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Marion,IN

Does anyone know if a sump pump has enough power to suck the water from a warm water pool and then send the water throughout a drip hose system? If so, what is a good type and where can I order it from?

2/28/2006 9:05:16 PM

Maine

I dont really know... But I would think it would if you had a pump with a high GPH out put.

3/1/2006 6:27:59 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Sump pumps aren't really "positive displacement" pumps. They can move a fair volume of water but they don't build pressure.

I'm sure there are ways though.

A couple years ago a guy named Brian (I think) was growing AGs & posting here & knew an awful lot about hydraulics & plumbing. If he doesn't chime in on this thread we might find an old post of his using "search" or by scrolling back through the old posts.

I know this subject has been properly addressed here before.

3/1/2006 7:22:14 AM

Norton, MA

I did this all last year.
I didn't run soakers or drips though. I used the pumps in barrels of fert. only. I pumped these through a hand held watering wand.
I tried to run it through sprinklers, it doesn't work, soakers/drip would be the same.
It puts out more pressure without resistance than my house lines (the stream is much faster and more powerful than the regular water when held into the air), but if I put my thumb on the end of the pump's hose, it would shut down to a trickle only, whereas the house hoses build up a huge pressure behind a plug.
This is because if the impeller in the sump pump faces resistance (plug) it will slow slightly. Even though the speed decrease is small, the principle does not work anymore as the speed is normally set just above the minimum.
Normal water line pumps (well or town) work differently (I'm not sure how) and produce a steady pressure. Sump pump won't do sprinklers or drips/soakers (generally). AleX Noel.

3/1/2006 7:51:58 PM

Midway City, California

What would happen if you send the hose up about 15 feet above the pump and then the hose end droped back down to the Watering wand, soakers, sprinklers or Drippers? Will it loose some of the pressure this way?

Water (john)

3/1/2006 10:35:33 PM

San Diego, Ca.

I think the problem is that the sump pump will move a large amount of water but builds only a small amount of head pressure. If you know how many "feet of head" your sump pump generates you can use this formula to figure out how much PSI it will put out. Feet of head to pressure = Feet of head X .433=PSI.
I have a sump pump that generates a maximum of 20 feet of head. So using this formula (20`x.433)my pump will generate 8.66 PSI with the end of the hose at the same elevation as the pump. That is not much pressure. If I held the end of the hose 20 feet above the pump the water would cease to flow because the weight of the water in the hose would equal the pressure the pump makes. On the other hand, if your pump is elevated above the end of the hose you will gain some pressure. (.433PSI per foot)I hope this helps somehow.

3/2/2006 12:04:10 AM

Eugene,OR

Use your sump pump to pump your water up into a tank, and then have a gravity flow drip system run from the tank. You could do this with t-tape...and I have some that I'm not using anymore that I'd let you have REAL cheap!

3/2/2006 12:47:08 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Resistance is what messes up a sump pump. They're the same as a "Trash pump" in that a centrifugal impeller just swishes the water around a round chamber. The chamber is shaped so that there is a slight pressure differential on the outbound side. But if the resistance is equal to that pressure, then the impeller will freewheel & the pressure & flow will be reduced to zero.

Bigger trash pumps can build enough head pressure to overcome so resistance. This is often referred to in the specifications as "lift". However this type of pump would be huge, noisy & expensive for long term use.

Positive displacement pumps use pistons (sometimes with diaphragms) so head pressure is very strong while volume drops off.

I agree that the type of pump you have is best use to "lift" the water into an elevated holding tank. Then you can let gravity noiselessly feed the irrigation system.

3/2/2006 8:05:22 AM

Norton, MA

Thanks Tremor. I was measning to say it like that, but you are much better at explaining it. That is what I saw last year anyway. Mine (and yours) would work very well though for running a drip or that type of system through gravity. I still don't think a gravity system of any "casual" dimensions would be enough for say an impact sprinkler, but I don't know. AleX Noel.

3/2/2006 8:07:46 PM

Montoursville, PA

Dripworks of California has plastic sprinklers that will work on the middle to higher pressures of five to ten pounds. To achieve that kind of gravety pressure you need ten to twenty foot towers. Safe rule, of thumb, is one pound, of gravity pressure per each two feet, of height above the ground. Therefore an eight foot tower with fifty five gallons drums would yeild about five pounds of gravity pressure.

On the subject, of quality...Dripworks and their distributors are the "only" firms that test and guarentee their drip tapes, to deliver specific amounts, of water per specific pressure and vollume. Their catalog or company help can design and deliver proper systems the first time when based on your supplied layout measurements. Instructions are in their catalog. Their help is a mater of very good and accurate help given, to a very large number, of growers.

4/4/2006 12:25:41 PM