Irrigation pump

If this is the wrong section, please point me in the right direction!

My garden has access to a small river. Unfortunately, because of risk of flooding, there is a compacted chalk bund about 5ft high, so to extract water from the river to water my garden the lift in summer would be about 7ft.

My concept is a solar powered water pump trickle feeding a water butt on the top of the bund, which could then be used to gravity feed a watering system on the garden side. Any ideas if such a pump exists? I can find details on the internet of lots of solar powered pond pumps but they haven't got the lift or flow rate that I need. A wind pump would probably be too expensive for this small task.

Suggestions gratefully received!

 

If the river is 2' below your garden I think the pump only needs a lift of 2' once it has got going - the syphon effect down the other side will compensate the other 5' lift (needs to be a closed system though, i.e. not pumping to a header-tank at the top of the "bund").

Everything I have read about solar powered pumps suggests that they are a bit of a chocolate tea pot unless you pay substantial money for them

This is probably a good place to ask some questions

http://www.navitron.org.uk/forum/index.php/board,7.0.html

 

kristen

Point taken about the syphon effect, but I want to load up a barrel or similar container so I would need another few feet of lift. Also, of course, a syphon will only work after it has been primed, so I would still have to fill the pipe somehow. Not impossible, but it all gets more complicated and I'm trying to design a simple system!

On solar pumps - I fear that you are right.

 

Use a mains pump set on a timer switch, try somwere like machinemart for the pump.

 

Hi, we have just got a water pump to move the water from the butts by the house over to the green house from screwfix at £27.99 including postage and it has an 8 mtr head,seems very good value , and is going to be very useful as even from 2 green houses there is not a lot of water, hope you find this helpful. mojo :thumb:

 

mojo

Thanks for the heads up - I'll take a look.