An engine driven Water Pump can be a very helpful tool to have around the house, farm, boat and even on the job. It can help in all sorts of tasks ranging from the not so important like draining the swimming pool to, the very important like watering crops, outing a fire and even draining a flooded home or a construction foundation. But not choosing the correct one can make these tasks seem very hard. So lets begin by getting to know what the specs mean, and after linking them with an appropriate pump.
SPECS:
The specs on all engine driven water pumps and the most important are as follow-
1- suction lift
2- discharge head
3- engine horse power (hp)
4- suction diameter (dia)
5- discharge diameter
6- discharge capacity
7- centrifugal/trash pump
8- engine/pump brand
WHAT THEY MEAN:
1- Suction lift this represents the max distance the pump can pull water from and commonly range in 20 ft-30ft
2- Discharge head this represents the max distance water can travel from the pump strait up and ranges from 108ft up
3-Engine Horsepower is the power the engine delivers
4-Suction diameter is the size of the hose that can be used on the suction dia, and normally looks like 1″, 2″, and 3″
5-Discharge dia is the size of the hose that can be use on the discharge side.
6-Discharge capacity the max amount of water the pump can discharge and looks like 8000 gallons per hour or (GPH).
7-Centrifugal/Trash pump this tells you what type of pump it is Centrifugal means the pump can work in clean or semi dirty water. Trash means it can pump solids in dirty water. But this category can be broken into at least three more categories pressure, diaphragm and chemical transfer pumps.
8- Engine/pump brand- this represents the brand of pump and engine maker.
So you know what the specs mean now lets put them together. If you want a pump for your home to empty the swimming pool or in case of a flood, your specs might look like this suction lift 26 ft / discharge head 108 ft / engine hp 3.5-6.5 hp / suction dia 1 1/2″ – 3″ / discharge capacity 6000-14000 GPH / type centrifugal.
If you need one for the farm to maybe water you crops and as a backup fire prevention tool your spec would look like this suction lift 26ft / discharge head 150ft – 258ft / engine hp 6-9 hp / suction dia 1 1/2″ – 3″ / discharge capacity 6000-14000 GPH / type centrifugal pressure. Want one for the job for foundations or ditches your specs would look something like suction lift 26 ft / discharge head 108 ft-130 ft / engine hp 6.5 hp-18 hp / suction dia 2″ – 4″ / discharge capacity 6000-18000 GPH / type trash pump or diaphragm pump. Fire Fighting Water Pump