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Tom,
Rant: <ON> I would caution you to be very careful working with Lorentz pumps. About 16 months ago we got a service request from a longtime customer for whom we had installed an ETA (Lorentz) PV-direct submersible in late 2005. The pump had worked well for nearly 7 years, serving community water for four off grid households, but the helical rotor had finally worn out, as I recall. I called GenPro about purchasing a replacement head, and was told that the US has been divided into northern and southern territories by Lorentz, and I needed to contact another company (whose name is in our records but not my head). That company told me that we could neither buy a replacement head nor a replacement pump, as we were not licensed pump dealers. Grundfos had once allowed their pumps to be sold through all sorts of channels, and it came back to bite them hard, as PV internet retailers with salespeople who knew next-to nothing about pump selection and water system design were selling pumps to anyone with a thick wallet. Grundfos tech support was overwhelmed, and changed policy to allow their pumps to be sold only through water and well industry distributors. That made a lot of sense to me, and we never lost our ability to spec, purchase and install their pumps, as our longtime conventional pump distributor knew we knew our business. But we'll never become "licensed pump installers", and as a result, we'll never carry or recommend Lorentz pumps. I had sworn off ETAPumps years ago when the failure rate was too high; I had eventually learned that those issues had been resolved and the pumps and controllers were proving pretty reliable. But this issue killed it for me. If anyone can offer an update to suggest that the situation has changed, please do so! (Jeez, I have a Lorentz pump in my own well at home, courtesy of Windy. I'd replace it, but it just hasn't stopped working yet. Talk about a bit of hypocrisy...) Rant: <OFF> Tom, Besides getting feedback from other Wrenches, I'd talk with GenPro, your distributor, about support. I'm copying this message to them; if I get a useful response about my rant, I'll post it to the list. Allan
Allan Sindelar
On 2/19/2013 3:01 PM, Tom DeBates wrote:al...@positiveenergysolar.com NABCEP Certified Photovoltaic Installer NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician Founder and Chief Technology Officer Positive Energy, Inc. 3209 Richards Lane (note new address) Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507 505 424-1112 www.positiveenergysolar.com
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