pump life and dead ending

I was just wondering if dead ending a pump using a univalve would shorten the life of the pump? And how long when your working can you leave it DE..?

It’s much more convenient using a univalve than something like a one shot, but what are the pros and cons?

Dragbag said:

I was just wondering if dead ending a pump using a univalve would shorten the life of the pump? And how long when your working can you leave it DE..?

It’s much more convenient using a univalve than something like a one shot, but what are the pros and cons?

Click to expand...

I can't talk for the latest generation of Shurflo pumps as ours are all old. (I have a Briggs and Stratton engine on a lawn mower I purchased in 1984 which is still in good mechanical order. Its had 2 spark plugs, the carb cleaned out once and regular oil changes. We bought a mower for my son with the same engine - it looks modern but a far cry from the one on our old lawn mower.)

One Shurflo pump on the van is 14 years old. It was purchased at the same time the first analogue Varistreams came out. I opted for the 3.8lpm pump as Williamson pumps advised that pressure switches would last longer with a slower delivery pump. I didn't purchased the Varistream.

Within a short while this pumps pressure switch failed so I purchased a Varistream controller. It still has the failed pressure switch inside it.

The Varistream analogue controller was sold with a pump box and new digital Varistreams were ordered. That was over 12 years ago. We were using 1/2" garden hose and changed over to minibore hose. We used on and off taps to control water flow. We later purchased Aquadapters to control water flow and now have Univalves. (I still prefer the Aquadapters.) That pump has continued working all this time and never missed a beat.

The 2nd Shurflo pump (5.2lpm) on the van is 12 years old and purchased together with the Mk1 digital Varistreams. Its performed the same as the older one. If dead ending caused failures then we would know about it.

Having a controller (Spring or Varistream) will extend the life of your pump as you set the desired pressure (via current draw) the pump will cut off at. I once found that we can manage to clean all the windows on our round with a maximum pressure of 55psi. Our controllers switch off at about 60 psi which is 40psi less that the mechanical pressure switch the pump is fitted with.

With a controller the pump has less wear and tear. Its the controller that makes the difference to pump longevity imho.

Personally, I can't see the point of a one shot. I would be always fiddling around trying to push the botton to switch it on or off, or I would be around the back out of range. But again, that my opinion.

Dragbag said:

And how long when your working can you leave it DE..?

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Well I forgot to turn my pump off one day and left it on (de) all night until the next morning...absolutely fine.

With the V11 the pump cab be left in DE for long periods with little issue. We have engineered the controller to test the DE state in a way that has no impact on the pump or pressure in the system while in DE