Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35394 in Home Improvement
• Brand: Flotec
• Model: FP5172
• Released on: 2006-07-27
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 9.00" h x 8.00" w x 6.00" l, 42.00 pounds

Features

• Self-priming, corrosion-resistant, high-capacity sprinkler pump
• Capable of operating up to 30 sprinkler heads; delivers 115/230 motor voltage and offers dual voltage capability
• Constructed of rugged, heavy-duty fiberglass-reinforced thermoplastic
• Self-priming design permits use on automatic sprinkler systems as well as de-watering and water transfer
• Measures 6.0-by-8.0-by-9.0 inches (WxHxD); weighs 41.5 pounds; 1-year warranty

Amazon.com Product Description
This Flotec model is a self-priming, corrosion-resistant, high-capacity sprinkler pump that's constructed of rugged, heavy-duty fiberglass-reinforced thermoplastic. Capable of operating up to 30 sprinkler heads and designed for continuous operation, this pump delivers 115/230 motor voltage and offers dual voltage capability. Ideal for lawn sprinkling, the self-priming design of this efficient model permits use on automatic sprinkler systems as well as on de-watering and water transfer.

For added convenience, this 1.5 HP pump has an easily accessible design that makes it a snap to reach parts that need service due to normal wear and tear. It also comes with a 1-year warranty.

Customer Reviews

A bit loud
I bought this to replace a failed sprinkler pump (motor rusted out completely - pump was probably still good). Really was looking for a more efficient pump but couldn't find one. This one appeared to be the exact same as the old Flotec but the new housing is plastic. Motor looks to be better protected against corrosion anyway. The thing was about 1 inch taller than before so I had to cut the feed pipe and install a splice which was a nuisance.

Seems to work OK. Maybe a bit more powerful than the old one but also seems a bit louder. Lowes had one a bit cheaper but last time I bought a pump from them my lawn guy said it was junk and it didn't last a year. This last one (Flotec) lasted about 8 years which is not too bad considering the salt in the air where we live rusts everything.

5 zone irrigation Pump with jetted well for over a year
Please remember that all things manufactured have variations in quality. Mine is one example, yours may not perform quite the same.

I have had this pump (bought from Home Depot) for about a year and a half. I'm beginning my second summer, though here in Florida I have to water our yard year round. So the pump has had a lot of usage. Also, I have the pump installed inside of a small pump house that looks more like a doghouse, but has good ventilation.

I installed my well myself, and I now know that my initial well had too little screen and was installed partly in clay. I have since reinstalled my well with more screen and centered more in the water flowing sand. Why am I telling you this? Because I can tell you how this pump worked for me in both ideal and non-ideal conditions.

With my origional well, I had trouble getting more than ~6gpm without the pump reaching max flow (when the pump starts to surge audibly). I replaced the heads of my sprinklers to lower flows and extended the watering times, and this worked fine for nearly a year. During this time I was putting the pump through VERY ROUGH service. I very often had surging which is hard on any pump. I also had at least three occasions where the pump got air in it and lost its prime due to a downstream valve left open. For at least one occassion I discovered that the pump had been left running DRY for at least an hour (20x the time allowed by the manufacturer).

Even with all of these misuses of the pump, now that I have redug my well, and improved the valves, the pump works like a champ. With the new well, I have put high flow sprinklers back in and cut my watering times down. The pump pressure and flow is also nearly what is specified in the manual. Evidently all that mistreatment was well handled by the pump. This is very impressive to me.

As a side note, my grandfather has a well and swares by a "high end" pump brand for reliability. However, he has manual valves which he sometimes leaves closed with the pump running. He has gone through two pumps since I've had this one. I am going to recommend he switch to this brand next time as it seems to handle mistreatment pretty well. *Note: I do not recommend to ever mistreat a pump, it can break. Multiple times with this pump I expected to find the pump dead, and was ready to go buy a new one.

For those of you who know more about pump operation, below is my pump curve that I am getting after the year and a half (and mistreatment). Measured with the bucket fill test method.

Well Depth ~10ft.
Shut off pressure: ~51psi
gpm -> psi
3 -> 46
10 -> 44
18 -> 41
25 -> 38
31 -> 35
35 -> 33
40 -> 30
Runout around 42gpm

This curve is about 10psi below the rated curve, but still higher than the WaterAce 1.5hp.

Also, this seems to be the same pump sold at sears by the brand Simer. The manufacturer pump curves are identicle.


Regarding the housing itself. It does seem to be pretty durable. I have had no problems with rust or other (though mine is covered). I do share a concern with one other poster, which is that it is hard to get the right tightness at the connection points. Mine ended up to be a little loose, and I discovered this after finishing the piping. My leak is only a trickle, so I have not bothered to replace the piping. Maintaining prime or self-priming each start has not been a problem even with this small leak.

Flotec FP5172 1-1/2HP Sprinkler Pump
This Flotec FP5172 1-1/2HP Sprinkler Pump was purchased to replace a 10 year old cast iron pump that had an AO Smith motor. The old pump simply rusted away and hopefully this new Flotec will work and last just as well. The motors are basically the same, both AO Smith 1-1/2HP. I've had this Flotec in use for about 1 month now.

The Flotec seems to be a nice pump, reasonably priced, well constructed, and was very easy to assemble and a lot lighter to lift than the old cast iron pump. The Flotec has lots of plastic which includes the pump body and the motor base/stand. The motor is an AO Smith and the complete unit is just like a Sta-Rite Swimming Pool pump minus the filter basket.

It took me about 2-3 hours to remove my broken pump and install this new Flotec. The Flotec comes prewired for 220VAC but can be switched to 110VAC easily. The hardest part was determining how tight to turn the 1-1/2" fittings that go into the plastic pump body. The instructions gave a formula for installing the fittings but depending on the type of thread lube you use makes this difficult to trust and over-tightening could split the plastic housing around the fitting and under-tightening could allow for leaks??? I used teflon thread tape and got lucky I guess. Hand tight then 1.5 times around again. The plastic on the pump housing is not just regular plastic...it is a high tech glass filled reinforced high strength exotic plastic...way different than the plastic base/stand on this Flotec, which is just regular cheap plastic. I would probably avoid using this this Flotec in direct sunlight and outdoor exposure as rust and corrosion and UV rays would probably not play well with this Flotec, but then again this is the same design used on the swimming pool pumps...go figure.

ASSEMBLY NOTE: Make sure you prime this pump the first time you use it even if you have a free flowing well. Just loosen the plastic plug on top of the pump and allow the artesian well to fill the pump body. If not a free flowing well then remove the plug on top of the pump and prime with a bucket of water. The instructions detail these steps so follow them. I almost didn't because I thought my free flowing well would just fill the pump body but just before I turned the pump on for the first time I decided to loosen the plug just to confirm and sure enough it blew air for a few seconds before the water spewed. Maybe the pump would have just worked this air out when turned on but I would rather be safe and make sure an air pocket didn't burn my pump up. Just follow the instructions, my advice.

As for the final outcome. The Flotec is quieter than my old cast iron pump. The Flotec provides plenty of water pressure and flow rate which is equal or better than my old cast iron pump. Amazon had the best price on this Flotec I could find anywhere including local hardware store and came free shipping and no sales tax. I use it with 220VAC same as old cast iron pump. I run the pump 1.5 times a week for 2 hrs each time covering 4 zones total at 30 mins per zone same as old cast iron pump. So far so good.

We'll just have to wait and see how she holds up. Another ten years would be nice as this pump was half the cost of my old cast iron pump.