Roller pump

   / Roller pump #1  

KubotaSam

Gold Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2008
Messages
386
Location
Maine
Tractor
Kubota B2410, Kubota B7100Dt, Kubota B7100HST
I want to pump water from a small river into a tank and then use the water to irrigate my garden. If I purchase a roller pump for the PTO on my tractor can I use it to pump water from the river into the tank?
 
   / Roller pump #2  
I want to pump water from a small river into a tank and then use the water to irrigate my garden. If I purchase a roller pump for the PTO on my tractor can I use it to pump water from the river into the tank?

Basic answer is yes. But you probably want to get some kind of filter, just a screen will do, on the intake. And when you finish, rinse the pump with clean water, then put something like oil or anti-freeze, even diesel, in the pump to prevent corrosion.
 
   / Roller pump #3  
Yes, but there are a lot of variables. First, roller style pumps are not very efficient. They don't pump many gallons per min. Second, why would you want to tie up your tractor every time you need to pump water? What is the distance from the water source to your tank? What size line were you going to run? What is the change in elevation from the water source to the tank? These can all effect the head pressure you will have on the pump.

If it were me, I would buy a 2" pump that was either electric or gas specific for the job. If you wanted to get fancy, you could put a shut-off float in the tank, (like one for a sump pump) and it could come on automatically when the level gets down.
 
   / Roller pump #4  
Basic answer is yes. But you probably want to get some kind of filter, just a screen will do, on the intake. And when you finish, rinse the pump with clean water, then put something like oil or anti-freeze, even diesel, in the pump to prevent corrosion.


Bird's right on the screen. Be careful putting any petroleum based liquids through a pump that may not be designed for them. It has a tendency to eat rubber seals and some plastic pieces.
 
   / Roller pump
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Yes, but there are a lot of variables. First, roller style pumps are not very efficient. They don't pump many gallons per min. Second, why would you want to tie up your tractor every time you need to pump water? What is the distance from the water source to your tank? What size line were you going to run? What is the change in elevation from the water source to the tank? These can all effect the head pressure you will have on the pump.

If it were me, I would buy a 2" pump that was either electric or gas specific for the job. If you wanted to get fancy, you could put a shut-off float in the tank, (like one for a sump pump) and it could come on automatically when the level gets down.

The tractor will be required to pull the trailer that a 275 gallon tank will be mounted on. I will need the tractor anyway. No electricity at the back of the field where the river is. So yes that is my delema do I buy a small gas engine pump or can I just fit the tractor with a roller pump.
 
   / Roller pump #6  
I see said the blind man! Well... roller pumps to put on the pto are relatively inexpensive. I would maybe (if you haven't already) sit down and figure what all you would need for the roller pump set-up and prices, vs a 2" gas pump from Tractor supply. See where the dollars come out. It will probably be pretty close. 275 gal won't take too long regardless of which pump you use.
If you mount a gas pump and a PVC fill neck on the trailer with the tank, you would only have to hook to the trailer, drive down unroll your suction hose, and fire up the pump. Might be less setup time anyway.
 
   / Roller pump #7  
I have a roller pump and a three inch semi trash gas pump. To water the garden I pump from a pond into tractor mounted barrels using the gas pump. Then I pump from the barrels using the roller pump at the gardens. The roller pump would do both but would be a lot slower then the gas pump to fill up the barrel and I would want to make sure the suction has a reasonable filter. The gas pump would also do both. In the situation you descibe I might be tempted to get an 1 1/2" gas pump and carry it around with your trailer. The roller pumps are better for pressure spraying etc and the gas powered pumps will deliver volume faster. I think there is a thread on here entitled "12v bilge pump to irrigate from a trailer tank?" that California did about watering last year that would help.
 
   / Roller pump #8  
I used a roller pump to fill a small swimming pool from the river
500 feet of 1 inch pipe and 23 feet of elevation.
Pool was 3 feet deep and 12 foot round.
At 540 PTO rpm with my 11gpm pump it took 3 hours.
Video of it at work.

This is the text that goes with the video.
Video of me using a roller pump mounted on the back of an 8N tractor to pump water from the river up to my house. First part of the video shows the black poly pipe running up a ravine to where the buried pipe comes out the side of the ravine. The next segment shows the pipe as it is buried from the ravine up to the corner of the house where there is a water hose spigot. Next is a view of the pump itself. Notice the strainer on the suction side. Next video segment is from the edge of the water looking at the tractor and then following the pipe across a swampy area and out into the water where it is held in place by log. The end of the pipe is off the bottom of the river. The last segment is the water coming out of the hose and into the pool. 11gpm. Took 3 hours to fill the 3x12 round pool.
 

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