Cat vs Arimitsu

[PaulLovesJamie]

I currently use a mix of Cat 340, Cat 310, and Arimitsu 516 pumps.
I recently had 2 arimitsu 516s wash out, which has me thinking about which pump to "standardize" on.
In an effort to try to make my decision a little more objective, here's some of the data I looked at.
Yep, ymmv, this is just my experience.
No there is not a question lurking in this post; I almost didnt post it at all due to all the senseless arguing online these days, but since writing things down helps organize & clarify my thoughts, what the heck.

Seal Kits -----
Since this is prompted by washouts which are expensive, seal kits matter a lot to me. I've only had a few washouts in 25 years, so I weight this heavily.
Both Cat and Arimitsu manuals recommend seal replacement at 1500 hours, but of course the fine print says "can vary substantially based on conditions"
My average run hours before needing seal kits for cats has been around 3000-4000 hours
The 2 arimitsu 516s that washed out both started to show symptoms around 2500 hours. I replaced seals; around 200 more hours to washout. I know, apparently I caught it too late, so I admit this is at least partially my fault.
NB, hours are based on actual runtime from hour meters... but may be off by 5-10% because after all these years my maintenance record keeping has gotten a little lazy, sound and feel tend to tip me off before the stats & records anyway. (yes Im fixing that too.)

Maintenance -----
- the extra ports on the arimitsu are definitely helpful, gives more setup/install flexibility.
- seal kits, arimitsu is a little bit easier to work on, but not a huge difference. If I had a high volume wash and had to put seals into multiple pumps frequently I might weigh it more heavily.
- valve kits, about the same. arimitsu are easier to get at if I'm also doing the seals, but since their valves are metal I cant pull them out with pliers to inspect them without bending them. That is a pita. And no, I've never had a single one that I could pull out easily.
- Regarding the cat 340, I've read that the direct drive pumps are harder to work on than belt drives. That has not been my experience, I see almost no difference. If they are crammed into a tiny space then sure it would be harder, but thats true of anything crammed into a tiny space, so red herring?

Noise levels -----
According to my sound meter app:
37 dB - "Quiet" equip room (can still hear traffic outside)
62 dB - Background traffic noise, measured from front parking lot
68 dB - Arimitsu 516
70 dB - Cat 310
72 dB - Vacuum (2 qlamb motors)
75 dB - Cat 340
78 dB - Champion 80 gal compressor, belt drive
Subjective opinion: arimitsu is much quieter than the direct drive 340, and is slightly quieter than the 310 - noticeable if I think about it, otherwise not so much. That matches the dB readings I got. (measured 1' from pump, bypass mode, no other noise except traffic)

Prices ------
Arimitsu is more expensive, seal and valve kits are more expensive, and parts are not as readily available.

Conclusions??? ------
Well I dont have any definitive conclusions, but as I'm sure you can tell I'm not raving about the arimitsu 516.
I replaced one of the washouts with a new cat 310.
The second 516 washout is limping along, deciding how to handle it this week.


edit: added dB reading for vac.

 

[cmawash]

on the issue of head wash out, over 16 months ago we threw out nearly new cat plunger pumps installed on 2 separate new pumping stations and locations , plunger units were removed (cat), after a year of problems with heads and seals failing, we had head's washing out, seals leaking, it got so bad we literally replaced 8 pumps( old pumps went into trash dump and replaced pumps with cat 623 pistons pumps, using all original mounting location and feed hardware. pump problems ceased. no more problems wondering about differences in design, did not take change over Lighty , and was not cheap, this is what we did to keep out sanity.to us pump noise means we making money

 

[Randy]

I'd stay with the at 310 pump, parts are easy to come by, there easy to work on. We very seldom ever have a problem with a Cat 310 pump. In 41 years I think I've had maybe 2 or 3 heads wash out.

 

[MEP001]

My opinion (so ideally it should not be a source of argument and anyone who does can **** my ****):

I don't care about the noise. I grew up in car washes with 620s. Not 623s, so if you know the difference you'll know what that means.

I have rebuilt a few Arimitsus and I don't like them. In most cases I can easily rebuild a 5CP without disconnecting any plumbing.

