I need a self-priming transfer pump, or a tall skinny submersible. Help?

[sandalscout]

Hi all,

I use a wheelchair and I have no core muscle control, so lifting jugs or water is a real struggle for me. I am currently building a mixing station in my garage, and I have great success moving half full 5 gallon hedpack containers of water back and forth from my garage, but I want to be able to move full jugs, so I am looking at a small cart with large wheels to get over the threshold.

The jugs will sit pretty low on the cart, and all of the openings will be at the top. I need some way to transfer water out of these into my tanks. The opening are less than 2", and frankly, they don't leak, so I don't really want to modify them. Buckets are a no go, they slosh too much for me, I can't control them as well as these square hedpacks.

I can't seem to find any submersible pumps that are narrow enough to fit (with a hose...my Hydor Evo-Mag 180 is great for mixing, but any hose added just pops off), so I have been looking at self priming pumps. I have a battery powered wand pump (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WZX9R2W/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1), which is great, but it can't move water up more than about 24 inches up, and I need about twice that head height.

Anyway, I explain all of this, because I'm sure that there are a lot of great ideas, but I want to be clear, I simply cannot lift 50 pound jugs repeatedly, and I would love to keep using my hedpacks since I've got them and they don't leak or spill when moving them around. I've found two potential pumps, curious what people think:

https://smile.amazon.com/Flojet-03526-144A-Triplex-Diaphragm-Automatic/dp/B002P33KVQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen-bath&rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1523163907&sr=1-2&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_browse-bin:2798323011,p_85:2470955011

https://smile.amazon.com/bayite-Pre...=1523163931&sr=8-4&keywords=self+priming+pump

Would these work? Am I missing out on something else affordable (sub $100 that I can use to move 5-10 gallons at a time.... duty cycle, self-priming or very narrow submersible, capable of 48" of head)?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

Tunze ATO pump fits within the white water jugs. OH yeah about 25 bucks.

 

[sandalscout]

Interesting, that's good to know. Unfortunately, it looks like it only flows 12GPH, which would make for fairly lengthy water changes.

I'll keep it in mind though, appreciate it!

 

[Awesome Dennis]

Did you look up specs on the pmup? I use that for water changes.

 

[Erica-Renee]

You could create a pvc priming loop for your existing pumps to hang on the side of the water container....

This would be your cheapest solution... a few pvc fittings

 

[Erica-Renee]

Here is a example... you could do away with the ball valves and just use a cap in the prime port to save money....
Just siphon or pour some water into the loop and close the top ball valve... start the pump...

 

[sandalscout]

Did you look up specs on the pmup? I use that for water changes.

I did, They claim it only pumps 12GPH. Do you find that not to be the case? How much water do you change, and how long does it take to pump it?

Here is a example... you could do away with the ball valves and just use a cap in the prime port to save money....
Just siphon or pour some water into the loop and close the top ball valve... start the pump...

Cool idea, thanks for sharing and the picture! This might work well.

 

[Bayareareefer18]

I would suggest a pump like this. You can connect any vinyl tubing to it that you like. I used to use one for doing 80% water change every other day with my discus tank. It's self priming and external so you can just roll up the hoses and store in a box or container when not in use

WAYNE PC2 Portable Transfer Water Pump With Suction Hose And Attachment, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CPZTEK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ORLYAbE5TAYGB

 

[sandalscout]

Perfect, that's exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!

 

[Awesome Dennis]

I was referring to to apex pmup.
Specifications:

• Output Size - 3/8"
• Max Flow - 100 gph @ 0'
• Max Head Height - 13'
• Diameter - 2.25"
• Height - 4.60"
• Cord Length - 10' total length
• Power - 24VDC 17W (power supply included)

That other pump has a lot of metal parts touching the water your moving.

 

[sandalscout]

I was referring to to apex pmup.

Oh, HAHAHA, I though pmup was a typo. I've not seen that, I'll take a look. At first glance it's too wide though. I need something that is just under 2" in diameter, unfortunately. Thanks for the lead though. It's definitely something to consider.

 

[Jonathan Gamboa]

7

Hi all,

I use a wheelchair and I have no core muscle control, so lifting jugs or water is a real struggle for me. I am currently building a mixing station in my garage, and I have great success moving half full 5 gallon hedpack containers of water back and forth from my garage, but I want to be able to move full jugs, so I am looking at a small cart with large wheels to get over the threshold.

The jugs will sit pretty low on the cart, and all of the openings will be at the top. I need some way to transfer water out of these into my tanks. The opening are less than 2", and frankly, they don't leak, so I don't really want to modify them. Buckets are a no go, they slosh too much for me, I can't control them as well as these square hedpacks.

I can't seem to find any submersible pumps that are narrow enough to fit (with a hose...my Hydor Evo-Mag 180 is great for mixing, but any hose added just pops off), so I have been looking at self priming pumps. I have a battery powered wand pump (Amazon product), which is great, but it can't move water up more than about 24 inches up, and I need about twice that head height.

Anyway, I explain all of this, because I'm sure that there are a lot of great ideas, but I want to be clear, I simply cannot lift 50 pound jugs repeatedly, and I would love to keep using my hedpacks since I've got them and they don't leak or spill when moving them around. I've found two potential pumps, curious what people think:

https://smile.amazon.com/Flojet-03526-144A-Triplex-Diaphragm-Automatic/dp/B002P33KVQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen-bath&rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1523163907&sr=1-2&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_browse-bin:2798323011,p_85:2470955011

Amazon product

Would these work? Am I missing out on something else affordable (sub $100 that I can use to move 5-10 gallons at a time.... duty cycle, self-priming or very narrow submersible, capable of 48" of head)?

Thanks for any help!

Did you ever find a pump that would work? Been looking for the same thing. Thanks!

 

[sandalscout]

I ended up ordering three of these, and they aren't perfect, but they work pretty dang good. The biggest issue I have is that output hose is a bit short some times, but replacing that is easy. I believe I got three for less than $35 shipped, and it took about 2 months to get here, but the first one has been working for over a year and half with no problems.

https://m.gearbest.com/goods/pp_009762848492.html?lang=en&wid=1433363&utm_source=email_sys&utm_medium=mail&utm_campaign=GB_GB_orderShippedOut_180929

 

[Jonathan Gamboa]

I ended up ordering three of these, and they aren't perfect, but they work pretty dang good. The biggest issue I have is that output hose is a bit short some times, but replacing that is easy. I believe I got three for less than $35 shipped, and it took about 2 months to get here, but the first one has been working for over a year and half with no problems.

https://m.gearbest.com/goods/pp_009762848492.html?lang=en&wid=1433363&utm_source=email_sys&utm_medium=mail&utm_campaign=GB_GB_orderShippedOut_180929

Oh okay, cool! Thank you for the update! May have to check that out!! Been thinking of giving the Neptune pmup v2 a try. Based on some measurements should work. Just gotta find it in stock haha. I’ll def post anything else I find