Drummond Shallow Well Pump, Flexible Set-Up

[@CZUNIGA36]

Great video. Thanks for sharing. Las Vegas, Nevada

[@gregpalmer9949]

Thanks for watching, since I made this I have also added a bypass line since this new pump is pumping more strongly. There is another “Y” with valve and a line that goes back into the cistern. With this you can keep the pump running smoothly at about 40 pounds of pressure. Without the bypass the pump goes up to about 50 pounds of pressure and shuts off until the pressure drops to about 30, then repeats. If one is pumping to drip irrigation it is nicer to get it balanced so it runs all the time.

[@lucycats6282]

I see no video about building a fire pump rig? Wish it were there!

[@gregpalmer9949]

Thanks for asking. Do a search for “greg palmer, CET fire pump”. I need a better channel name. Also if you just click on my name (channel name) and then again, and then again - you end up at a list of all forty? of my videos. When I started “greg palmer” just found me and a minister.

[@jdubya54]

Can u advise more on your priming opening sizes. The shutoff you installed for the primer knob. I am going to still pour water in there to prime but I'd like to do something like that so I dont have to pit the plug on and off during priming

[@gregpalmer9949]

I went to one of the local HarborFreight stores and the display pump had a much larger nut on the priming port. It looked about an inch across the hex flats. So if you have that type the female thread could be almost anything. On my pump, I have just learned that the thread size is 1/4 inch - NPStraight. They are straight pipe threads which apparently exist, but I never saw any before. They do not carry any at HomeDepot.

[@jdubya54]

@@gregpalmer9949 thank you. I ourchased the pump and went to Ace to get a valve and pipe. Worked great. Great idea tha k you for the video and the great idea

[@niceride]

Adding some data to videos about this pump and tank combo: I've measured with a fluke clamp meter the inrush/max as 40A 120Vac.

[@gregpalmer9949]

The starting load is good to know. I have been thinking about battery systems and starting load is certainly a consideration.

[@frankies-1389]

Wow, all I saw on the specs sheet was 10A and didn't even consider the starting Amperage. Guess I need to reconsider the generator size. Thanks, and glad I saw your comment.

[@gregpalmer9949]

@@frankies-1389 It will operate just fine on a normal 20 amp 120 volt home circuit. What size generator were you considering using?

[@frankies-1389]

@@gregpalmer9949 3500 running watts 4300 starting.

[@niceride]

@@frankies-1389 Ran without any problem from a Bluetti AC300 3kW (6kW surge) power unit. Bonding neutral to ground and to a ground rod may be required to manage stray interactive electrical currents, if otherwise there would be a floating neutral. Freezing temperatures will destroy the pump housing... have since installed a pitless adapter on the well casing and moved on to a submersible pump install.

[@prieto237]

Just a question. Can I pump water from the lake to a 500 feet away to my trees? Thank you

[@gregpalmer9949]

Just a response. If it is fairly flat then no problem. At our place we pump about eighty feet up and four hundred feet over to get to the top of our drip irrigation lines. We are pumping through 3/4 and 5/8 garden hoses. The height, the distance and the diameter of the water lines are all factors. You can increase the flow rate by using 1” or larger flexible water lines. However, If you are going up vertically beyond the capacity of a pump then you will need to have a storage tank that you pump to and then from. The pumps are rated for how high they will pump, be aware that the limit by height usually only has a trickle of water.

[@ranchhouse349]

I have a shallow well I want use for livestock I haven’t bought a pump yet but I’m concerned about the pump needing to shut off for well to recharge. We are in Texas and it’s real dry. I have about 4 feet of water at 8 feet deep.

[@gregpalmer9949]

I have two wells that each have a submersible pump. They shut off by sensing a change in the power needed to pump (I think). You would need a float switch (or something) to shut off the Drummond before it pumped away its prime. Maybe someone else can give you a better answer.

[@ranchhouse349]

@@gregpalmer9949 okay thank you I found a much more expensive unit designed for shallow wells that shuts off but like I said it’s much more expensive

[@jojyx2]

How deep can we use this pump to pull water? As per the spec, inlet head is around 168 feet, will that lift water from 168'?

[@gregpalmer9949]

I just re scanned two of the manuals. The pump according to the manual has a combined lift and push distance of 115. Water pumps can push water up a lot further than they can lift (suck). The Harbor Freight manual only gives a combined number, but a “Shallow” well limit might be 30 feet in depth. Perhaps some one else knows. I have a well that is 150 deep and it has a submersible pump. The pump is down near the bottom of the well. It does not suck at all, but pumps up (lift) several hundred feet. A further caution: the 115 feet of lift for the shallow well pump is the point where flow and pressure have dropped to zero. On my installation in the video, the pump sucks about 10 feet and pumps up about 80 feet for a combined lift of 90 feet.

[@JSMCPN]

How has the pump held up? I hear the newer China-made ones only last 6-18 months.

[@gregpalmer9949]

I think we bought it about a year ago. It seems fine. Our old one was about 15 years old when its bearings went bad, and it was also made in China. The new one seems to pump more gallons per minute and we have added a bypass to send water back into the cistern so that it does not continuously start and stop. Items that are poor quality and stuff that is really excellent are both made in China

[@harrycash8713]

Does water go down into the green tank where the bladder is?

[@gregpalmer9949]

A little water goes into the green tank, so that the water can push on the air bladder to create pressure. You can compress air and other gasses, but you can not compress liquids. Thanks for watching

[@KalebBroadhead]

No need for a check valve on the inlet hose?

