water pump for cistern?

[N8N]

Hi again,

was over at Harbor Freight this past weekend and found a little clear water pump on sale for $20. I am sure that it is cheap Chinese crap but I really only want it for occasional use. What I'm thinking of doing is just putting garden hose fittings on it and using it to pump water from my cistern so that I can wash cars etc. with it. (I have a sloped driveway and the location of the cistern is such that I don't have quite enough head to hold a hose above the roof of my car and have water come out.) My thought was simply to put a pressure switch, like you'd use for a well, on the outlet of the pump to shut it off if I was using a nozzle and let go of the trigger. Do you think this would work, or is a more complicated control setup required (or did I just waste $20 on something that won't work for my app?)

thanks,

nate

[Pete C.]

It will work, but not nearly as well as:

Which is what I recommended the last time you asked about this. It's on a moderate sale now and has been seen even lower at times. Complete package with what you need ready to plug and play.

Add the cost of a pressure switch to your $20 pump and you are well on your way to the cost of the complete unit. Harbor Freight is good about returns and exchanges too.

[Bob F]

Without some kind of pressure tank. the pressure switch may not work very well. It will certainly short cycle, and may go into a cyclic "jitter" mode.

Bob

[Pete C.]

The garden hose will provide some pressure buffering, but it won't be ideal. RV water systems use a similar setup, and often need an add on accumulator for good results. RVs are shifting to variable speed pumps to maintain consistent pressure, they're more expensive, but in RVs space for accumulator tanks is at a premium.

[DerbyDad03]

My cistern needed a water pump for her 2002 Dodge.

Luckily my cousern is a mechanic so she got a good deal.

[Mark]

Hey! you made me laugh... good job :-) Mark

[Dr. Hardcrab]

My cistern looks cute in her braces and boots, a handful of grease in her hair.....

[DerbyDad03]

He was a famous trumpet man from out Chicago way. He had a boogie style that no one else could play. - The Andrews Cisterns

[Dr. Hardcrab]

He was a famous trumpet man from out Chicago way. He had a boogie style that no one else could play. - The Andrews Cisterns

We are family I got all my Cisterns with me We are family Get up ev'rybody and sing

- Cistern Sledge

[DerbyDad03]

"It was an order, a duty, an absolute certainty. I knew what to do, but I did not know how".

- Cistern Teresa, September 10, 1937 - "Inspiration Day"

[Andy]

Andy replies:

I bought that little pump from Harbor Freight a couple years ago.

I live on a lake, and I use it to run my lawn sprinklers from the lake water. During the spring and summer, it is in use 5-6 hours a day, since it only draws about 6 amps and the water is free from the lake. The pump is locate 10 feet above the lake level and the sprinkler sysem is about 5 feet above the pump. Under these conditions, the pump will run only one wide area sprinkler at a time, and will pump about 4-5 gallons per minute..... If you don't have any head on the input or output, you can improve on that some, but it isn't really really great on putting out pressure --- good for rinsing but not for cleaning. I just hook it to a sprinkler and go inside to drink beer and watch TV all day (retired...)

I have used mine for 2 years now, without a problem... It is NOT self -priming, so you need to put a check valve on the intake and fill up the suction line. Then you won't need to prime it again.

Be sure to take it inside in the winter because the water in the pump housing will freeze and crack it.... However, they are very portable.....

I even bought a second one to use someday in the future when the first one runs out......

Andy in Eureka, Texas

[Dr. Hardcrab]

"DerbyDad03" wrote

"It was an order, a duty, an absolute certainty. I knew what to do, but I did not know how".

- Cistern Teresa, September 10, 1937 - "Inspiration Day"

Oh We're Not Gonna Take It no, We Ain't Gonna Take It oh We're Not Gonna Take It Anymore

- Twisted (Frickin') Cistern