PUMP QUESTION -- THINGS YOU DIDN'T THINK TO LOOK FOR

[Mmathis]

I have a solids-handling pump [3600 GPH, I think, or maybe more....] that I purchased from HOME DEPOT. No problems with the pump itself, but....

Recently I wanted to attach a homemade prefilter to the pump's intake, but discovered that this pump isn't set up to accept anything on the intake end [believe me, I tried every fitting I could get my hands on].

I assume that there are pumps out there that will accept tubing at both ends. Is there any way you can tell this when you shop [online]? Like, should the specs say, "accepts tubing at both ends"?

 

[sissy]

some do and you sure it does not have a screw in as I only ever had 1 pump that was not except something on the inlet part .Most will say that I have seen .

 

[Mmathis]

some do and you sure it does not have a screw in as I only ever had 1 pump that was not except something on the inlet part .Most will say that I have seen .

No, just a short stub, probably not even an inch long. Only thing I was able to attach was a metal hose clamp over some of that collapsable tubing, but that sucked in on itself when I turned the pump on.

 

[Ruben Miranda]

Hello
I have one like that don't remember the name but it is a mag something or other first pump I ever bought for my first pond.
Still running strong.
But what I had to do to run a Tubing/Line on the inlet was
Get/find a rubber fitting that was tight around the pipe and then slide it in to the inlet of the pump nice and snug.
Since that is where it sucks in the water the rubber would not push back out worked very well still have it that way now.

Tomorrow I will take it out and take a pic of it fittling rubber and line might help you out.

This is actully the pump I have hooked up that way
http://allmypetsupplies.com/p-1748-tetra-dynatec-pond-pumps.aspx

Ruben

 

[Waterbug]

I'm pretty sure every external pump has a threaded male input. And I assume any pump that can be external or submerged would too.

I used to place pumps inside a 3.5 gal bucket with a screw on lid and then add PVC fittings to the bucket. That gives you any size and type of input you like. There is an issue that if the input becomes blocked the pump suction can collapse the bucket. But normally that shouldn't be a problem with a good pre-filter. In theory this could also turn a submersible into an external but I never did. You want as large an input as you can manage and have the length of the input pipe be as short as possible. Pumps like to push, not suck.

 

[Mmathis]

I'm pretty sure every external pump has a threaded male input. And I assume any pump that can be external or submerged would too.

You want as large an input as you can manage and have the length of the input pipe be as short as possible. Pumps like to push, not suck.

You'd think, but this one [submerged pump] doesn't, well, not on both ends anyway. What's on the intake end is a short stub, no threading, male or female. The "cage" fits over the end, so guess they figured it didn't need to be plumbed at that end.

Glad you mentioned about the input length. If I used a pre-filter, was going to use longer tubing so it could be remote from the pump, but didn't know if that mattered. And never thought of it as pushing vs sucking.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

And never thought of it as pushing vs sucking.

To understand why pumps like to push rather than pull, a more accurate way to explain it is that pumps can better deal with positive pressure on the exit side that they can with a negative pressure (vacuum) on the intake side, and the reason for this is a phenomena called cavitation. The low or negative pressure on the intake side of the pump causes tiny bubbles to form and burst around the pump impeller and the bursting of the bubbles will erode the impeller and pump casing and eventually cause degraded performance of the pump and even failure.
Essentially you don't want to restrict the intake side of your pump if you can help it, and if you have a lot of head pressure, meaning you are pumping your water to some significant height, it is better to push the water from below (with the pump down low pushing up) then it is to pull the water from above with the pump up at your upper water level.

 

[crsublette]

Yeah, what Mucky said This happens with my farm irrigation wells as well. If the suction side is pulling too hard then tiny bubbles form, so much so the water from the outtake turns foggy or milky due to all of the bubbles. We fix this by putting a valve on the outtake end. The valve provides enough restriction on the output so that the intake does not create a hard suction.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Hmmm, I just read that link I posted on cavitation. lol
Anyway, what I found really interesting was the part near the bottom of the page about the effects of cavitation on Marine Life, I did not know that.

 

[Waterbug]

You'd think, but this one [submerged pump] doesn't, well, not on both ends anyway.

There are pumps that can be used "external or submerged", owner's choice. Those are what I was talking about. No "submersible only" has an input fitting that I know of.

Glad you mentioned about the input length. If I used a pre-filter, was going to use longer tubing so it could be remote from the pump, but didn't know if that mattered. And never thought of it as pushing vs sucking.

Flexible tubing is not a good choice for the input. Suction and flexible is not a good combo.

 

[Ruben Miranda]

Hello
Sorry it took so long been busy and plus I am old and have CRS :razz:
Don't know if you found or fixed your issue but maybe this will help.

Front of pump

S you can see (like yours) there are no treads for a fitting of any type
It is a weird size for sure even though it has no treads the fittings are either to big or to small even if you wanted to try and glue one in there (That I don't recommend)
You/I cant find one that is close enough to get a tight seal nor is there enough for it to be strong.

So what I did was at the hardware store (Home Depot or Lowes Or what ever is in your area) is took the face off went down to the hardware store.
got a 3/4 plastic pipe fitting and found a rubber seal/gasket the inside dia of the seal was 3/4 or maybe a inch the thickness about a 1/4

You will just have to try a few to find the right one, the goal is to have it just tight enough that it wiggles in and makes a seal.

Since the pump is sucking here you really don't need it to be glued or that tight, just tight enough that if bumped by the fish it do's not come off that easy.

And you do want it to come off as you want to be able to take the pump out and clean the impeller if your pump is like mine it do's not move be material so I have to clean the front every so often.

I hope this helps you and gives you a idea.

I like my pump it is 10 years old and has not flinched at all and it runs 24/7.
Right now I am using it to circulate both ponds it is a little under on what I want so around spring I will replace it with one that is bigger
Moving this one to the top pond for the filter and let it run out its life there, If it ever dies.
Beside a couple of draw backs as mentioned above this is one bad ass pump.
I have went trough 2 or 3 other pumps since I bought this one :razz:

Any way I hope this helps
Ruben :goldfish:

 

[Mmathis]

Hello
Sorry it took so long been busy and plus I am old and have CRS :razz:
Don't know if you found or fixed your issue but maybe this will help.
Ruben :goldfish:

Hey, Ruben, thanks! No, actually, with the time of year and all, I'm just not going to worry about it for now. I stuck the pump back into its little mesh bag. I'll check periodically to be sure the bag isn't getting caked in gunk. This will have to be a spring-time project. It actually looks like your pump intake has more of a lip than mine does...... I might end up replacing the pump. Don't know yet.

BTW, what is "CRS"? and "old" is only a state of mind

 

[brokensword]

Ah, I think I can answer for Ruben, if he doesn't mind, as I understand completely about both 'old' AND crs...


C an't

R emember

S h*t (or stuff, for the family rating)


The first time someone told me this, I was just like you and had a big laugh when they 'had' to explain it to me. Needless to say, I was much younger then...


heh

btw, my submersible hasn't any threaded input either and I just made a 'mesh' bag to keep the larger pieces of organics from clogging the provided grillwork my pump does have. I checked it this summer (second summer using it) and it was a bit algae-fied, but the holes were still mainly open. I used 1/2 x1/2" plastic chicken wire and made a 'cage' if you will. Doesn't look like much but it works just fine!




Michael

 

[crsublette]

C an't

R emember

S h*t (or stuff, for the family rating)

That's awesome. I'm gonna use that one. :razz:

 

[Ruben Miranda]

Hello
Yes that is right
Can't Remember Stuff or other :razz: :razz:

Ruben