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Cat vs General Pump
- Thread starter RAAOO7
- Start date
Do you see a difference between 310s and 310?
The Cat 310S has stainless steel inserts installed at the factory, that’s the only difference.
I had a lot of skepticism when I decided to try the General Emperor pump. Well 10 years later, it's been proven to be great. I haven't touched it at all, other than changing the oil. It's in my busiest bay and I would have changed packings at least twice in any other pump in that time period. If the rattly noise of the Cat's is annoying to you, then you will be surprised on how the Emperor is so quiet. I haven't run it dry to test out the claim that you could, but try that with any other pump and see what happens. You will have ruined your packings. As my existing pumps die, I will be replacing them with Emperor's. The only downside is that the packings cost 2X what a normal set do. But, if they last 2-3 times longer then it's more than worth it. The Teflon/graphite packings are superior in my opinion. I added a 2nd Emperor 2 years ago and it's also been trouble free. The guys at General Pump are also great to deal with, so that helps too.
MEP001
Well-known member
What model are you using?
II'm using Cat 5CP pumps and see no reason to change brands. They're super easy to repair, and they work for years and years before anything is needed to do to them, provided they have adequate water supply. They will use a lot of the 310 parts too if you have those lying around.
If you already have Cat pumps, then you most likely won't change. The Emperor that I put in 10 years ago was the HTS2215S. The Emperor that I put in 2 years ago was the PEHT2214S. It is the next generation in the Emperor line, and is packaged to fit in place of a Cat 310. If I were building a new wash today, i would use the Emperor's. This has been my experience, I would like to hear from other users to see if they are the same.
soonermajic
Well-known member
Obviously Im no expert on this, duh. But I do have a fri3nd who builds his own tripod SS pumpstands & does complete SS bay systems. FWIW, he swears by the Emperor pumps. He doesn't say the other brands suck, just that the Emperor pumps are quieter, less issues, & super easy to work on &/or change out.
He was a airplane engineer for years, @ Tinker AFB , in OkC. He is a real character. But sharp as a tack.
He was a airplane engineer for years, @ Tinker AFB , in OkC. He is a real character. But sharp as a tack.
MEP001
Well-known member
That's because they're cheap. They hold up pretty well on units fed with pressure and have the water heated after the pump, but they just don't last with gravity-fed hot water. They're also very prone to cracked plungers and oil leaks.
General pumps non emperor line is average, compared to other most other pumps. they are not up to par with Cat's. the emperor's are really completely different. Teflon/graphite packings, thicker ceramic plungers have improved them to the point where I would say they are better than a Cat. Don't buy any other General pump than the Emperor line.