What sort of pump?

[Jimk]

Flow switch? (Like the shower pump you keep pushing has)

From a random Google -

3200 L /hr = 53L /min Max head 6m or so

Bear in mind there's pressure on the input from the borehole too...

[Jimk]

Thats a good shout

[Muddymike]

We have a borehole in our garden that happily belches water 365 days of the year (or at least it has for the 18 months we've lived here) fast enough to fill a bucket and feed a tap in the workshop which is at the lowest point of the garden but not enough to feed the power washer or sprinkler at the highest part of the garden which is where the house is.

I modified an old shower pump which connected to the tap proved the the output can be boosted enough to operate a sprinkler at the highest point of the garden. However it has now died as it doesn't seem to like constant use for several hours at a time.

What type of pump should I search for as a permanent solution. Ive looked at well pumps but can only find the submersible type which is not applicable.

Mike

[Andy Burns]

Let it fill a cistern local to the borehole, then use a submersible pump from the cistern to higher locations?

[Chris Green]

Very few 'submersible' pumps are rated for permanent submersion. I used one in a similar situation and it failed (as in tripped the RCD) after a year or so.

It's quite a difficult requirement because you don't want to have the pump on continuously (waste of electricity and not many pumps except pond ones are rated for continuous use) and a submersible pump doesn't really fulfil the requirement either.

Some sort of storage is probably required because the demand is 'peaky' and the supply is slow and steady. The pump needs to turn off both when the 'in' end runs out of water and when the 'out' end needs no more.

I suppose maybe a pond pump with a split output might work, feed a little water feature by the borehole and have a feed split off to feed a tank up by the house.

My experience with moving water about in the garden tells me that this isn't a particularly easy thing to do, it may take a few iterations before getting to a working solution.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

Muddymike pretended :

Why 'not applicable'?

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

Chris Green expressed precisely :

I would suggest they were poor quality or faulty from the start. I have installed many such pumps - they run happily and been submerged for decades.

[nothanks]

I've been very happy with a Stuart-Turner Diver35

but there are others in the range. I bought the pump without the flow switch and added an identical flow switch from China (cheaper). The pump is connected to a couple of garden taps with 1" pipe and it's just like having normal mains water available. We have a large garden and sprinklers/sprays/whatever are not a problem.

[Caecilius]

Maybe consider a hydraulic ram pump?

[Andy Burns]

they're quite wasteful, and low flow ...

[Chris Green]

If you mean pond pumps, yes they run for many years, however if you mean submersible pumps for pumping out cellars and such they aren't rated for continuous submersion in the main.

[Chris Green]

Read the bit above, submersible pumps don't like being permanently under water (except pond pumps, but they're a different breed).

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

Chris Green has brought this to us :

I have never been involved with pond pumps, I did mean submersible pumps and they are designed for continuous submersion.

[harry]

The term you are looking for is "borehole pump" You can buy one that pumps from hundreds of feet deep. Take care with the installation instructions, they are water cooled.

But a surface storage tank is a good idea with a further submersible pump if it can't be located at a high point.

There are all sorts of automatic controls available.

[Andy Burns]

I'd especially expect that from the ones sold as borehole pumps, they look slim to go down the pipe ..

[Mark]

what is several hours at a time.?

3 hours ? -

[Paul]

We have a small privately owned store in town that sells nothing but pumps.

They'll show you what's available.

I found them very helpful, in terms of picking out classes of solutions.

I don't know how common stores like that are. We didn't have anything like that in the city I was born in.

Paul

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

Which town is that?

[Muddymike]

That would only work until the cistern emptied.

[Muddymike]

Because I only have access to a pipe coming up from the borehole.

Mike