Frequently Asked Questions

A self-priming pump only requires water in the casing to develop a vacuum (by the impeller turning in the casing) to prime the pump. This is done without the need for a foot valve and without having to fill the suction line. An “auto-prime” (also known as a “dry-prime” or “vac-prime”) pump does not need water in the casing, however, it does need the air separation chamber, priming system belts (driving either a compressor, vacuum pump or diaphragm pump) and the non-return check valve to be in working order (if not, the pump won’t prime). This style of pump is best for “manned” operation, where trouble with any of these components can be addressed quickly. A self-priming pump is the better choice for “un-attended operation”.

A guaranteed “re-primer” is a self-priming pump that is guaranteed to re-prime the suction line after each pumping cycle even if siphoning has occurred because of solids holding check valves open, draining the casing of half of its water. Most self-priming pumps can prime a dry suction line with a full casing of water. Most of these will not re-prime automatically if a siphon event has taken place (a regular occurrence when pumping solids in the likes of wastewater). Gorman-Rupp has three model ranges that “guarantee” re-prime. Our Ultra V, Super T and Super U Series pumps are guaranteed to re-prime even after the most severe siphon event. This is critical in unattended pumping operations.

Gorman-Rupp spends millions of dollars on R&D into their self-priming pumps and manufactures them to exacting tolerances. Each component has a + and/or – tolerance to ensure that all components fit perfectly together and work in unison as a complete pump to deliver the published performance. “Copy-cat” manufacturers buy a Gorman-Rupp pump, pull it apart, and [attempt to] copy all the parts. The trouble is, they don’t know the +/- tolerances, so can’t guarantee the repeatability of pump construction time after time. They also will almost certainly not guarantee that their pumps will test to AS2417 Grade 2 (even though their curves look (miraculously) identical to Gorman-Rupp curves). What looks cheap in the beginning, can turn out to be very costly.

A Gorman-Rupp pump can be mounted at ground level, not in the wastewater 6-7m below ground. This means monitoring, maintaining, removing blockages etc can all be done at ground level, by one person and without the use of cranes. This is safer, easier and more cost-effective over the life of an installation. For more information on this, see our white papers on the subject..

We keep a large range of pumps and spare parts in stock.  This includes all common parts for common models and we can generally ship same day.  For any spare parts weighing 60kg and under we have a weekly FedEx service to have them shipped in.

An Eradicator system is a patented system used in Gorman-Rupp’s Super T Series wastewater pumps to greatly reduce blockages by stringy materials such as rags and wet wipes.

The EDUR pump draws atmospheric air into its suction line, shears and mixes it with the water being drawn from the DAF plant, and under pressure, dissolves the air into the water. The water is then re-injected into the DAF tank, where dissolved air comes out of solution to form micro bubbles which then adhere to fats, oils and greases in the water, floating them to the top. There, the grease layer can be mechanically scraped away.

Yes. We can package any of our pumps into systems containing valves, interconnecting piping, controls, acoustic enclosures etc.