Water Pumps (to clear flooded patio).

pfpf

hello.

we have a patio that whenever it rains fills up with water. poor drainage and clay based soil.

at its deepest point it gets to around 4cm and spreads around the whole patio.

when its really wet, because the water sits up against the garage wall, the water leaks slowly into the garage.


anyway, i am looking at a water pump as a cheap way of keeping the patio clear.

the follwing 3 pumps are what i have found that i believe would do the job as they can be used to clear existing water or in heavy rain be left outdoors and drain as it goes.

does anyone here use any of the following or have any comments/recomendations?

the 1st one from Maplin, the Hippo, seems perfect as it states it will pump to within 5mm of the ground (which would be more than enough to remove the bulk of the water as the water runs into one corner and fills out from there), but i cant find the same info for the other two.

also i was wondering what kind of noise these produce as if i were leaving it out and running overnight it needs to be pretty quiet.

any comments appreciated.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=99819&DOY=10m8

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/86936/Power-Tools/Water-Pumps-and-Hoses/Karcher-SDP7000-Dirty-Water-Pump-320W

http://www.garden-goodies.co.uk/acatalog/info_HOZ7825.html

mickog

hi pf pf. are you able to dig a hole in the ground fit it small plastic tank to house a sump pump. this way you can fit pump in tank easy maintenance and reduce alot of the pump noise. a good pump will not be that loud. try and get the best you can, and the one with the longest garuantee

mickog

sorry forgot to comment on the pumps. i have fitted the karcher dirty water pump before. into a sump on a badly draining patio, and have not had any call back to the job so can only say it must be still working well. hope this help you decide. good luck with job

NB516090

The best pumps are the Clarke Hippo pumps - looking at the options you listed you seem to be on a budget. Try out these at Toolstop

Hippo 3A - £54.95 (with float switch) - goes down to 5mm and is very quiet
Hippo 3 - £47.95 - same as above but without float switch
Hippo HSE300A - slightly more expensive

Hope this helps

pfpf

not on a budget as such, just thought the 3 i listed would do the job i want them to do as posted!

i dont need a float switch as its only going to pump surface water with a max depth of 2inch.

the main one i found was the junior hippo and you mention the 3A so i think i'll go with one of those.

its the noise and the pumping closest to the floor i want, 5mm looks the best?

TimBuckTeeth

pfpf wrote: »

i dont need a float switch as its only going to pump surface water with a max depth of 2inch.

pfpf wrote: »

also i was wondering what kind of noise these produce as if i were leaving it out and running overnight it needs to be pretty quiet.

The flow rate from these pumps is quite high so it would not be need to be left running for hours. Most submersible pumps are designed to be run only when submerged and will overheat or be damaged if run dry for a long period. This is why they come with a float switch to switch the pump off, the type of float switch used will not work with only a couple of inches water depth.

Although the pump can pump to within 5mm (about 1/4 inch) of the floor, I would say this is after it is already pumping and full of water, I doubt the pump would start and prime correctly with less than around 3 inches depth of water.

So the pump should be switched on manually for a few minutes when needed
or a much better solution is to fit the pump in a sump pit as mentioned above. The sump should be at least 18" deep to allow proper operation of the float switch, the pump will then operate for a short period when the pit becomes full of with water.

pfpf

TimBuckTeeth wrote: »

Although the pump can pump to within 5mm (about 1/4 inch) of the floor, I would say this is after it is already pumping and full of water, I doubt the pump would start and prime correctly with less than around 3 inches depth of water.

what does this mean to me with my max depth of 2inches? the water is spread out over a fairly large area.

i didnt really want to go to the "sump pit" option, just to sit one of these pumps at the deepest point as and when needed.

what kind of level do you think it will drain to if not 5mm? do you think it will work at all?

thank you.

TimBuckTeeth

I don't think it will work very well with 2" or less depth of water on a flat surface, I think you will have problems starting the water pumping and maintaining the flow as the impeller (pumping rotor) is higher inside the pump. It should drain to 5mm once pumping provided that all the intake holes are constantly submerged.

I would check with the manufacturer or try to borrow one first to see if it will work as effectively as you are hoping.

pfpf

just for info and for others who may find this post.

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/hippo-2-1in-submersible-water-pump/path/submersible-pumps-clean-water

states

"Can pump to within 3mm of floor (when set in water 12.75mm deep or more)"

so my 4-5cm should mean this one works well.

Ebe_Scrooge

To throw a different angle on this - what about getting hold of a cheap second-hand wet & dry vacuum cleaner for the occasions when you need to do this ? It wouldn't have any problems with the shallow depth of water - OK, you'll probably have to empty it a few times to do the job, but just a thought ..... :-)

ashcarrot

Have you checked just how deep the clay goes, it maybe possible to build a soakaway channel or pit to handle the run off without the need to add a pump. Having said that i've got a similar problem though got decking everywhere which is a pain to be able to check it out.