Need help with yet another new pump!

[ScampersSharon]

This will be the 3rd pump in 6 years and pump shopping is getting old! The old pump ran for about 30 minutes this spring when we brought it out of hibernation. We have 2500 gallons and about 14' of head created by about 4' of rise from the skimmer box to the filter box at the top of the stream, about 40' of buried hose and a few fittings.

We have always had a submersible in the skimmer box, but now I'm wondering about an external pump..........or maybe both. I'd like to get more GPH over the waterfall into the pond, but have no idea how to create it.

Should I put a small submersible in the skimmer box and feed an external pump with it and let the external push water through all the hose, use the sub to push water through the hose and put the external on the other end to pull water through the hose. Maybe use the skimmer box as a priming pot for the external to push through the hose and the sub in the filter box to pull..........??????????

I do need to get this figured out pretty soon or the mosquitos are going to take over........if it ever stops snowing!

Thanks for any opinions

Sharon


The skimmer box is on the far left and the top of the stream with the filter box is up near the tree on the right and if you look really close you can see a bit of the waterfall on the right of the pond.

 

[HTH]

What size is your pipe ?

 

[mrsclem]

Did you keep your pump in water all winter? We used to pull ours and put them inside and then in the spring, they would run for maybe 1 day and lock up. Most pumps need to be kept wet to keep the seals intact. Took us several years and this forum to find out the hard way. 4th year with no pump shopping in the spring.

 

[ScampersSharon]

Pipe is 1 1/2" and yes, the pump was in a bucket of water in the basement all winter.....both of them.

 

[HTH]

Your pipe diameter is CRIMINALLY SMALL

We have 2500 gallons and about 14' of head created by about 4' of rise from the skimmer box to the filter box at the top of the stream, about 40' of buried hose and a few fittings. ... Pipe is 1 1/2"

I would replace it with 1.5 or better 2 inch thin wall PVC and use wide radius corners instead of elbows. With 14 feet of head and 40 feet of pipe you need to let that water flow freely.

 

[ScampersSharon]

We'd have to dig up a good deal of the lawn to change the pipe....1.5" (1 1/2")will have to do for now. What I'm really asking I guess is if one type of pump is better at pushing or pulling than another.

 

[HTH]

Oh MY BAD I read half inch rather then one and one half. Funny how the mind works.

I would not dig it up either but would have used bigger when building. Most people will tell you what you have is fine. But with t40 feet and 14 feet of elevation I would go with the 2 inch.

You will want to look for pumps with the most head. That is an indication of how much pressure they can generate

There are two types of head. Static and dynamic.

Static is what you measure and I think you said 14 feet which is considerable.

Dynamic is due to the friction of the water in the pipe. The larger the pipe the less the friction. Using large radius corners instead of 90 or 45 elbows reduces friction too.

You may be able to make a few small changes to reduce the dynamic friction without digging too much. Change out the 90s if you have any.

 

[addy1]

I just use external pumps. They have always worked well for me, can't help with submersible pumps. My stream is run by a high head pressure clear water pump, 70 some feet of head counting pipes, the hill etc, cheap harbor freight pump.

 

[27goldfish]

I use internal pump and leave them running year round. We do have ice on the pond, but I remove the fountain heads and have quick disconnects in the pond so I can seperate all external hoses. Prop the hoses up and I have "breather holes" for the winter. One of my pumps is about 5 years old.