I used to see a LOT of washout issues with the 5CP, and I thought the pump was the problem. IMO the real problem was how the pumps were plumbed. They're often set up with the regulator on one side with the regulator bypass returning to the port on the same side, and the water coming in and going out to the bay on the other side. This means every time the trigger is pulled or released there is a very brief cavitation in the pump. Since I have replumbed every wash I can get my hands on so the flow doesn't change direction in the pump, I have seen ZERO manifold issues in them. This has been a test going on for me since 2008.

Another issue that can increase the chance of manifold washout is running the pump faster than necessary. A wash I'm working with has 4-1/2" motor pulleys and standard 8" pump pulleys, so there's about a half a gallon per minute able to go through a valve o-ring or blown seal before it loses pressure and pulsates.

A Cat 310 with stainless inserts costs about as much as an Arimitsu 518, and will never wash out.

With the 5CP2120W you get one free manifold replacement, and they don't even charge you for return shipping, so that's about $12. You can have a 5CP, 310, or 530 sleeved for (I think) $250, and it's a permanent repair. Or it's supposed to be, I recently took apart a 310 that was sleeved by Dynajet and all the packing sleeves stayed on the plungers with the seals inside them, so that's toast.

 

[Dan kamsickas]

I grew up in car washes with 620s.

I got a headache and ringing in my ears from just reading that.

 

[Greg Pack]

I've got 5CPs and not even bothering with a resleeve. Mep may be onto something but I always theorized that may operators choke their inlet supply off too much and that likely contributed to washout. I run the solutions strong in the tank and therefore don't have to choke off the inlet very much. I can't testify to operating hours, but I'm getting close to twenty years off the original head at my two washes. By the time the second "free" replacement head washes out I hope it will be someone else's problem.

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

Over 10 years ago Arimitsu's came out on the seen to compete price wise with cat 310s since then that has changed and it's not fesiable to switch. I had one go bad after 10 years and switched back to 310s. Parts for 310s will always be avaliable and that means alot in this unstable economy at the moment for me. The Armitsu was quieter but at the end of the day the cat has 9 Life's.

If you didn't want cats I would go with a General over Armitsu. There used to be a Armitsu sales rep on this form years ago and he would give advice and help but this is 2023 and alot has changed since then on parts and availability.

 

[Waxman]

i've had this cat 530 in operation continuously in my busiest bay since January 1, 2006. Not a hiccup in all those years. The Arimitsu 516 I bought maybe 67 or 7 years ago to replace my other cat 530 which exploded after running milky watery oil in it for too long. I bought the replacement with the rails and pulleys to bolt directly in place of my old cat 530. The Arimitsu was far cheaper at the time than the cat 530 and that was the reason for me trying it. It too has performed flawlessly since installing it and I think it is a little bit quieter than the cat pump.

 

[MEP001]

I always theorized that may operators choke their inlet supply off too much and that likely contributed to washout.

That certainly doesn't help. I went to a wash just yesterday to replace a broken HP line, and the supply valve was closed way too far which is probably why the hose rubbed through on the floor.

 

[MEP001]

If you didn't want cats I would go with a General over Armitsu.

I would not, at least not a T1011 or CW2040. Mainly because of the oil leaks, but you really have to keep on top of maintenance or you won't be able to get it apart for service or you'll spend an extra half hour cleaning out all the corrosion or you'll put a seal kit in it and the next day find it leaking oil. I literally fix car washes all day every day, I don't have time to work on a General pump once a week for something. I've only worked on my 5CPs twice in four years.

 

[Waxman]

i've had this cat 530 in operation continuously in my busiest bay since January 1, 2006. Not a hiccup in all those years. The Arimitsu 516 I bought maybe 6 or 7 years ago to replace my other cat 530 which exploded after running milky watery oil in it for too long. I bought the replacement with the rails and pulleys to bolt directly in place of my old cat 530. The Arimitsu was far cheaper at the time than the cat 530 and that was the reason for me trying it. It too has performed flawlessly since installing it and I think it is a little bit quieter than the cat pump.

 

[MEP001]

The Arimitsu 516 I bought maybe 67 years ago

Geez, how old are you?

 

[Roz]

Anyone have experience with General Pumps?

installing a new self service system that uses them (direct drive). Curious as to what I should expect.

 

[MEP001]

Anyone have experience with General Pumps?

installing a new self service system that uses them (direct drive). Curious as to what I should expect.

Expect to have to perform constant maintenance on oil leaks.