Bosting water pressure for lawnsprinker

Yeah, how many GPM does your existing water system provide when not restricted?

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

My water supply is from the curb with 40 psi and 1/2 supply line after the water meter, 3/4 to the meter. My thought is that by pulling more through the 1/2 pipe, the supply thru the 3/4 line is like a reservoir tank. One of the customer reviewers on the HF web page used this pump for a sprinkler pressure boosting pump. The output was 52 psi He didn't mention his supply.

That pump is rated a 650 gallons per hour. Which is about 10 gallons a minute. How many gallons per hour or gallons per minute does the six unit sprinkling unit use?

=20 Dan

Your neighbors are going to love it when you fire up the pump and their water pressure drops to 30 psi. (:

The 40 psi you have at the curb is plenty. Your problem is cause by too small a supply pipes.

That said, the little booster you found should work to raise pressure.

Karl

The Harbor Freight pump is a nice little pump. I have used one and think it is one of the things that Harbor Freight sells that is a bargain.

Unfortunately the heart land american description does not provide much information. My guess is that adding the pump will work, but it is a guess based on the average sprinkler spraying about 1.5 gallons a minute. The Harbor Freight pump is inexpensive so you will not have risked much. But the 1/2 inch pipe may restrict the flow to the pump so much that the pressure at the input to the pump is zero and the pump will cavitate. The nice way to check would be to put a pressure gage right at the input to the pump and see what the pressure is when the pump is on and the sprinklers are running. Less than about 5 psi would be bad and the fix would be to change out the 1/2 inch pipe.

Let us know what you do and how it works out.

Dan

=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Dan

The change out is a bit of a problem, that was my first thought. However, our house is on a slab. The 3/4 line comes in the front of the house and the meter is in the utility room at the rear. The 1/2 pipe goes from there through several lines; one back to the front of the house where I want to put the pump. As mention before, at 30 dollars, I can take a chance. HF has a 12 volt pump that seems to be a pass through pump for the same price. If this one cavities, I might try to exchange it.

A quick check: 10 gal/min from a 1/2" pipe or hose would have an exit velocity of 16.3 ft/sec. If held horizontally 3' above the ground, the stream would hit the ground about 7 feet away.

Could just put a valve on the downstream side, close the valve until intake pressure is about 0 psig. The pump should operate at 0 psig inlet without cavitation and that's all the flow you're going to get through your feed setup with 40 psi at the curb. Boosted output volume will be whatever it is with that downstream valve setting.

The pump is rated for 10 ft of suction lift which is about -5 psig at the input. Head lift is 110 ft or about 55 psig output. Looks like it should work.

Most streets have a 6 inch main. The extra GPM or two won't affect the neighbors.

I'd be curious if the existing pipes can supply the GPM you'd need. Also curious if the pump is centrifugal, or rotary vane. Worth a try. It's only $30. Plus the cost of the qualified electrician to wire on a

The advice you've received here about flow rates & pressures has been pretty god, but perhaps you might consider planting something that doesn't need so much water. Landscaping with vegetation that is native to your area is a lot cheaper and has the added benefits of not not needing so many chemicals and it also attracts native birds.

But what do I know, I'm just a tree hugger who hasn't watered his lawn in something over 20 years yet still has neighbors asking questions about all the different birds they see in my yard.

On Jun 8, 1:43=A0pm, "Stormin Mormon"

The pump is a turbine pump, not a rotary vane pump.

Dan

=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Dan

Fired up the pump today. I am stuck with a corner property that my wife fell in love with, considered the best lawn in the neighborhood. The six sprinkler heads gets a little more pressure. With the center spray and the pump I still get a weak spray at the last head. With the heads on a wedge spray I get a acceptable pattern from all of the heads. There is flow through when I turn the pump off. I have to make six moves to do the entire front yard. Only three wires for the hookup, like repairing a toaster, 5 minutes tops. I think I will keep it. I did plant a veg garden in the back this year Hope the critter allows me to harvest.

Could you change the pipe at the output of the meter to 3/4 pipe and run that outside the house at the back of the house? Put your new pump there at the back of the house and run 1 inch pvc plastic pipe from the pump around the house to the front yard. 3/4 inch pipe will deliver about twice the volume of water that a 1/2 inch pipe will deliver. ( cross sectional area varies as the square of the diameter. 3/4 * 3/4 =3D 9/16 1/2 * 1/2 =3D 1/4 )

Dan

HF

A guy in North Minneapolis spent three years cultivating native prairie grasses in his yard to be eco-friendly. He was just getting them established and had told city hall that they'd "lay down" once they got well-established.

The city came around one day, mowed them down and sent him a bill for $140. There is no yard in N. Mnpls you couldn't mow with a push mower (not gas powered) in half an hour.

So, Minneapolis city hall must be populated with kinfolk of my local city hall. Or maybe they get them all from rent-a-moron.

Nevertheless, here's just one site worth reading:

This is easy stuff to do. Far easier than maintaining a putting green in front of your house, and far better for the environment. I know it may not be popular with some in this group, but it just makes sense.

HF

I'll read the cite when I return to wideband land, but "few ounces spilled during each refuelling.."? I usually don't spill a drop, which would be about 1 milliliter or about 1/30th of a fluid ounce. I do use a high-tech device known to us technical cognescenti as a funnel...

Thank you for the field report. Sounds like it did some good, and worth the money and trouble. The 1 inch pipe thread needed some adaptors, I'm sure.