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Well pump inverter

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highestbid

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Aug 4, 2023
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kirbyville, texas
I recall seeing a few years back a couple of dedicated inverters for well pumps ( i believe one was Eg4). They all seem to have disappeared. Is that because they turned out to be not very good or is it that regular general purpose inverters have just make them irrelevant?
 
IMHO, they had crap surge and couldn't do what they claimed. I personally contacted a few that said they could start up to 3hp pumps, but when I sent them typical specs for a 2hp pump, they all said their device wouldn't work.

Well pumps can be extremely demanding, and they tend to have a high LRA - typically 5X their run current, and inverters need to have a meaningful surge measurable in seconds, not milliseconds, to start these motors.
 
Yup, just what SSE said. Well pumps are one of those devices that divide the real inverters from the cheap crap. I've been using Schneider's XW+ for seven years now, running my 1hp 240VAC well pump. No issues whatsoever.
 
Well pumps of the "frenemy" of anyone trying to live off grid. You've got to have water but your old school standard pump has a starting surge that very few inverters can reliably handle so you've got to grossly oversize your inverter for that single load.

In many cases it will pencil out to replace your current pump with something from Grundfos. They have several models, SQ, SQE and SQF. SQ will be fine for almost everyone and it's the least expensive.
 
Sadly the pump went out during closing on the property and so is now brand new. I have a eg4 600xp that I am hoping will power it, I have reached out to the prior owner trying to get the make/model to do proper research.
 
My 6000xp is running Grundfos pump 5SQ07-270 just fine; 3/4hp, 240v, soft start. I run it for 20min every couple days or so to top off gravity feed tank.
Hope they give you the pump details.
 
I just wish Grundfos made it easier to figure out which pump you need or had local offices in my area that could figure it out. I have no idea what over half their terminology means, so I can't fill in the blanks. :confused:
 
Rednecktek said:
I just wish Grundfos made it easier to figure out which pump you need or had local offices in my area that could figure it out. I have no idea what over half their terminology means, so I can't fill in the blanks. :confused:
Click to expand...
Yeah, their website is not very good.
It's easier to go to a website that sells them. Aqua Science has a decent selection, or Water Pumps Direct.
Just look for the specs you need.
 
wdwtx2.0 said:
Yeah, their website is not very good.
It's easier to go to a website that sells them. Aqua Science has a decent selection, or Water Pumps Direct.
Just look for the specs you need.
Click to expand...
It's definitely a website built for engineers by engineers. It took me a while to figure it out enough to get pumps curves but I won't pretend that I know what every box is for.
 
OzSolar said:
It's definitely a website built for engineers by engineers. It took me a while to figure it out enough to get pumps curves but I won't pretend that I know what every box is for.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's dense, but EVERY little thing about pumps/motors/etc. is there. Right down to the bolt sizes.

Unlike other mgfrs, where trying to get full specs on things is like pulling teeth.

And there are PDF's and videos showing how to disassemble/overhaul. Priceless.
 
OzSolar said:
It's definitely a website built for engineers by engineers. It took me a while to figure it out enough to get pumps curves but I won't pretend that I know what every box is for.
Click to expand...
The pump curve was the only useful to thing to me.
The website is WAAAY too much effort.
Much easier to use the retailer's Cliff Notes.
 
Yeah, it's dense, but EVERY little thing about pumps/motors/etc. is there. Right down to the bolt sizes.

Unlike other mgfrs, where trying to get full specs on things is like pulling teeth.

And there are PDF's and videos showing how to disassemble/overhaul. Priceless.
Click to expand...
Yes, you are absolutely correct.
But for CHOOSING a pump, It leaves a lot to be desired.
 
Cronix said:
There are also aftermarket soft starters that work on most pumps: https://www.franklinwater.com/produ...cations/ips-rv-intelligent-pump-soft-starter/
Click to expand...
Those are over $5,000 so it might be best to just buy a new pump.

highestbid said:
https://www.franklinwater.com/produ...wire-stainless-steel-sku-collection/95421010/ this is the link they gave me for the pump. So it looks like a franklin 1/2hp 2 wire 240v 10gpm
Click to expand...
That 2-wire pump is the worst case scenario.

Of course, try to run it with your current inverter first and see what happens before you do anything but after that your options are limited to a bigger inverter or different pump.

Everyone messing around with this stuff really needs to have a clamp meter and the know-how to use it. They can be bought for less than $40 and the know-how can come from YouTube.

This one even does DC amps, not all of them do.

kaiweets.com

KAIWEETS KC604 Digital Clamp Meter with D-shaped Jaw, Auto-ranging 4000 Counts Voltage Tester

TRUE-RMS AC DC CLAMP METER: This multimeter can accurately measure AC/DC current, AC/DC voltage, temperature (thermocouple included), NCV, capacitance, frequency, resistance, continuity and diode. Good help for troubleshooting the household solar system, automotive and industrial electrical...
kaiweets.com kaiweets.com
 
I wouldn't necessarily recommend this inverter for general use due to very high idle consumption, but I have an MPP Solar LVX6048 that has been running a non soft-start grundfos 2HP deep well pump and a 1HP transfer pump at the same time.

I haven't tried starting both at the same time but it runs both fine along with lights, tool battery chargers, fans, etc. With the large transformer in this unit I think it works very well for this type of heavy inductive load. The 2HP pump starts up intermittently on a float switch while the 1HP pump is running and the inverter handles it fine.

If you want to spend a little more ($3k vs $1400), I believe a Schneider XW PRO 6.8KW would handle it as well, and be more efficient and potentially more reliable but I don't have first hand experience running pumps with this inverter yet.
 
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