sump pump water into rain barrel?
stockypete
16 years ago
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wdp01
15 years agoRelated Discussions
portable pump with rain barrels
Comments (15)I use a submersible RIGID 1/6th HP submersible pump [looks exactly like this http://www.amazon.com/Wayne-RUP160-6-Horsepower-Oilless-Submersible/dp/B0009X8O2E ]from Home Depot in my 2 barrel system, just drop it in with a garden hose attached. It sounds impressive 3000GPH, ya whatever, it produces about 20psi so not regular water pressure but it works and takes an hour to drain 110 gallons at 20psi though a sprinkler. I was using it to power the back and forth fan sprinkler, but the screen or jets would get plugged with small debris, and it just wasn't powerful enough for the tis, tis, tis, pulse sprinkler. I did however find a solution at a recent home show. http://www.rainforestsprinklers.com They were selling it to people with poor water pressure in the country, and who use pumps from a well and that sort of thing. It seemed perfect, so I bought the Rainforest 24" Riser Sprinkler for $20 bucks or so. Works really nicely covering a 20ft circle with 20psi. It's impressive with the regular water supply it was probably spinning 3 times faster, with a bit of mist created and a 35ft circle, but at 20psi it was a gentle rainfall and ran for 1 hour on the 2x 55 gallon drums full of water didn't get plugged once, has a fairly large hole for the water, and it was always tiny debris already ground up by the pump that came down the hose and plugged the fan sprinkler anyways, I just don't use one of those rubber o ring mesh screens with the rain barrel anymore. I'm happy with the 24" riser, and might even go with the 36" if you have a big yard, but I think the ground level one would be just too small of a water pattern with such low pressure. Anyways I was so impressed to finally be able to water my lawn without stopping to clean out the sprinkler.... I wrote the sprinkler company this was their reply "Thanks for letting me know how well our sprinklers worked with your system and the rain barrels, we have been experimenting ourselves with them and managed to get a 15 ft diameter by just running connected to a rain barrel that was approx 12 ft higher than the sprinkler with no pump. We get many emails from people in places like Texas that couldn't run a sprinkler at all on their pressure and ours worked great for them and saved them hours of hand watering." I would add to really shop around if your looking for a pump, most places want to sell you a pond pump that has no pressure, or tiny hoses, or a HUGE expensive jet pump that can produce 80psi and clean out your wallet, it's hard to find something in the middle cheap that takes garden hose. If I did it again maybe I would buy a bit higher HP pump, or a sump pump with a float if I could find one cheap. I think the higher HP would drain the barrels faster, but also give more PSI to run a regular sprinkler....See Morerain barrel setup - pump suggestions, etc.
Comments (3)I have used hay bales stacked tightly around and on top of the barrel as insulation and this has worked for all but the coldest stretches of winter. As for your spigot perhaps a heating cable, made specifically for warming pipes to above freezing, would work for you. As for mesquitos simply reuse the barrel lid, with a hole sized to allow your input pipe a snug fit....See MoreNeed pump recommendation for rain barrel
Comments (0)Hi! I have a large-capacity rain barrel that collects water from the garage roof. I will need to pump it uphill and across a yard to get to the actual garden. Can someone recommend an electric pump (110-120V) that can pump this water from the spigot at the bottom of the barrel through a standard garden hose? The pump needn't be very powerful and I'll want to use it for only a few minutes at a time, but I hope it will work reliably for years. Thank you!...See Moresump pump coming on but not moving water
Comments (3)well, if it's clogged you aren't going to like it... will be a critter that climbed up there. the other places it can be is a broken impeller / motor connection (probably just replace the pump) or less likely a check valve that isn't opening. My vote is going to be the impeller / motor connection....See Morefishboy2008
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3 years ago
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