240v Submersible Pump

SamT

Moderator
Just wondering if the following seems plausible and if anyones got any experience of such a system.

Planning on installing a rainwater collector into a large tank that will be stored in a barn. Want to connect it to the house hold plumbing to supply water to the toilets/bath.
(water supply there used to be a gravity fed system off a small pond on the hill - but is now beyond repair and the pond lies on someone elses land, they;ve landscaped it and filled it with exotic ducks/geese etc - so water is filthy  :yucky:).

Just wondering what sort of submersible pump I need, that would basically sit in the bottom of the tank for years. often not in use (holiday cottage). But would be triggered when a tap is turned on to supply pressured water to the house.

We have a LIFA filter that is not used at the mo, but could be incorporated into the new system.

We are not too bothered about a full on system, as hopefully in the next few years we'll get  on the mains.

Any ideas.


 

AndyF

New member
Submersibles will do fine, yo can get 'em cheap from B&Q about ?35, but you may want a "dirty water" type for longer life.

They usually have a "float" switch  on the end of a short cable, but it's easy to chop this and replace with some other switching mechanism. They usuallyhave a small chaber with a ball bearing and micro switch.

They will sit for years without problem.
 

Les W

Active member
To trigger the pump when a tap is turned on you will need to pressurise the water system, this will need a pressure vessel (you can't compress the water), a non return valve of some sort and a pressure switch. Perhaps a better system would be to pump to a header tank and gravity feed the taps, etc. You could use a level probe in the header tank to call the pump in when the level dropped, this may be cheaper and simpler.

Any pump that will raise the water to the height required will do the job, whether it is a submersible or perhaps a centrifugal pump outside the tank (perhaps a central heating pump will provide enough lift).

What ever pump you use, the cheaper it is, the less reliable it will be.

Hope this is of help.  (y)
 

graham

New member
Your system sounds a bit complex. If the water is pumped from the barn to a smaller loft tank which gravity feeds it to the toilets etc then all you need is an on switch to replenish the cottage tank from the barn tank every so often.

I am using an old pond pump to supply water from a (now defunct) septic tank for watering the garden, washing the car, hosing down caving kit, etc. It seems perfectly good, it was in the pond for about five years running continuously and was only removed 'cos I had to change the filter system.
 

Hughie

Active member
graham said:
Your system sounds a bit complex. If the water is pumped from the barn to a smaller loft tank which gravity feeds it to the toilets etc then all you need is an on switch to replenish the cottage tank from the barn tank every so often.

Simply done by installing a remote float switch in the loft header tank. Many better quality pumps come with the option of integral float switch, or without for customizing applications.

Try www.pump.co.uk  - they're reasonable on pricing and offer good advice.

For heavy duty farm stuff (lighter weight stuff may be more useful for your application) try www.agripump.com

 

SamT

Moderator
all good stuff - cheers guys.

I've been looking at single impeller booster pumps - to boost the pressure from the header tanks already in existance.

Although, has anyone had any experience or used a Negative Head Pump.
It sounds like just the job from what a mate told me today, i.e. can pull water from a floor level tank on demand, i.e. when a tap is turned on.
 
Top