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Circulation pump life expectancy

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Boring
Boring Member Posts: 47
in THE MAIN WALL
I have a circulator pump on my radiant system that seems to exhibit more vibration/noise than the other pumps in my system. System is 10 years old---is noise and vibration a sign that the pump maybe near it's end of life? I would just replace, but a new one is pretty pricey...

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  • Coany
    Coany Member Posts: 91
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    Make sure it’s fully purged, air can make noise and vibrations. You may be right and the pump may be worn out, radiant zones run a lot more constantly than baseboard zones. Get all the air bubbles out and with a bit of luck it’ll quiet right down

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

  • Zman
    Zman Member Posts: 7,569
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    What model pump is it and what is the application? It does sound like the pump is going bad. Don't assume they sized it correctly to begin with.
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
    Albert Einstein
    Rich_49Solid_Fuel_Man
  • unclejohn
    unclejohn Member Posts: 1,833
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    Is it a B&G series 100? May just need to replace the bearing assembly.
  • Dave H_2
    Dave H_2 Member Posts: 556
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    Since you said it is connected to a radiant system, do you have actuators on the manifold?
    If so, you probably have a constant speed circ that turns on/off whenever a zone call for heat. It was probably sized for when the entire manifold calls for heat, however when zones shut down, you still have the entire capacity of circ still running.

    Lifetime of circs is based upon cycles, you can easily expect about 250,000 cycles which can equate to about 18 years. Water quality, oversizing and other parameters can decrease that life.

    As for a better replacement using today's technology, look at variable speed ECM circs. Quiet, responsive, longer life span.

    Dave H.
    Dave H
  • Boring
    Boring Member Posts: 47
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    Grundfos UPS26-99FC 7 Stats on the system
  • Dave H_2
    Dave H_2 Member Posts: 556
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    Is that for just that one manifold? 7 loops on that manifold also?
    Dave H
  • Zman
    Zman Member Posts: 7,569
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    Boring said:

    Grundfos UPS26-99FC 7 Stats on the system

    You wouldn't size a circulator based on the number of stats.
    How many loops?
    What diameter and length are the loops?

    What speed are you running the 26-99?
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
    Albert Einstein
  • Boring
    Boring Member Posts: 47
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    21 loops 1/2" pex 27.4 gallons tube volume --lengths vary from 132 to 236'. I believe the pump is set to position 1.
  • Zman
    Zman Member Posts: 7,569
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    That is a tough system to size a circ for. It is a bit big for the inexpensive ECM's. I don't know an affordable ECM for that size system. Others on here might.
    The 26-99 will work well unless you only have a few loops open, then it will be pushed to the upper part of the circulator's curve and potentially damaging the circ. One fix would be to install a differential bipass valve.
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
    Albert Einstein
  • Boring
    Boring Member Posts: 47
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    There is a differential bipass valve in the system--I was reading about ECM's last night--one would be great on this system---hopefully someone can make a recommendation for a size that would be a replacement for the 26-99. Do the ECM's "modulate" based on head pressure or something like that? Was looking at Alpha 2 - 55 , not sure how I stumbled on that one, think it came up on a comparison search on the grundfos site....

    B

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