Water Pump Supplier

[JimmyGreaves]

Looking for a water pump supplier outside Homepro.

Any ideas?

[hhfarang]

It depends on what kind of pump you want, but I have bought some at two Thai places that have a decent selection of different kinds of pumps.

One is on the Pala U road around a kilo from the turn by the railroad track on the right hand side. In a single building there are two Thai hardware stores. Tavorn, the larger one on the right as you are facing them has some but the smaller store on the left side has a bigger selection just inside the door.

The other one that has a big selection of pumps of different types is on the west side of Petchkasem road near the north end of town. I haven't been there in a while so I can't remember exactly where but it seems that they were in the few blocks just before the palace (but on the opposite side).

[BaaBaa.]

Looking for a water pump supplier outside Homepro.

Any ideas?

Have you tried inside Homepro?

[hhfarang]

BaaBaa,

I understand his reluctance. I have had very bad luck with everything mechanical I have bought at Homepro. I have bought lawn equipment, several pumps, and other items that didn't last long, in fact, I was going to buy a couple of Chinese pumps there and the Homepro reps talked me into buying some Italian ones instead (they said would last longer) which turned out to be total crap (both pumps died quicker that Thai or Chinese ones I've had before, they just knew they were a bad item and were pushing them to get rid of them imo). I've had no luck with them with warranties with anything (tried three times).

I will totally avoid Hompro if the item I need is available anywhere else!

[STEVE G]

Along that stretch of Petchkasem that HH mentioned before the Palace on the opposite side of the road, there are several of those general hardware stores that seem to sell anything you need for plumbing.

[JimmyGreaves]

Looking for a water pump supplier outside Homepro.

Any ideas?

Have you tried inside Homepro?

Yes thanks but they refused to sell me one as I owe them too much money.

[Brit Jim]

I need to repalce my Old Mistibushi pump..cheapest smallest one they do but its lasted 3 years!

Any recommendations please as I was looking to upgrade for more power and relaibility for big 4 bed house?

[PeteC]

BaaBaa,

I understand his reluctance. I have had very bad luck with everything mechanical I have bought at Homepro. I have bought lawn equipment, several pumps, and other items that didn't last long, in fact, I was going to buy a couple of Chinese pumps there and the Homepro reps talked me into buying some Italian ones instead (they said would last longer) which turned out to be total crap (both pumps died quicker that Thai or Chinese ones I've had before, they just knew they were a bad item and were pushing them to get rid of them imo). I've had no luck with them with warranties with anything (tried three times).

I will totally avoid Hompro if the item I need is available anywhere else!

From my experience here at many houses, you can't go wrong with Hitachi or Mitsubishi for a house pump, and Gold Star for a deep bore non-submersible pump. They just seem to last and last and repairs usually just some kind of adjustment. The woman I rented my old house from had them and she said they were all going on 7 years. Pete

[Nereus]

I need to repalce my Old Mistibushi pump..cheapest smallest one they do but its lasted 3 years!
Any recommendations please as I was looking to upgrade for more power and relaibility for big 4 bed house?

If you want a Rolls Royce pump, then you need a Grundfos. BUT, be aware, they put out a higher pressure (circa 60 psi), and they cost anything up to twice the Japanese types. The higher pressure can lead to leaks, or worse, a blown off connection at some inaccessible place. If you are sure of the quality of the plumbing, then no problem.

The two brands mentioned by Pete are reliable pumps. I use IPC and have had no problems with them over many years. It is a minefield trying to choose a pump, and there are many variables that need to be considered.

[stgrhe]

I need to repalce my Old Mistibushi pump..cheapest smallest one they do but its lasted 3 years!
Any recommendations please as I was looking to upgrade for more power and relaibility for big 4 bed house?

If you want a Rolls Royce pump, then you need a Grundfos. BUT, be aware, they put out a higher pressure (circa 60 psi), and they cost anything up to twice the Japanese types. The higher pressure can lead to leaks, or worse, a blown off connection at some inaccessible place. If you are sure of the quality of the plumbing, then no problem.

The two brands mentioned by Pete are reliable pumps. I use IPC and have had no problems with them over many years. It is a minefield trying to choose a pump, and there are many variables that need to be considered.

True, you need a pressure reducing valve with the Grundfos to be on the safe side.

[stgrhe]

During the past two days I have had a few telephone discussions with the Grundfos people in Bangkok and two lengthy meetings with the major Grundfos retailer here in Khon Kaen, where I currently live.

I am in the process of buying a house in Hua Hin, yes property buyers still exists , and since the new house's water supply will be from a well I have felt a need to make some research of what the problem and difficult areas are. One such area is choosing the right pump, piping size, filtering and water softening.

