weird.

a little of topic this but check out Facebook, theres a group called "free speech for window cleaners"
now thats a proper Bukkaee party 

rant over

*no disrespect

Don't take it personally. 
You said Shurflo pumps were "rubbish".
I don't agree.

[Jonny 87]

can i ask.....are you accusing me of lying or saying my opinion of them being poope a load of horse crap?

infact don't answer that, i don't care i,ll just explain.

i went though 4 cos i was new to the industry &
1. i was placing my pumps high,
2. let my tank run dry alot as i only had a 250ltr at the time.
3. i never configured the pressure switch as i didn't realise being new to it
4. had pump on full whack

these are just a few of the reasons. before you say these reasons would knacker any pump, is the exact reason i,ll back up the conversions I've had with manufactures and suppliers just like grippatank. the aquatec is more robust and will deal with these occurrences a lot longer and better.

-

i wish people that posted on here were either asking for help, giving help or general chit chat WC related. i remember years ago i got accused of lying about a round i was trying to sell!......to be honest. i got better and more interesting things to do then try to look like a pimp on a window cleaning fourm. if you come on here to blurt out stuff its just weird.

a little of topic this but check out Facebook, theres a group called "free speech for window cleaners"
now thats a proper Bukkaee party 

rant over

*no disrespect

I'm onto my 5th year with my shureflow pump. It's going great. Will definitely buy another once this one dies.