Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Electric water pump

Can any of you guys/gals recommend an ELECTRIC water pump to move water from a creek to my pond about 900ft away. I have been using a gas powered 8hp Honda 4in. pump to keep my 2.5 acre pond topped off for the last few years. It works great; however, I am an absentee land owner and can't use it as I would like. Also, with the ever rising price of gas it is getting expensive to keep my fish alive.
I am wanting to find a smaller, less costly pump to permanatly keep in place. I am not so concerned with the initial cost of the pump, I want a pump that is relatively cost efficient to operate. Something similar to a golf course set up. A pump that could be set up on a timer or an on/off float device of some kind. There is a utility easement very close by. Solar is not an option, I have to much shade near my water source. The total head would around 50ft.

Thanks in advance,

Eddie

Hi LF, take a look at this link:

http://journeytoforever.org/at_waterpump.html

This one looks very interesting:

http://www.gravi-chek.com/index.html

GW, thanks for the reply.........interresting link.
I have looked into hydraulic pumps before, especially after the article in Pondboss a few months back. My situation really doesnt lend itself to that type of pump. I have adequate volume(cubic ft/sec) but I have very little vertical drop and no place to set the pump that would result in an adequate grade.
I wish I could make it work, I really like the idea of a "no cost" pump. Thanks again..........any other takers????

Eddie

No matter how you slice it, an electric pump will be expensive to operate.

When you run your 4" gas pump, how long does it take to "top off" the pond? Also, how many inches will it rraise for the same time frame?

A 2", 2HP, High-Volume, Hi-Capacity, swimming pool pump can handle about 160GPM at 50' head. That is what my "Century Brand" pump is rated---250GPM at open flow--It has a pressure max of 75 psi. Couple that with a Sylvania industrial timer and you'll be good to leave.

For energy consumption--When I ran my pump 2 years ago,12 hours per day, it cost $105 a month to operate.

RM, "it all depends". During july, august and sept. it may need to run 3 or 4 days straight to fill the pond up. Other times of the year, I may need to only run it for 24 hours to top it off. Hard to say how many inches it will rise per hour because of the "V" shape profile of the pond. The more full the pond gets the slower it fills.
I'll look into century pumps, thanks for the info.

The amount of head is what you will pay for in power to supply the water that you need. I have less then half that and when I was looking into doing the same thing, I kept going back to waterfall pumps for koi ponds and that type of application. Some use allot less power then others, but it's been about three years since I looked into them, but I found some of the garden sites that specialize in water gardens to have allot of reviews on the different brands.

Good luck,
Eddie

http://www.stoneycreekequip.com/form/pumps2.htm


I was also thinking the waterfall pumps that are rated for continuous use too. However there are even larger electric pumps made especially for dewatering in the AES catalog. But I believe they are a few grand.

I use a smaller sump pump version I got at a building supply store that is rated at about 50 gpm's to drain and fill my small 1/10th acre ponds. That pump moves about 100,000 gallons in 3 to 4 days with a head up to 8 feet once the pond really gets down. I put it inside a five gallon bucket to keep it from sucking the bottom. I also tie a rope to the end of the bucket to move it around while standing on the bank. It's a good idea to criss cross the open end of the bucket with rope to keep the pump inside as you move it around with the rope tied the the back of the bucket.

I have a trash pump that pumps 150 gpms but I have a neurotic neighbor in the back that complains about the noise with that pump. With the electric I can pump 24/7 too without constantly filling with gas. As gas prices go up I'm not so sure electric is that much more expensive is it?

I have a 115v Multiquip 2" electric trash pump I'm borrowing for a project this weekend it's 95 GPM with max head of 45'. Multiquip puts out products more related to commercial than homeowner. If you have 3phase available, it will save you a bit on the initial cost and the cost of operation. Maybe a phase converter is an option?

Here's a 115v model.
http://www.multiquip.com/multiquip/609_792_ENU_HTML.htm

http://www.multiquip.com/multiquip/pdfs/...08-brochure.pdf