Initially I was thinking of using the Grundfos MQ3-45 1 HP booster pump but apparently that is not the case. The MQ3-45 pumps are intended for water irrigation applications and, although they would function in my application, it is not the best choice according to the specialists.

A far better, and cheaper alternative too, is the CH4-X0 PT series. X stands for 2, 4, 5 or 6 where the higher number refers a more powerful pump. However, this pump type needs as a minimum the 8 bar PVC piping and with a minimum diameter of 1 inch. Apparently much too many installations in Thailand use 3/4 inch or even 1/2 inch piping and although the pump may be able to maintain the set pressure the flow will be inadequate.

The Grundfos pumps generally use less energy than other brands available here, but since most booster pumps operate on on / off mode, and every start draws a lot of current, I have been trying to find a pressure control system with an inverter for the pump motor. This would give the benefit of a much more constant water pressure and flow when the water consumption varies and also a lower energy consumption.

For the pump series CH4-X0 Grundfos has such a system and it is called 'Hydro Mini Booster'. For the pump CH4-40, the one I will use, the entire system costs 33,000 baht.

Since rain water from the gutters will be collected to the water tank I will also install a disc filter between the tank and the pump for extra protection of the pump. There are Chinese copies on the market but a good filter manufacturer is the Israeli Arkal.

[JimmyGreaves]

Thanks for that stgrhe.

Not sure if I have chosen the correct pump for the job as it's a bloody minefield when you do not understand all the variables.

Anyway I need decent pressure for the 2 storey that's got 1 meter crawlspace with rain showers upstairs.

Gonna go for the Hitachi WT-P350GP automatic pump. I hope this give me what I want. Gonna check what pipe quality of blue pipe runs I have today. Hopefully this pump psi/bar rating will not blow them to pieces.

Was thinking of the WM-P280GP constant pressure pump, but was unsure if this would give me the pressure.

Anybody can help with the bar/psi of these pumps please as I am not sure how the numbers given on the spec convert:

http://www.hitachi-th.com/index_e/wp4.php

Many Thanks

[PeteC]

Thanks for that stgrhe.

Not sure if I have chosen the correct pump for the job as it's a bloody minefield when you do not understand all the variables.

Anyway I need decent pressure for the 2 storey that's got 1 meter crawlspace with rain showers upstairs.

Gonna go for the Hitachi WT-P350GP automatic pump. I hope this give me what I want. Gonna check what pipe quality of blue pipe runs I have today. Hopefully this pump psi/bar rating will not blow them to pieces.

Was thinking of the WM-P280GP constant pressure pump, but was unsure if this would give me the pressure. Anybody can help with the bar/psi of these pumps please as I am not sure how the numbers given on the spec convert:

http://www.hitachi-th.com/index_e/wp4.php

Many Thanks

I've got the WM-P280EX Jimmy and it does the trick for us. In the EX range they only had 280 and 400 when I bought mine. I figured 400 was too much. The pump sucks in from an underground tank 5 meters away, then outputs all the way to the other side of this house for the upstairs baths, about 35 meters in total. Plenty of pressure upstairs for a real hard shower. The 'EX' I think is because mine is the reciprocating type where with two taps open at once, it maintains constant pressure. Pump is square, not the round dome type. Pete

[PeteC]

Forgot to mention, when we bought our shower heads I had to remove the water restrictors from each of them. I initially thought our pump was not enough for the distance. More than enough with the restrictors removed. Pete

[Nereus]

Jimmy:
The graph that is shown on the link is flow versus total "head", it is not showing pressure.
The model number of the pump (150, 200 etc up to 400), is the wattage rating of the motor. 746 Watts is equal to 1hp, so the 400 model is just over 0.5 hp.

The vertical bar of the graph is showing the "head" that the various model pumps can "push" against. The "head" has to be calculated, and is a lot more than just the vertical height of where the water has to be pumped. It includes the vertical height but much more important is what is referred to as "friction head". Each pipe fitting, change of direction, restriction, reduction in pipe size, actual pipe size, adds to the "total head". The graph shows a "total" theoretical head of 12 metres.

The horizontal bar is showing the the flow in litres per minute. The colored lines of the graph are a plot of how many litres per minute will flow against a corresponding total head. Note that at the total maximum head of 12 metres there is zero flow.

Any quality shower head should show the flow rate at a given pressure.
You may find that it is worth the extra cost of going up a size with your pump selection: ie, 350 Model. If the buildibg is still at the stage where you can change it, I would try to have the pipe size increased, especialy the section that is feeding the upstairs part of the house, even to the extent of having a seperate run of larger size feeder pipe installed.

Hope that is of some use to you.