Will a roller pump work for me?

[mx125]

I am looking for a way to simply get basic low pressure water from a stream to do simple tasks like filling 5gal jug and washing vehicles/bikes etc. Even residential type flow would be fine with me. IF the pump had the flexibility I would also use higher flow to wet down some areas of my kids dirt bike track.

I am thinking the lowest cost solution would be a small roller pump I can get at TSC and run it at half my 540 PTO speed on my 25HP CUT.

I am wondering if these pumps can draw water from a stream appox. 75 feet from the pump/tractor and then on another 100-150 feet to the nozzle/output. Height from stream is probably a few feet in terrain difference and probably max 5-10 feet of working height.

Is that too far or too high?
Will the pump actually prime itself?
Can these pumps run at low rpm?
With the flow, in fact, be too great for washing vehicles etc.?

Thanks!

 

[Champy]

I don't have an answer on whether a roller pump will do this but have been looking into this myself too. I have considered buying a trash pump to use in my creek to fill water barrels; wash implements; and to have for use as a safety hose when burning brush piles. I found a smaller (1") gas powered pump on ebay for ~$90.........pumps about 34 + gal/min from a 1" inlet / outlet

eBay: 1 in Industrial Water and Semi Trash Pump (NEW) (item 180130712920 end time Jun-24-07 15:25:13 PDT)

....should be enough to do my smaller chores, but since I already have a roller pump for my sprayer, maybe it could handle it too?

Interested in the same question / answers......anyone got an opinion?

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I don't have an answer on whether a roller pump will do this but have been looking into this myself too. I have considered buying a trash pump to use in my creek to fill water barrels; wash implements; and to have for use as a safety hose when burning brush piles. I found a smaller (1") gas powered pump on ebay for ~$90.........pumps about 34 + gal/min from a 1" inlet / outlet

eBay: 1 in Industrial Water and Semi Trash Pump (NEW) (item 180130712920 end time Jun-24-07 15:25:13 PDT)

....should be enough to do my smaller chores, but since I already have a roller pump for my sprayer, maybe it could handle it too?

Interested in the same question / answers......anyone got an opinion?

Roller pumps won't self prime. They'll operate with a fair amount of head depending on brand/model. Hard to accurately control volume and pressure without a regulator. They're not very receptive to dirt and trash generally speaking.

The contractor I work for has one (6-roller Hypro) that is powered by an 8 hp Honda engine to spray "retarder" on exposed aggregate concrete after it's poured. (Approx. same viscosity as water) It sprays about the same pressure and pattern as a garden hose with a garden-type watering nozzle. The pump, motor, holding tank, hoses, and nozzle were purchased at TSC and the "unit" was shop built by our mechanic.

From what I've seen, there are better choices of pumps for your intended uses.

 

[mx125]

Roller pumps won't self prime.
From what I've seen, there are better choices of pumps for your intended uses.

Some of the descriptions I see claim "self priming". Is that more hopeful marketing than reality?

And do you have any thoughts on an inexpensive alternative for my use?

Thanks.

 

[Pooh_Bear]

I haul water using two 55 gallon polyethylene drums on a trailer.
I pull the trailer behind the 4 wheeler down to the river.
I bought a bilge pump from Walmart for $20. 1250 GPH.
I power it off one of those jumpstart/battery packs.
I could power it off the 4 wheeler or even the tractor electrical system.
It won't pump water to any significant height. But it works great for me.
I make about 2 trips per week to get water for the garden.

Pooh Bear

 

[mjarrels]

I have a six roller PTO pump and it will self-prime... shoots water about 150' at high pressure... will drain a 55 gal barrel about as quick as you can engage and disengage the PTO!

mark

 

[CharlieTR]

I don't think the roller pump will draw water higher than about three feet, so it's not a good choice for streams. They are almost always used with tanks/drums.

 

[Fabro]

I use a roller pump to fill a tank and use that water to water my corn.
It draws water from 6-7' below my tractor and I'm sure it would pull water from alot lower then that. Once I engage the PTO, it's about 5-7 seconds and the water is flowing. As far as use it has 2-3 times more pressure than our house hose at 1500 rpm but if you let off on the spray handle it will build alot of pressure very quickly. { up to 200 psi } which will blow your hose up. need a relief system.

 

[mx125]

I use a roller pump to fill a tank and use that water to water my corn.
It draws water from 6-7' below my tractor and I'm sure it would pull water from alot lower then that. Once I engage the PTO, it's about 5-7 seconds and the water is flowing. As far as use it has 2-3 times more pressure than our house hose at 1500 rpm but if you let off on the spray handle it will build alot of pressure very quickly. { up to 200 psi } which will blow your hose up. need a relief system.

Thanks fabro. That's helpful.

 

[mx125]

I haul water using two 55 gallon polyethylene drums on a trailer.
I pull the trailer behind the 4 wheeler down to the river.
I bought a bilge pump from Walmart for $20. 1250 GPH.
I power it off one of those jumpstart/battery packs.
I could power it off the 4 wheeler or even the tractor electrical system.
It won't pump water to any significant height. But it works great for me.
I make about 2 trips per week to get water for the garden.

Pooh Bear

I looked for bilge pumps and found a 600gph and a 1200gph. I might be able to do what you say, with a couple of big drums.

I wonder now . .how do those bilge pumps work to do the reverse? ie. Pump water out of the barrels though a garden hose and nozzle? Height will be basically level with barrel and length no more than 20 feet . . . .but will I get a reasonable pressure spray out of the hose?

 

[Pooh_Bear]

The pump I got is more like a sump pump. It will only work if it is in the water.
Mine is an Attwood V1250. 1250GPH@0ft, 940GPH@3ft.
It works great for filling barrels. But you won't get much pressure out of it.
We just put faucets on the barrels and lay the barrels on their sides.
Connect a garden hose and let gravity move the water to the plants.
Works great for our small garden. We don't need a lot of pressure.
We are only doing this so we don't have to use well water.
And the plants seem to like river water better than well water.

Pooh Bear

 

[mx125]

Thanks Pooh Bear.