PUMP SEARCH DATABASE help for home owners, someone looking for a small pump, dare I say it: beginners

Home owners and hobbyists will be looking for small pumps in the 10-20 USgpm range or less. They will need water supply pumps such as jet pumps and borehole (submersible vertical turbine-borehole) pumps to provide water to their homes from a shallow or deep well. They may be interested in other small pumps for: swimming pool (centrifugal close coupled), statuary (centrifugal close coupled), fountain (centrifugal close coupled), basement drainage (pedestal sump), general drainage (submersible sump) or other. The pump search database (PSD) can help you find all these pumps.

There are many different types of pump that could useful to home owners or hobbyists. Here is a partial list with pictures and the manufacturer's name. You can find them in the PSD by selecting the manufacturer's name in the manufacturer's drop down box or selecting "residential" in the market drop down box.

To make the most use out of the pump search database (PSD) you should know how much head you require from your pump. Good water distribution throughout a typical household requires at least 60 psig of pressure at the pump outlet. This amounts to 60 x 2.3 = 138 ft of head. If your pump was using water from a nearby tank you would have to account for the level of water with respect to the pump centerline to get the total head of the pump, this is the head required to determine the size of a pump. If your tank level is 6 feet high from the pump centerline, the total head H of the pump is: H = 138 - 6 = 132 ft. For people using the metric system, the unit of head is the meter (m). This choice is available and the default is feet.


What flow rate do you require? Well, that's up to you. Maybe you want your bathtub to be full in 5 minutes. Or maybe you have a special shower with multiple heads requiring allot of flow, you should determine this. Most households will be content with 5-15 USgpm. How do you measure flow rate. I have a 12 litre bucket, twelve liters is 12/3.785 = 3.2 USgal. I filled the bucket from the bath tap in 28 seconds. Therefore the flow rate is: 3.2/28*60 = 6.8 USgpm.

Why USgpm, this is the flow unit used by all pump manufacturers in North America. There is also the Imperial gallon per minute (Impgpm) which for the same volume has less gallons. These units are used in Canada, the United Kingdom and others. In countries that use the metric system, many different units for flow rate are used. I have selected three different types: l/min (litre per minute), m3/h (meter cubed per hour) and l/s (liter per second). These choices are all available and the default unit for flow is the USgpm.


Very often, the home owner will be drawing water from a shallow or deep well. If so determine the depth of water from the pump centerline, if it is 15 feet down then the total head will be: 138+15 = 153 ft (assuming you still want 60 psig at the pump outlet). Normally a conventional jet pump will handle a shallow well 15 feet deep. If your well water level is 150 feet down then the total head will be 138 + 150 = 288 ft and you will need 4" vertical turbine pump to do the job, assuming you have a 4" borehole pipe.


To help your search, do some preliminary calculations on the flow and total head required. You will get better targeted results from the PSD. Not to mention that it will be way easier for you to uy the right pump.


Be aware that the retailer may not know how a pump works and that total head and flow are the critical factors affecting the size and performance of the pump. In particular, the total head given may be the maximum head possible. At the maximum total head, the pump has zero or little flow, what you require is the head at the flow you wish to operate or close to it. This applies to all centrifugal pumps whether they are a jet type or submersible vertical turbine. It does not apply to piston pumps such as supplied by this manufacturer. Piston pumps can provide more pressure than you will ever require. Their main limitation is flow; they are purchased on the basis of flow ONLY.

You will require an air bladder reservoir or accumulator connected to the outlet of your pump, whether you are using a centrifugal or piston pump. These are commonly available where pumps are sold. This is to keep the pump from stopping and starting every time a tap is opened.