I was actually thinking this was going to be more reliable.
The groco centrifugal pump is rated for 15000 hrs brush life and continuous duty.
Belt tension and alignment are one issue that goes away
For me the water pump is the first belt that goes on. So changing a pump requires removing 2 other
alternator belts first. And access to the pump mount and belt tension is a major pain.
It takes me about an hour to remove and reinstall the water pump... And they only fail when you are entering a narrow bar crossing.
I have had numerous bearing and mechanical seal failures, I rebuilt the pump at least 3 times , then thought maybe I was rebuilding them incorrectly because they kept failing. So I bought a brand new pump. A year later it started leaking out of the front seal, then the bearing goes . Never once had an impellor fail.
The MAIN reason for me is to make room on the engine for a 3rd alternator. I use my engine as low
budget generator. And works great for my needs. I have a 5000 watt
inverter and have been trying to stop using
propane. I'm using electric frying pans, toaster
oven, induction cook tops . And so far it seems pretty efficient . With 2 alternators at idle I put in 70-80 amps , so I idle the engine while I cook unless it's sunny. I have 1300 watts of
solar and 2 d400s (which do nothing) and 20 gc2 golf cart
batteries.
I have looked into higher output and better regulated alternators and generators but am limited to what a small v belt can handle.
For me 3
cheap 100 amp 1 wire alternators each on their own belt seems reliable and simple. It supplies a lot of
current when needed for
cooking or starting
air conditioning. And I do not count on the alternator for the full charge cycle just to supplement high power draw for short time. Turning the key is a lot easier than pulling a
Honda generator. And my main goal is to consolidate to one
fuel source.
Diesel. Now I need a 25 hp diesel
outboard and I could actually do it