![]() But then again, the VFDs they are accustomed to and I make a living repairing, are designed to fail. ![]() This is a horrible design since plastic does NOT dissipate heat well.Ĥ) The VFD board is not coated, if moisture builds up in the pump (easy due to plastic construction) the board will short.ĥ) The motor itself is very cheaply made, not a NEMA frame, not commercial quality, light bearings and light on iron.įinally, a well designed VFD as described in my article soon to be published in Pump and Systems magazine should last 15-25 years. When it fails, the pump fails and it's not serviceable.Ģ) The Scalia uses a bladder tank, its internal and if it fails, so will the pump and it's not serviceable.ģ) The VFD is covered in plastic. Its embedded in the pump and it gets plugged up easily with Teflon tape, minerals or any contaminants in the water. Due to this inspection we came up with some clues to their problems and this helped me build better alternatives.ġ) The Scalia uses a magnetic pin wheel to detect flow. Of course they knew before hand that the pumps would never be usable again. Customers have given me their units to tear into and inspect. In a meeting last week with a long time Grundfos marketing manager, now working for a competitor, I shared my views with why the Grundfos Scalia2 is so problematic. They put quality and PR ahead of profit.Īs a VFD consultant with over 40 years experience I get a bit disappointed when I hear about people that purchase a VFD controlled pump that is not built to last and more disappointed when I hear people say this is the norm. Engineering companies have a passion for what they build, constantly improve and always striving towards perfection. There are engineering companies and there are "sales companies". I was wondering how your new pump was working? Although it is true that most pump companies are reducing costs and building in obsolescence, not all companies follow this trend. I've reached out to Grundfos because I read about a recall but couldn't find the issue the recall was addressing. It seems most people think the thumping is normal. I'm not sure if its a problem with the sensors or the design. I think instead of starting gently the motor starts hard and the intake pressure drops to zero for a split second causing hammer in the intake line. When it thumps it hammers the intake line the hardest. I attempted to run the pump with no internal check valves and it still thumped. I no longer believe the thump is from a check valve. ![]() ![]() I realized the intake pressure going up to 40 from 30 when the pump stopped was the pressure of the moving water get trapped on the house side of the system check valve. This time I could hear the inlet check valve close with a very small click. I removed the outlet check valve and reinstalled the inlet check valve. Initially the pump stopped thumping and ran better but it did not last, it began thumping again within the hour. My biggest question is this something that a functioning inlet check will fix or is it likely a design flaw and should I just get a refund and get a different pump. I'm waiting on the RMA to go through to refund/replace, the pump. The intake pressure jumps around quite a bit during this and I think it confuses the pumps controller and it runs erratically trying to maintain a constant output. When there is a call for water the pump starts and the check valve slams open causing the thump. It appears that inlet check valve is allowing enough flow backward to pressurize the line between the pump and the check valve where it comes into the house (about 15' of 3/4 cpvc). I finally got around to trouble shooting it today. When I set the pump any higher than 40psi it thumps when it kicks on and then runs erratically, changing rpms sometimes stopping for a split second, which results in another thump when it starts up. I bought and installed a Scala2 pump to help with my low pressure due to elevation.
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