Need a New Pump Controller?

pabloesguapo

I am 100% off grid.  Using a Grundfos 16SQF-10 pump, and a Grundfos CU-200 SQ Flex control box.

Yesterday, the pump stopped working.  On the controller, the tank icon had a yellow light, indicating tank pressure was low, so the pressure tank pfessure switch is working.   I checked power all the way to the pump, and my meter read 120v.  Yes, i pulled the pump all the way up, 150ft.  I tested the pump in a barrel of water on a different 120v direct power source, using the same original 150ft power cable, and it fired right up.  I reinstalled the pump down the well casing, but had the same problem again.  Even though the controller was sending 120v, the pump will not run.  If I power it directly, it works.  The controller gives no error codes.

So, i have water, kind of.  I just have to plug in an extension cord and watch the pressure at the tank to know when to pull the plug.  

Is it a bad controller?  Is there a way to get it serviced?

Do i have to go with a grundfos, or one specifically designed for solar?

Ideas?

Solray

Are all your connections verified good without resistance?

pabloesguapo

Yes.  Getting 120v all the way to the pump.  If i use the wiring from the controller, the pump won't work.  If i use a rigged up AC extension cord from a wall socket, it does work.

Dave Angelini

They build and sell them here in Central California. They often cost about as much to service as to buy new. If you still had warranty they would look at the controller for surge protection and might void the warranty. You do have external surge protection, Right?

pabloesguapo

LOL!  Sure.  We all do...

Dave Angelini

Well, that is why you get to buy another one

pabloesguapo

Tell me about surge protection.  The only ones I know of are those glorified power strips you get at an office supply store to protect your computers, and a Furman rack mountable unit to protect a PA system.

Secondly, do I HAVE to get another Grundfos controller?  What's so special about them that I have to get a Grundfos?  I

Estragon

Our host sells Midnight and other surge protection devices. They get hard wired into the system, typically on circuits likely to be prone to lightning like overhead AC wiring, DC wiring to solar panels, etc., before the circuit gets to electronics.

The little power strip ones are of limited usefulness IMHO.

pabloesguapo

Is there any reason why I have to use a Grundfos controller with that Grundfos pump?  I mean, all it supposedly does it turn on the power when the tank pressure switch says so, right?  if I found a 115v, 12amp controller like this one, will it work?  Or is there something about the Grundfos that is proprietary?

$390 from our host for a new CU-200, or $55 for this one.

http://www.thepumpwarehouse.com/product.asp?specific=2403

westbranch

Ask Franklin....??? it might be pump specific too.... Grundfos pumps...not just a,'' will it work with a Grundfos pump''

solarvic

When I bought the grundfus pump The supply house  sold me a regular square d 20 40 pressure switch and told me that I didn,t need a controller. I originally thought I was going to be off grid but went grid tied with the standard 220 v pump that was already installed. So it has never been used.

Horsefly

pabloesguapo said:

Is there any reason why I have to use a Grundfos controller with that Grundfos pump?  I mean, all it supposedly does it turn on the power when the tank pressure switch says so, right?  if I found a 115v, 12amp controller like this one, will it work?  Or is there something about the Grundfos that is proprietary?

$390 from our host for a new CU-200, or $55 for this one.

http://www.thepumpwarehouse.com/product.asp?specific=2403

I don't have a Grundfos pump, but did a ton of research when I thought I needed to replace my existing well pump.

From what I could tell (and what I remember), if you have a SQ or SQFlex and a pressure tank with a switch, the controller doesn't do much for you and isn't required. You just have the pressure tank switch turn the pump on and off. If you have an SQE (variable speed), it sounds like you either need or at least would benefit greatly from one of the Grundfos controllers to optimize the efficiency of the pump for your pressure and flow needs.

We don't have any controller at all for our existing pump. Like you said, the pressure switch turns on at the tank, and you can have that switch wire directly to the pump to turn it on.