Pump for watering the garden: features, types, choice
Garden, garden, flower beds, lawns - everything needs regular watering. Conventional pumps for water supply do not always cope with this task - irrigation has its own characteristics, therefore the pump for watering the garden, garden, flower garden and lawn is chosen separately, using a completely different approach.
Water source and irrigation pump categories
- well;
- well;
- river, pond, pool;
- containers and barrels.
In the case of a well and a well, the technical characteristics will be decisive - it is necessary that water with the proper pressure be delivered to the place of irrigation. Models - in principle, any. Choose to your taste.
If we are talking about a river, a pond or a pool, then the requirements for the degree of water pollution are added to the technical characteristics. If the water in the pool can still be considered relatively clean, then there will be enough pollution in the river or pond, so that conventional equipment will not work. Conventional models in this case will not work, as they are designed for clean water. Drainage and garden pumps can pump contaminated water. It is among these categories that you should look for a pump for watering the garden in this case.
When watering from containers and barrels, the task becomes even more interesting. The water in this case is also not clean, so drainage pumps are suitable, but not any, but the most low-power ones. It's all about the volume of water that can be contained in a barrel. With a high capacity of 200 liters of water, an average power pump will pump out in 1-3 minutes. During this time, you will have time to water quite a bit, but there is no more water. Therefore, the best in this case are the most low-powered (they are also the cheapest). Only when buying, pay attention that the pump comes with a float water level sensor. If there is very little water left, this sensor will turn off the power.
Some companies produce special pumps for barrels. They just differ in low productivity and the ability to pump contaminated water, have small dimensions and weight, but at a price more expensive than similar drains. But the barrel pump for watering the garden is compact and lightweight.
By the way, solving the problem with quickly running out of water in a barrel is simple. There are usually several of them on the site. A little above the bottom level, you can weld fittings with taps and connect all the barrels with pipes. So it will be possible to pump water from all barrels without shifting the hose.
Types of pumps, their advantages and disadvantages when used for irrigation
Choosing a pump for watering a garden is not an easy task - you need to decide on many parameters, take into account the features of pumps and water sources. You need to choose such a “pair” so that it is convenient for you to water, and the equipment works in normal, not emergency mode.
Submersible
Submersible pumps can be used to pump water from any source of sufficient volume - a well, a well. It is problematic to pump from a pond and a river even with a sufficient amount of water - the water is not clean, and ordinary models feel fine only with it. With a very strong desire, you can make a filter chamber in which to place the pump itself. But this is also a controversial option - the walls of the chamber can be torn or clogged.
In wells or wells, both vibration and centrifugal submersible pumps can be used. The difference is that centrifugal ones can "deliver" water over long distances and lift it from great depths. Vibrating ones have more modest characteristics, a smaller resource, are more demanding on the purity of water, but their price is much lower. This explains their popularity.
There are different types of submersible pumps (vortex and vibration), they can work with different water - clean, dirty and very dirty
As for the river and the pond, they have already said that there are still containers left. You can’t put a centrifugal unit into a barrel or a eurocube at all - it will pump it out in a few seconds. Vibrating will create a very strong roar, even though it will take several minutes to “pull” water. But the noise is such that the neighbors can come. So it is also not very suitable for such working conditions.
So, for a submersible pump for watering a garden, it is suitable if the water source is a well or a well without sand.
Drainage
Drainage pumps are mostly of the submersible type. What distinguishes them is the ability to work with muddy and polluted water. In this regard, drainage pumps are used just for watering the garden from open water sources - rivers, ponds, etc.
But just remember that dirty water is not duckweed and mud, but water that contains solid particles no larger than 5 mm in size. But some manufacturers define other limits for their equipment - often the particle size should not exceed 3 mm. Therefore, if the reservoir is heavily polluted, the same chamber with mesh walls is required, which will trap large pollution. If you are reluctant to mess around with this, and the water is really dirty, you can use not a drainage pump for irrigation, but. He can even pump mud. There are models with a grinder that grind large objects that fall into it in seconds.
So, a drainage pump for watering a garden is good if the water has a significant amount of impurities, but they are all no more than 3-5 mm. For large pollution, it is more advisable to use a fecal aggregate.
Barrel
Another type of submersible pump designed specifically for irrigation from small containers is barrel (barrel) pumps. They have low performance, low power and size, low noise level. When the water level in the tank decreases, they gradually raise the pressure so that the outlet pressure remains stable. In general, such a pump for watering the garden is a good purchase, but ... if the price suits you.
The inlet of the barrel pump is closed with a mesh - a filter from large contaminants. But this is not always enough. If there is a lot of dirt in the barrel, an additional filter is made. You can even lower a piece of gauze or other mesh fabric (old tulle, for example) into the barrel, fix it so that it does not reach the bottom a little. The unit can be lowered into this fabric. In this case, it will work longer without maintenance (it is necessary to periodically clean it from the dirt that accumulates inside). The fabric will not tighten inside during operation - there is a grid there, so the option is quite capable.
outdoor
Outdoor pumps are more suitable for watering a garden from a river or pond. Only the hose is lowered into the source, and the unit itself remains on the surface. Just keep in mind that the hose must be reinforced - the usual one will simply flatten the negative pressure created during operation.
The disadvantages of this type of equipment include their weight - they are usually quite heavy, which makes it difficult to carry. Their body is made of steel or cast iron, and it is clearly not light. To eliminate this drawback, special garden pumps were invented. Their body is made of plastic, which makes them much lighter - even a woman can easily cope with carrying. In addition, garden pumps are better suited for pumping not quite clean water. So for watering a garden from a river, this is a good choice.
