Recycling water is something all of us should be thinking about doing. It’s said that during the summer months that 40% of the water used at your typical house will be used towards the lawn or garden.

On a average rain lasting a couple hours you can have more than 240 gallons of water being wasted. Why not try and capture some that water for later use? One of those ways we can recycle water is by utilizing 55 gallon barrel and a inline water pump.When captured you can use the water for gardening or watering your lawn.

At first I was going to write a step by step tutorial on making a rain barrel, but a video is worth a billion words. So, here a step by step video that will show you how to build a rain barrel. Now what it doesn’t show you is using the inline water pump. After the completion of the build you can simply connect the barrel to any inline water booster pump for on demand water. The video shows you how to use a gravity feed water system that would be OK for smaller applications. But, if your going to be recycling the water for a larger project the inline booster will give you that automatic on demand.

The inline water pump does not have to be massive. Look for 1/10 hp motor with a GPM of 6. This will enable you to empty your rain barrel in less than 10 minutes if needed.

Enjoy!

I get several emails that ask about inline water pumps for RV’s so I thought I would give you my take on the smaller inline pumps used for Recreational Vehicles and Marine.

The first thing I take a look at when buying any inline water pump is the manufacturer. Although I don’t know everything there is to know about water pumps…I stick to what works. Typically staying with a brand name pump no matter what the circumstance is a good idea. Some of the smaller inline pumps that I like is made by Sureflo and Flojet. I’m very familiar with these brands of pumps because we use them for pumping soda syrup on fountain machines. Trust me, day in and day out these pumps work and keep in mid that these pumps are being used to pump thick syrup concentrate. These pumps are also powered by CO2 as opposed to 12volt power. We would get roughly a couple years on these pumps with no maintenance. If it can handle this type of work load, I’m fairly confident that these would be a perfect fit for any situation where pumping water is required.

The second thing you will need to look at when purchasing an inline water pump for your boat or motor home is the space available. Motorhomes and boats are restricted on space. That said, the water pumps used in these luxury items are very compact. Make sure you have all the right measurements prior to purchasing your water pump. If you can, take out your old pump and measure for even more information on what size you will need. In my initial search there were literally hundreds of 12 volt pumps to choose from.

Looking at Flojet water pumps for 12volt applications I found the model #LF122202A that looked appealing. This inline pump is fully automatic and has a very small footprint which is ideal in Marine and RV use. It measures only 6.5 inches in length and has the capacity of supplying up to 3 fixtures. It also features a built in pressure switch that will open up once the faucet is opened up and close once the faucet is shut off.

Thermal protection is important with any water pump. This pump has it…if it starts to heat up it will automatically shut itself down to prevent damage to the pump. The LF122202A also has a self priming pump that is ideal for flexibility on placement. In RV’s and boats you will have a water tank. With a self priming pump you can locate the inline pump above the water tank with out fear of losing it’s prime.

Measurements:

• Length – 6.5 inches

• Height – 2.3 inches

• Width – 3.5 inches

• Hose barb – 3/8 inch

Please keep in mind that I have not purchased this pump, but merely looked at price and past experience with this manufacturer to determine my recommendation.

There are many factors that will effect your well water pump. Although no one person can tell you exactly when water pumps for wells might go, but giving the circumstance on how long they run and what type of conditions they are being used in…you can get a good idea.Some of the factors that affect well pumps are:

1. Water sediments – The sediments in the actual water acts like sand paper and will scratch the inner working of your well pump.
2. The size of your wells water pump – More often than not these pumps are underpowered causing more stain on the internal components. Water pumps for wells might be in the range of 1Hp to 1/4 HP. When in doubt and the budget will allow it…go with the bigger well pump.
3. The quality of the pump itself – There are many many well pump manufactures to choose from such as Flotec, Wayne well pumps, Flint & Walling and Star Water.
4. Well pump run cycle – Just like anything the more you use it the faster it will wear out.  If your well water pump is under continuous use than you can expect it to wear out faster. In theory a family of 8 well wear their well water pump out faster than a family of 3.
5. Last but not least…the quality of the water pump installation – Having a professional with a good track record is a must for properly installing your home well water pump. There are so many variables such as filters, check valves and pump placement that needs to be considered and properly located in order to add life to your wells pump.

These are just some of the things affecting your homes well water pump.  In my next post I will try to outline some preventative maintenance tips that you can do to ensure the life of your wells water pump.