[@gregpalmer9949]

I just watched it again. I do say we have a foot/check valve on the inlet, but with this setup it will still work if the foot valve in the storage tank/cistern has a slow leak (which most of mine seem to). The foot/check valve is about ten feet below the cover that the pump is sitting on. For a house pump you are using a pump multiple times a day, but if it rains you might not run a garden pump for a week so a slow leak can really empty out the pump and suction line. Thanks for watching.

[@cyrillius123]

Are you using an extension cord? I hooked mine up to an extension running to a solar setup and it wont turn on.. it says to use these pumps inside but ive seen plenty of people work it outside

[@gregpalmer9949]

@@cyrillius123 we use ours outside with a twenty five foot (12 guage) extension cord going into an outside GFCI outlet. Last summer our old 14 guage extension cord got hot at one end and was retired. I do not know what sort of rig you would have with solar. Our solar system is grid tied. If I was expecting rain I would throw a tarp over it or disconnect it and put it inside

[@niceride]

@@cyrillius123 Over-wintered one of these outdoors (uncovered, fully exposed to sun and rain and snow) last year and the bell housing deformed such that the seal badly leaked to not holding any pressure on next use in the spring this year, and also the pressure indicator failed (plus some adjunct split PVC fittings). Tightening the bell housing bolts as a last-ditch effort it made some pressure with minor leaks, and over a week or so in warm weather the seal eventually went back to holding pressure. Drop pipe here is 20ft of 1-1/4in sch40 with a foot valve, and a 25ft 12awg extension cord to the pump runs great on a single Bluetti AC300 inverter that I fork over w/ the tractor when I need to use it. If we keep the sun UV and rain and freezing temperatures off of it I think it would last a long time. Regrets are only not having bought a spare unit when this was $140 on discount.

[@davejaniceroulstone7688]

What size and thread type did you use on the prime port. I measured mine and it's 1/2 -19 straight thread which is weird?

[@gregpalmer9949]

I wish I knew what the thread size is/was. The ball valve is sold at HarborFreight for use on air pressure lines. It is brass and I got it started about one turn before it was clear that the thread was not perfect. I put on some 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant Fast Cure 4000 UV (which I often find useful) and tightened it up with a wrench several turns and then let it sit for a few days until the sealant cured. Metric thread sizes can be very difficult to match. I have some odd sizes of grease fittings sitting in my Amazon Cart right now that do not exist in the assortment sets but do exist if one is persistent. The brass ball valve is good since it will deform to match the stainless steel pump.

[@davejaniceroulstone7688]

Ok thanks I'll see what I can come up with

[@markleimberger2597]

@@davejaniceroulstone7688 Did you ever come up with a size on the primer inlet port?

[@gregpalmer9949]

I did some more research, on my old and new pump the plug is 04 (1/4 inch) National Pipe Straight NPS. I did not know there was such a thing as straight pipe threads. The web site said they were used with rubber seals. I went into HarborFreight today and the display pump looked like it had a much larger nut above the priming port. If someone has bought one like that see if you can figure out what size it is

[@davejaniceroulstone7688]

Hi it is 04- 19 thread straight You need a male BSPP which is a British Standard Parallel Pipe. Not Nps. Then adapt for a 1/4 ball valve.

[@christiandgreat8127]

Does this pump auto turn off and on.?

[@gregpalmer9949]

It has a pressure switch. When the main on/off switch is on it will pump until the pressure gets to about 50 pounds and then shut off. As you use water the pressure decreases until you get to about 35 pounds and then the pump turns on again. If you run out of water or the pump loses its prime the pump will keep trying anyway which is not good for it, but does not ruin the pump the first time it happens.

[@christiandgreat8127]

@@gregpalmer9949 thanks!

[@Hf0205]

How long can you run this for? 24/7?

[@gregpalmer9949]

If you had it hooked up for a house water system you could let it run all of the time. The pressure switch works very well. We intend to use it for the house as a backup if our current system ever breaks. However our current use is for irrigation where it runs continuously for several hours. Recently, I have added another valve on top that diverts part of the water back into the cistern. As shown in the video the pump runs until it shuts off at about fifty pounds of pressure, and then turns on again when the pressure is about thirty five pounds. By adding a diversion line I can tune the system to pump continuously at about forty five pounds of pressure.

[@Hf0205]

@Greg Palmer my well has my water lines run to my house and a separate line that goes to my back of my property about 1500 feet away to my horse stalls ect. I lose pressure since it's so far away. My hose spigot fill water troughs slow. I figured I can connect this pump upstream to help build up pressure down stream?

[@gregpalmer9949]

This is a reply to your second question. I am not sure I understand your situation, but I will throw out some ideas. Consider using a larger diameter pipe. Try an in between tank just inside the limit of what you can pump to and then use a second pump (or moved) to pump to your stock tank. Harbor freight does have some pressure booster pumps, but I have never used one and the drummond is not that type. I have another video about my fire pump. A real fire pump can produce a lot of pressure. Also there are a lot of “high pressure” centrifugal pumps that can produce sixty to eighty pounds pounds that might work for you.

[@maraymil]

Tengo una bomba de esas instalada en mi casa..es normal que prenda y apague?

[@BarlitosC]

What is this priming magic you speak of

[@bigbeautifulbreakfast]

He's backflowing through the outlet into the housing instead of priming though the little priming port.