Outdoor pumps are good for everyone, but filling them before starting work is not the most interesting activity.
There is one nuance in working with external suction pumps: in order to start them, you first need to fill the pump itself and the hose with water. An external pump for watering a garden can be, according to the way it works, then you need to “refuel” a little - only the capacity in the pump, and this is several hundred milliliters. If the model is normally suction, the entire hose and capacity of the unit must be filled, and this may be more than a dozen liters. Since watering is a periodic action, it is tedious to fill such a system every time. Therefore, self-priming external pumps are used for watering the garden, or they are looking for something else.
There are external vortex (centrifugal) pumps, but they are only suitable for clean water. That is, this is another option for a well or well, but with a shallow depth. Their advantage is that they do not need to be filled in, although in terms of weight it is problematic to carry heavy ones from place to place.
Pump stations for watering the garden
If desired, you can use not a pump for watering the garden, but a pumping station. This, in principle, is an ideal option - the pressure is stable, and it can be adjusted within a fairly wide range, while the motor operates in normal mode - it turns on and off. But not without flaws. Pumping stations are usually equipped with surface pumps for clean water. They will have to be filled before launch, these are two. They are heavy - these are three. And the price is not always happy - it's four.
Pumping station for watering the garden - convenient, but not cheap
True, if you wish, you can assemble the station yourself, and on the basis of any pump (drainage, for example). You will need a pressure gauge and a five-pin fitting or a set of flexible hoses with nuts of suitable diameters. You can also assemble the entire system on polypropylene or plastic, as you are used to. It's not that hard, so it's really easy to figure it out.
Requirements
When choosing a pump for irrigation, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the operation of these devices. It is still significantly different from the usual working conditions that are used for water supply at home.
Performance
You can water the garden with any type of unit, but there is one caveat: the power must be selected so that when using nozzles (irrigation gun, sprinkler, etc.) the hose does not break. And not the most pleasant moment is that with simple root watering, less productivity is required - a strong jet will simply wash the soil. When using sprinklers or irrigation guns, the pressure must be greater - in order to capture a larger area.
The only acceptable way out is to put a tee at the output of a pump of decent power. Connect a hose for irrigation to one outlet, and a hose through the valve to the second outlet, which will divert part of the water back to the source. With this connection, by adjusting the amount of water returned by the valve, it will be possible to change the irrigation pressure, and in a wide range.
Surface pumps for watering the garden in plastic cases are garden models that were developed just for this purpose.
Such a system is very useful when watering from barrels. When using even conventional drains, barrels are pumped out very quickly. This water return trick allows you to stretch the flow and water a large area.
If you are looking for a pump for watering a garden with low productivity, you will find that it is difficult to find units of good brands with low power. If they are, then at a high price. But there are a lot of cheap Chinese low-capacity pumps, which are also designed for pumping dirty water. This is just the option that is needed for watering from a barrel, pond or river. True, their percentage of marriage is high - 20-30%.
There are two solutions in this case - buy a cheap pump, if necessary, buy a new one. The second way out is to reduce the productivity of a normal unit. This can be done by installing a smaller diameter hose at the outlet. But this is bad for the pump - it will work, but the wear rate will increase significantly. To improve working conditions, you can lead to the irrigation point with a regular-sized hose, and only then install an adapter. This is not something that will drastically improve the situation, but the water consumption will be less, and the pressure will be strong - you can use sprinklers and other nozzles.
Overheating and dry running protection
Since the pump for watering the garden has been operating for a long time, and often not in the best mode for it, it is quite possible that the motor will overheat. Therefore, it is very desirable to have protection against overheating (thermal relay). A very useful option - when the threshold temperature is reached, the power supply is simply turned off.
Any source of water can be scarce. Even from a well or a well, it can be pumped out. If the pump runs for some time without water, it will burn out - the water also serves to cool the housing. That's why they put it. The most popular, simple, reliable and cheap way is a float. This is a water level sensor, which, if there is not enough water, simply breaks the power circuit. There are pumps for watering the garden, which immediately come with such a device, and if not, you can install it yourself - by connecting the wires from the sensor to the break in one of the supply wires.
Defining parameters
As for productivity, we have already decided - it needs a small one - about 3-5 cubic meters per hour (this is 3000-5000 liters per hour), which is more than enough for watering the garden.
What will need to be considered is the pressure of the pump. This is the amount by which water can be pumped. The pressure usually consists of two components - vertical and horizontal. Vertical - this is the depth from which you have to raise water. Here, as it is, it is so - each meter of depth is equal to one meter of pressure. Only in the technical specifications for pumps is there such a line as “maximum suction depth”. So, it should be at least 20-25% more than the existing depth. You can take it back to back, but only branded equipment, since Chinese indicators are usually significantly overestimated.
The horizontal component of the pump head is the distance that the raised water will have to be transported to the irrigation site (when calculating, take the farthest point). When using inch piping or hose, it is considered that 1 meter of lift is required for 10 meters of horizontal piping. As the diameter decreases, the figure becomes smaller - for example, 3/4 inch counts 7 meters of pipe / hose per 1 meter of lift.
You will also have to take into account the resistance of pipes (hoses). To do this, add about 20% to the calculated value.
Example of pressure calculation. The mirror of water is located at a distance of 6 meters from the surface, we will pump from a depth of 8 m, it will be necessary to transfer from the point of intake to 50 m. The pipe is an inch, therefore we consider the horizontal head to be 10 m.
So: the total head is 8 m + 50 m / 10 = 13 m. We add a margin for losses at the joints (20% of 13 m is 2.6 m), we get 15.6 m, after rounding - 16 m. When choosing a pump for irrigation we make sure that its maximum pressure is not less than this figure.