I get a lot of emails on what inline water pump I would recommend for standard home applications.  Although I’m not an expert and maybe someone on the blog can chime in, but the one inline pump that I use the most for water transfer is the Wayne 1HP Portable Lawn Sprinkler Pump model PLS100. It’s titled a sprinkler pump, but can be used for just about any application. I guess depending on the size of your home and other variables this inline pump may be underpowered, but I have used this inline pump to transfer hundreds of gallons of pond and rain water. It is also is the most cost effective pump with a price tag of only $170. I’m sure if you shop around you will be able to find it lower. For a pump rated at 720gph that’s a fantastic price point.  Suction lift will be up to 20 feet and a max flow of 175 feet.

The Wayne inline pump comes with a 1hp motor, which is not all that big in the realm of water pumps, but will work.  Comes with a stainless steel housing so it can take a beating and the threads are also stainless steel so the risk of stripping is minimal.  The inlet and outlet fittings are 1NPT.  Has a convenient on/off switch so need to plug and unplug the unit…one flip of the switch and you are good to go. I would recommend the heaviest gauge you can afford to prevent heat issues, bit it does come with a automatic thermal protection to prevent overheating.

Setup can be a little tricky and the one piece of advice I can give is make sure the suction volume is minimal at first or it will not prime properly.  The flow will be restricted and in return will result in poor pump performance.  Also be sure to invest in a good check valve. It does come with garden hose adapters so no need to buy them before hand.

Again, for the price and what I use it for this is a great portable inline water pump. I’m sure there are hundreds of other water pumps out there, but this is the one that I use around my home and have had some great years of use.

Here is a pretty cool video.  Guy build a hand pump from house hold products! By looking at it you might be able to get an idea of how to make your own water pump i guess.

A inline water pump is device used to pump water from one location to another. As the name states they are typically in line with the hose that’s carrying the water. Not only water but these pumps are able to pump all kinds of liquids, but water is the most common liquid used.

An inline water pump can be sued for a variety of projects.  Basically any time you need to transfer water, you are probably going to need one of these.  I recently had my back yard flood out and needed to pump the ground water over the fence and into the street. My house was at risk of taking on water and needed to pump the water quickly.  I ran to the local hardware store (Home Depot) and bought a inline electric water pump. I believe with tax and all it was around $45.  The problem I had was  I did not have a hose to add the inline water pump to.  I took my garden hose cut it in half and installed it in the middle of the hose.  Plugged in the pump and let the sucker ran overnight. The next morning I went outside and that little water pump was on its last leg, but emptied all that ground water.  In the past I had a inline pressure pump that I tried and it was ridiculous. Trying to pump all that water by hand was impossible.

This is just one of the many uses of a inline water pump.  If you have to empty a pool, pond or lake these pumps can handle the job.  You will need to make sure that you check the specs of the pump though.  I believe the one I bought for my backyard may have been under powered, but nevertheless, it worked.  If you going to be attacking a bigger project then it’s critical that you plan to have a inline water pump big enough for the job.  They way an inline water pump is rated is using GPM or Gallons Per Minute. Although I’m now seeing GPH which would be Gallons Per Hour.  This is a good rating because you can really dig into what size inline water pump you may need.

Remember those old style garden water pumps with the handle? Well you can remove those old pumps add an electrical one with a on/off switch and you will have water on demand at a flick of a switch.

These pumps are very versatile and the uses you will find for them are endless. No doubt they will get you out of jam when needed.  If you’re a boater than you know just how important it is to have a inline water pump on your boat.  They can also be referred to is a bilige pump when talking in boat terms. This type of inline water pump is pretty cool because it runs off of 12v adding to their versatility. Some boats even come with two water pumps to help pump the water out of the haul.  It’s always nice to have two pumps because if one goes down you still have one that will be able to handle the load. These pumps are submersible, which means they can be submerged under water and still work properly.  Keep that in mind because a non-submersible pump needs to stay dry and can’t get wet.

Purchasing an inline water pump is as easy as going online finding your favorite retailer and clicking the buy button.  When shopping for pumps be sure to compare prices and check reviews.  The quality on some inline water pumps is pretty spotty from what I have seen.  China is known for making some horrible pumps. Some online retailers that you might want to check out include Discount Hydro, Northern Tool, Hypro Diaphragm Pumps and Plumber Surplus. All very reliable sources to buy pumps.  On the local level all the big box stores carry inline water pumps like Lowe’s, Home Depot, Cabelas and Wal-Mart.