shurflo 4901-4202 pump firmware??

[skipgundlach]

Shurflo 4901-4202 pump firmware??

My 4gpm, 4-diaphragm, pump cycles for no apparent reason. The original pressure switch was bad based on the backflow I got when pressurized. The new switch changed the frequency and duration of the runs, but it still cycles for no apparent reason:

We have a large accumulator, and a substantial amount of water has to pass before it drops pressure enough to kick the pressure switch. So, if there were a leak, it would be substantial in the amount of water it would display on looking...

But we find no such leak (or any at all, for that matter).

So, I call Shurflo. The rep tells me that smacks of firmware; one of the reasons they discontinued this pump 4-5 years ago is that the firmware started to fail.

Firmware??? I just replaced the switch. No, it's in the BASE (the part you screw to the bulkhead or shelf) - despite there being no electrical connection between the base and the pump body, on which body (he called it the bottom; I guess he expects a horizontal mount) it mounts, sez he.

And the firmware 'remembers' what it's been doing, and continues to do that; in my case, due to the leakdown, is that it cycles often - if it's a firmware problem - that it's "remembering".

The solution, rep sez, if there is any hope, is to physically disconnect the wires from power; a breaker isn't sufficient - it still has a micro-amp draw if there is a physical connection (WTF??). Otherwise, even if we were to send the pump to them, there's nothing he could do about it (base obsolete? I didn't ask the question, as he was addressing the firmware issue). The parts PDF shows, but does not identify as a part number, the base. Seems to me that this would be a replacement item if there's something which controls the pump.

A google search for firmware and Shurflo pumps came up dry, so if there is such a thing, it's well hidden.

Has anyone else heard of "firmware" in a Shurflo pump? Or had our issue and solved it?

Thanks.

L8R

Skip

[skipgundlach]

Firmware, and ANY voltage/current present certainly rang as intensely odd. So, to not possibly get the same guy in Indiana...

Called the CA office, got Mel, who offered to have me call him back directly to let him know what happened.

His (and others here and there) opinion was that there was a bit of debris in the valves; in the valve segment seen in http://legacy.shurflo.com/pdf/Marine...-4901-4202.pdf there are inlet and outlet valves which I can rotate by hand; do it, he sez. Also wash with soapy water. Both designed to remove any small particles.

When I took off the pressure switch, I found a tiny speck of something under it; maybe a grain of sand, or maybe a tiny paint speck which somehow managed to get sucked up after flowing into our tank during rainwater catching, or something. So, perhaps...

But my next step is to take off the pump, again, take it apart, get the valve segment (#3 in the blowup) and wash it after, looking at it under high magnification before and after. With any luck something will be obvious.

But I am beyond irritated that I was told there was a check valve which failed, and could not be serviced, in the pressure switch by one rep, and Mel has never heard of ANY firmware in Shurflo, and denies there being a check valve, other than the valves which pump the water in.

Bleah.
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[jamhass]

See other shurflo thread..

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by jamhass

See other shurflo thread..

"which is located here," jamhass didn't mention, so only those brighter than I can do so

[skipgundlach]

So, I'm doing followup with him every time I try. There's often a phone tag game in progress as I miss his call, and he's on another. But we persist, and...

It gets better. I'll post a separate "In Praise of..." note, too, but...

I call him back. He sez I need a new valve kit, and he has one there.

"I'll send that out to you, no charge. Oh, yah, maybe a drive kit, too, if I have one here. This is an obsolete pump and the day will come when you won't be able to get parts for it. I wouldn't want you to be stranded."

Thank you Mel!!


That sorta makes up for the $50 bux I blew on an unneeded pressure switch based on the assertion of a tech rep's assigning a pressure drop to the switch (when it's just the intake valves which prevent backflow), and the wild goose chase the other guy initiated with his firmware story.

I've found that speaking directly with the manufacturer pays great dividends...
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[Lepke]

The type of switch used on your pump and pumps like it are the worst I've ever seen. If they work at all they usually cause a problem like yours. The fix is to buy a pressure pump switch like the one in the picture. About $12 on ebay. You add a tee fitting after the pump and run a tube to the bottom of the switch.
40 60 PSI Well Water Pump Pressure Control Switch | eBay

[skipgundlach]

The problem never was the switch. It's the valve assembly, which acts as the check valve as well on the inlet side.