Rain Barrel Pump Recommendations
June 18, 2020 5:34 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for water pump recommendations for use moving water between rain barrels and a garden. I'm flexible on setup - can be in the water barrel or out, electric or solar. What do you use that you're happy with?
Speaking of exercise, I use a crank pump like this that I've mounted on board, with a bike pedal on the handle. I just pump my foot up and down, and use a short (ca. 5 feet) length of hose to direct the water. Just keep the intake clean and filtered - it's easy to foul the pump, and it doesn't work well after fouling.
posted by pseudophile at 8:42 AM on June 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by pseudophile at 8:42 AM on June 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: canoehead, what's the specific model?
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 8:48 AM on June 18, 2020
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 8:48 AM on June 18, 2020
Little Giant makes good pumps. The submersible style are easy, the non submersible styles (Pony brand well known enough to be genercized) can be a smidge cheaper. Cheap non name versions of these are widely available but quality is all over the place.
posted by Mitheral at 9:13 AM on June 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Mitheral at 9:13 AM on June 18, 2020 [1 favorite]
Here is the model. Note Canadian retailer. Home Depot would have similar models, Don't get the cheapest
posted by canoehead at 9:40 AM on June 18, 2020
posted by canoehead at 9:40 AM on June 18, 2020
I bought this pump a couple months ago. It is very solidly built, moves water quickly, and its not too noisy (not silent by any means, but not awful). It is no a submersible pump.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 10:09 AM on June 18, 2020
posted by WalkerWestridge at 10:09 AM on June 18, 2020
I asked a similar question for a similar application a couple of years ago:
https://ask.metafilter.com/322141/Sizing-a-battery-for-12v-transfer-pump
NOTE: This is a 12V battery operated system. If you have access to a 120v outlet nearby I'm sure there are better options.
I ended up with this pump from Harbor Freight, and a small 12v/18Ahr sealed lead acid battery from Amazon. I charged the battery on a trickle charger at home, and hooked it up at the garden when I needed to irrigate. You could probably also build a small enclosure and use a solar panel + controller for a more permanent setup outside. I didn't go down that route.
I irrigated with good pressure through a hose and watering wand, with 25' of garden hose and maybe about 10' of head pressure. If I recall correctly, I would usually irrigate for 20-30mins and never ran out of juice. You could probably also run a small drip irrigation system on this setup.
I moved last year and don't have the remote garden plot anymore, so if you're interested I can ship the setup to you (assuming I can find everything). Let me know!
posted by pilibeen at 10:29 AM on June 18, 2020
https://ask.metafilter.com/322141/Sizing-a-battery-for-12v-transfer-pump
NOTE: This is a 12V battery operated system. If you have access to a 120v outlet nearby I'm sure there are better options.
I ended up with this pump from Harbor Freight, and a small 12v/18Ahr sealed lead acid battery from Amazon. I charged the battery on a trickle charger at home, and hooked it up at the garden when I needed to irrigate. You could probably also build a small enclosure and use a solar panel + controller for a more permanent setup outside. I didn't go down that route.
I irrigated with good pressure through a hose and watering wand, with 25' of garden hose and maybe about 10' of head pressure. If I recall correctly, I would usually irrigate for 20-30mins and never ran out of juice. You could probably also run a small drip irrigation system on this setup.
I moved last year and don't have the remote garden plot anymore, so if you're interested I can ship the setup to you (assuming I can find everything). Let me know!
posted by pilibeen at 10:29 AM on June 18, 2020
I bought this pump via Home Depot to do this exact thing. I’ve been using it for a few weeks and am overall happy with it.
posted by photovox at 11:50 AM on June 18, 2020
posted by photovox at 11:50 AM on June 18, 2020
What's the elevation of the outlet point in the garden with respect to the bottoms of the barrels, and how fast (in gallons per minute, or litres per minute) do you want to move the water?
posted by flabdablet at 1:18 PM on June 18, 2020
posted by flabdablet at 1:18 PM on June 18, 2020
Response by poster: What's the elevation of the outlet point in the garden with respect to the bottoms of the barrels
Essentially flat.
how fast (in gallons per minute, or litres per minute) do you want to move the water?
Good question. Not sure an exact amount, but probably low. We'd use a soaker hose or similar if we could, sprayer if we couldn't.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 1:27 PM on June 18, 2020
Essentially flat.
how fast (in gallons per minute, or litres per minute) do you want to move the water?
Good question. Not sure an exact amount, but probably low. We'd use a soaker hose or similar if we could, sprayer if we couldn't.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 1:27 PM on June 18, 2020
Essentially flat ... probably low ... soaker hose
The pump I've had the most success with under those conditions is called gravity. Works even better if you jack your rain barrels up by maybe half a metre on some kind of stand.
posted by flabdablet at 9:30 PM on June 18, 2020
The pump I've had the most success with under those conditions is called gravity. Works even better if you jack your rain barrels up by maybe half a metre on some kind of stand.
posted by flabdablet at 9:30 PM on June 18, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by canoehead at 7:26 AM on June 18, 2020 [1 favorite]