Positive Head, Negative Head - Water Pump

ViDuchie

Hey,

I'm looking to replace a water pump in my apartment. Maybe someone here has a good idea of what I can do.

The current pump is a negative head Stuart Turner M330, but I'm wondering if I could replace it with a positive head pump considering that the water tank is in the attic space above the apartment.

I'm guessing a negative head pump was initially installed as standard in all the apartments here as most have no attic space and the cold water storage would be too low to feed a positive head pump.

Does anyone know if I could get away with a standard pump without having to pay the extra for the positive head.

And before anyone asks I've replaced the capacitor on the Stuart Turner M330 with no avail. Same problem with the pump humming for 30 seconds to 1 minute and then cuts out with no action whatsoever. There's a slight burning smell too which is concerning. Maybe the mechanics are jammed?

These things are damn expensive too :eek:

Cheers,

V

ART6

If the pump is jammed then it will hum until it overloads or overheats and then it will cut out. The overheating will cause the burning smell, and eventually the motor will burn out. f it still hums when you turn it on, it would be worth taking it out and seeing if you can free it. Mind, I'm saying that without knowing anything about those particular pumps:p

cnocbui

So long as there are no outlets above the level of the tank, I think a positive head pump would probably work.

I think your pump is mechanically stuck. I have one myself - not sure if it is the same model as yours - and have encountered a problem where we have been away on holiday for some time and returned and the pump has just made a buzzing/loud humming sound when it tried to switch on.

I have been able to fix it easily by unplugging the pump from the power and then getting a narrow screwdriver and using this to rotate the motors rotor by pushing on the vanes of the cooling fan which is integral to the motor and located at one end. They vanes are accessible through slots in the end of the motor between it and one of the pump modules.

I just got the rotor unstuck and worked it back and forth a little bit then re-applied power and it then ran perfectly.

Joey the lips

Simple laymans test is. Disconnect the pump and run the flow straight through. If the shower runs ok it will work on a positive head pump.

For what its worth I would never supply you with a positive head pump knowing this.

Save get the right pump its worth it in the long term.

mad m

Firstly how old is pump?. Monsoon took over Stuart Pumps and Monsoon give you 3 years warranty. I've been getting lads to install Monsoon Universal pumps so they do either....

As joey said wouldnt recommend fitting a postitive head pump...

ViDuchie

Thanks for the replies. Damn helpful

The water does run well from the shower without the pump. It's just not as powerful as I would like. It's really not too bad.

So with the pump switched off everything is running quite well, hence why I was thinking positive head.

I'll try pushing the cooling fans to see if there is a jam and if it will loosen up.

Also the pump is 2.5 years old, so fairly new.

Does anyone know the best contact for warranty replace/repair? Should I just contact the Stuart Turner number?

Cheers,

V

Joey the lips

If its a stuart turner negative head pump and 2.5 years old it was not bought in ireland i imagine as modern plant the agents for monsoon have been branding them monsoon at least 8 years.

Modern plant will not handle the pump if they did not sell it and they are the agents.

ViDuchie

I got this sorted without having to replace the pump.

Following on from what cnocbui said about loosening up the motor. I couldn't find the vanes really at all but could see the coil of the motor just about. The pump is located in a very tight corner beside the tank and it near impossible to reach.

So I eventually gave up trying to move the motor with a screwdriver.

With nothing left to lose I picked up the pump as much as I could with the flexible pipe fittings and smacked it on the ground hard 3 times. Expecting nothing I switched back on the power and it chugged for a second and then flew into action.

I'd say try what I did as a last resort, making sure you don't knock out any connections to the pipes.




V

mad m

Well actually believe it or not, that half day course I was on (Just remembered after reading your post) that the first thing to do is tap the ends of pump where the blades are....Sometimes they get stuck...:D

Joey the lips

When all else fails use a bigger hammer Well done.

cnocbui