Anyone pump water from a pond

[chh]

I ran submersible pumps in ponds for 12 years to a commercial hog operation, it is not hard to rig up. We ran direct burial wire to the ponds when we ran the 2" pipe. The pump has to be in a casing and suspended off of the bottom. The casing promotes water flow over the motor of the pump to cool it(according to the pump guys sitting in water isn't enough if the water isn't moving). 6" pvc pipe with a well cap on it works great. It needs to be about 6 to 8" longer that the pump assembly. I have used 5 gal buckets to float them but a cable across the pond secured around a posts worked better for me. We used that system for the 12 years we were in business on 2 ponds and only replaced 1 pump. We had about 500' of run, but our lift was only about 12'. We used commercial 1 1/2 hp 40 gpm pumps for our setup, but I wouldn't think you would need to run something that big.

 

[studor]

I use a three inch semi trash pump in the summer to water the lawn from my pond. It powers four sprinklers that are each about 100 feet from the pump. I use a homemade "manifold" at the pump to split the three inch into 3/4 hose lines. Running one spinkler at 300 ft or more is easy. Remember you are dealing with both volume and pressure so it all depends on how much water you need and how fast you need it. If I need to move water further I have two old oil fuel tanks that I pump into and "relay" the water between them (NO TRACTOR REQUIRED). It took me a long time to be convinced I needed a gas pump just because I have a pond but after discovering all the uses (like putting out grass fires, lawn and gardening water, flood avoidance etc) I would not be without one now.
From the sounds of your setup I would try to use the well for watering the greenhouses as someone suggested but would buy a gas pump for all the other things I have discovered they are useful for. Then you can experiment as well!
If you end up keeping the well, and not using it for a period of time, just pump it for a long time every couple of months to clear any sediment and keep the feeding water veins open and it should be fine.

 

[firemanpat2910]

Out at my buddies place we run an electric powered trash pump from the creek, to the pond. 250' away. pump&motor are up on bank, hard suction with strainer into creek, 1.5" flex hose to pond. works great

 

[bucmeister]

One of his points was that he would be required to abandon his existing well or pay a yearly fee to keep it open. Frankly, this sounds like the preferable option compared to the probable expense of setting up a run from the pond. One question that comes to mind is how deep is the pond? Is it deep enough to allow the pump to sit upright in the casing and still be covered by the required depth of water? The fact the pump is already owned will impact the cost estimates as would the pressure tank from the old well system.

 

[Blackbird_BX]

It might be possible to reuse the existing well pump if the pond is deep enough. The could cut down on the expense.

 

[keeney]

If you just want to use the pump to fill some barrels, there is no need of the pressure tank. Just run the power cable from the greenhouse end so you can switch the pump on when you want water to flow and off when you are done. Just don't dead-head the pump. In other words, don't put a valve or nozzle that can be closed on the end - just leave the end of the pipe or hose open at the end.


I agree that using the pump you already own is a good choice if you rig it as if it was in a well casing and keep it from sucking too much mud. Some 1" irrigation poly would probably be the cheapest thing to pipe the water the 300 feet. The power cabling is probably going to be the most expensive part of the project. 300' of 8 or 6-gauge copper is going to be some bucks.

If your well has arsenic, I would think the pond would be suspect as well - I wouldn't drink out of it!

- Rick

 

[JayDavis]

I am thinking similar to the casing idea. If you could get 6" PVC Screened Casing pipe you could find a way to secure it to the bottom of the pond and keep it upright, you could cap the bottom, let the water enter through the screen and set the pump about 1-2ft from the bottom (for a sump) suspended via steel cable and pipe the water up and out.

....or you could collect rain water from your gutters into a storage tank for water in a green house... and you'd avoid the arsenic problem as well.

 

[turnkey4099]

At 100 ft lift (assuming that is the total), any small shallow well pump placed at the pond will do your job. The cost would be under $200 for the pump and tank if required. Another option is a plain centrifigal pump that will produce 100 ft plus head. I irrigate for years with a centrifigal, no pressure tank set up through the sprinklers. The pump output was right 40psi at the sprinkler heads.

Calculation is .433 per ft elevation rise and add some for pipe/fitting loss. A straight run of 1" pipe won't lose you that much.

The pump doesn't even have to be at the pond but must be no more than about 26ft above the water surface. Someone posted 33 ft. Yes, 33 ft is the 'theoretical' but the 26' is the working figure accounting for pump/pipe/friction loss and even then it is only valid at sea level. The 'head' to figure is from the pump up. Thus placing the pump say 20ft above the pond results in only 80ft to push.

Reality is that the closer the pump to the pond, the easier it will be to prime it and maintain that prime. Of course using a submersible, you don't need to worry about the prime.

My guess on cost, no matter what system you wind up with needn't run you a lot of bucks for the pump. I would expect the cost of the pipe and wiring will add a bunch though.

Harry K