Having dug out our well last year down at the allotment we now find ourselves with a good depth to move forward into the summer season. I now need to find a little pump to chug away twice a day as I water our bulging beds. Can anyone recommend or point me towards a v reasonable pump? It has to be v reasonable as this project is still under trial as to its worth. My neighbour on one side has just bought a new Honda for 500 Euros, out of my league, and my neighbour the other side has just bought one for 50 Euros. That more like it.
Any pointers gratefully received.
So assuming there is 1m of water in the well atmospheric pressure is pushing water 7m up to your pump which is about all that is normally possible. Try hemp & paste on the threaded joints if you have a problem. PTFE (Teflon) tape won't work on the parallel threads which are prevalent in France.
spid "O" ... I thought of Budgie Smugglers but thought it far to funny for anything sold in France:-)
Regarding using Martins existing pump. Be careful of using very long electric extension leads as the subsequent voltage drop could cause a pump to burn out.
If you are wondering where all this guff comes from I was a building services design engineer in my former life, hence my interest in pumpy things ;-)
8 metres from lip of well structure to a sandy bottom. According to the oldest local resident there was once a 'fountain' fed from a spring on our land....so maybe we're blessed (would make a nice change!) in that department.
Vaseline and a stout wrench resolved the air-leak issues. Maybe the little pump is punching above it's weight......... (it's of Italian manufacture, I think)
I don't understand the physics (scraped a 'O' level back in the 70s), just pleased it works.
"Speed - eau" ..... . I was expecting more ribaldry about some of the other vocabulary!
Back to Martin's original question: I looked at the Honda unit - seems to be the same power unit they use on their range of (super) brush-cutters; - lightweight 4-stroke engines have come a long way in a short time it seems, and the pump housing /mechanism looks the same as that on the Spid-'O'.
Still think a portable genset is the way to go...IF the already available pump is powerful enough to suck it up from Martin's well - any chance to test using numerous extension leads?
Is your well 8m deep or 8m to the water line? The "lift" will be measured from water line to pump inlet. You are lucky to get a "cheapo" pump to lift that height. I'm betting it will fail to "lift" when the pump shaft seal starts to fail & air is sucked into the impeller casing . I still don't get Spid "o"!
Hi Vic..... I'm happy to learn as much as I can....... The 'Spid "O"' was rated to 5m 'lift' - so we're happy to have achieved 8.
Interesting John. The max. theoretical height a suction pump can lift is 1 atmosphere at sea level or about 10m although with vacuum losses, pump cavitation & system resistance this is usually about 8m. It's the atmospheric pressure which pushes water up the pipe towards the pump which is working to produce a negative pressure in the suction line. This is the reason pumps & their suction pipework must be primed & a good foot valve fitted as water pumps don't pump air. You must be just on the cusp as any deeper & it wouldn't work.
Please don't think I'm trying to teach you anything. I'm trying here to let people know that a surface mounted pump will not "lift" water up a well deeper than 7-8m.. Any deeper a multi stage regenerative pump is the DB's. I've seen loads of cock ups where people buy a pump & wonder why it doesn't work!
A couple of thoughts:
Our well is close to the house, and we bought a sweet little 4-stroke pump called a 'Spid "O" (geddit?)from M. Bric' for +/- 60 €. A cobbled-together network of hoses delivers water to the fruit and veg' plot some 300m away..... and where we've run out of hoses we use a cart hooked behind the mower and fill 'jerricans'. The pump is great for a variety of other jobs and obviates any desire to buy a Karcher, or similar.
For the truly lazy; a self-priming 12v DC water pump could be wired to the mower to avoid further decanting into watering cans;- these pumps can be wired in tandem for lowering into the well if desired.
Point to watch is the lift capacity of the pump a.k.a. 'does it suck hard enough?' (our well is only 8m deep:- we live in the bottom of a valley, but kept going even when our neighbours wells ran dry last summer), good priming and tight seals can help here. Smear vaseline around threads and couplings to achieve a good closure -
If you have a good electric pump available, why not buy a small mobile generator to power it, and any other electrical kit you need around the 'estate'. Also, this might alleviate any problems you might encounter with power cuts ; we were without leccy' for four days over Christmas (all that food!), so a genset is on our shopping list.
Life in the country breeds a spirit of rugged self-reliance!
Useful guide to the various technical considerations.
http://www.aquavalor.fr/pompe-puits-forage.php
The pomp from Ubaldi might be a little short on power. Measurement is what you need Martin. Alternatively a bucket and windlass would do. You should really avoid irrigation except when first establishing a crop. As an example tomatoes taste better if the plant is stressed so less water is better than more.
Hello Martin,
Do you need to find a new home for your "beauty of a submersible electric pump in the barn but regrettably we have negative power down by the river" as I have need of one...maybe you still do too?
Should Vic see this - keep up the good work!
Regards
Cheers Andrew.
We were going to give it a year with the allotment. With the twice a day watering we have now had a bit of a re think! West Sussex wet soil this definitely ain’t!
Thanks Andrew.
Nice one Vic. I’ll bowl them and you keep whacking them to the boundary. Lol.
How deep is she ? have a look at this site you may find what you are looking for :)
http://www.prix.net/prix/?q=pompe+thermique+surface&gclid=CNjloO_E-L0CFZShtAodjVEApg
Found this one dont look to bad Livraison gratuite 175e
"we have negative power down by the river."
All you need is the positive power & you have it cracked ;-)
sorry forgot not all of us may have electricity
Indeed Andrew. I have a beauty of a submersible electric pump in the barn but regrettably we have negative power down by the river.
petrol motor driven pump as there's no electricity close by...!
Why do you want a PETROL pump or have I missed the joke?
why a PETROL pump ?
Sorry if I confused. I was of course referring to a petrol driven water pump. Haven’t yet started looking for forecourt jobs with ESSO!
Gotcher;-) I thought Martin had spent too long down a hole in the ground.