Garden irrigation pumpsare essential and perhaps one of the most important parts of a garden irrigation system. The pump is, in a way, the heart of the garden's irrigation system. In order to meet our expectations, we need to know whether to follow when buyinggarden irrigation pumpand what technical parameters of the pumps should be taken into account. Here are the most important information about garden irrigation pumps.
Pump for garden irrigation. Photo GARDENA press materials.
Three types of pumps are used to power garden irrigation systems:
1) surface pumps (self-priming),
2) submersible pumps,
3) submersible pumps. The type of pump we choose depends primarily on the type of tank or well from which we will draw water, and the water level in it.
Surface pumps (self-priming)
"These kinds ofgarden irrigation pumpsare most often sold under the name garden pump. The self-priming pump does not need to be filled with water at the time of commissioning. Thanks to this, it can be located outside a well or other water tank. From the source tank, water is supplied to the pump via a suction hose. After starting (with an empty suction hose), the pump will automatically empty the air from the hose and suck in the water. This makes these pumps very easy to use in the garden.
Moreover, the self-priming garden pumps are compact, so they can be used as stationary, fixed or portable devices. This makes it very easy to place thegarden irrigation pumpin the desired location."
The possibilities of using self-priming surface pumps are, however, somewhat limited. Well, the maximum suction height of such pumps, as a rule, does not exceed 7 meters (depending on the pump manufacturer - up to a maximum of 8 meters). This means that this type ofgarden irrigation pumpcan only be used when the water level is not lower than about 7 m below the ground level. If we draw water from a well, the well must also have a sufficiently high inflow capacity so that the water level does not fall below the permissible limit during pump operation.So what if the water in our well is deeper?
Submersible and submersible pumps
Submersible pumps are units composed of a pump and a hermetic motor adapted to work in water. The engine and the pump are lowered below the water level so that it functions only as a pump forcing water. These types ofgarden irrigation pumpscan draw water even if the water table drops more than 7 meters below ground level.Thanks to the corrosion-resistant casing, they can stay immersed in the water.
However, due to their design and low delivery height (as a rule, they can pump water from a depth of no more than 20 meters), submersible pumps are designed mainly for drawing water from tanks Deep well pumps can extract water from even greater depths. These pumps are mainly installed in boreholes. However, the inside diameter of the well casing pipes must allow for the insertion of a pump set (at least 4 inches).
Technical parameters of the garden irrigation pumps
When we choose the right typegarden irrigation pump , we still need to take into account the parameters of individual products. The selection is made on the basis of the expected operating conditions of the pump being purchased, i.e. water consumption (required capacity, i.e. the ability to pump a given amount of water per unit time) and the height at which the water will be pumped.It is very important to establish these requirements before purchasing a pump. Why? I already explain!
Capacity and headgarden irrigation pumpshows the product characteristics, which is included in the technical data sheet. The characteristic curve shows the relationship between the head and the capacity (the so-called characteristic curve). Generally speaking - the higher the head, the lower the pump capacity, and vice versa - the higher the capacity, the lower the head.
The pump must operate in the range between its minimum and maximum capacity, preferably if the operating point is close to the highest efficiency point, because this ensures a long pump life and reduces energy consumption. Operationof the pump for garden irrigationoutside its characteristic curve may lead to its damage, and certainly significantly shortens the life of such a pump.
