Pump not pumping water strongly enough through 60 metres of Microbore!

[buzzing]

Got a cheapish rechargeable pump/battery set which can carry in and recharge after a day at work. It is powerful enough if next to a barrel of water, but pumping the water through 60 metres of microbore it seems to only come out a trickle at the end. When I first used it, it was too quick, but now just trickling. My trolley's pump also only has it coming out like a trickle through the 60 metres of microbore. Should I change to minibore? Is 60 metres too long? Do I need a better/pump battery set? If so, anyone recommend one. One I can carry in from car and recharge at the end of a day

 

[Tuffers]

I think your answer is in 'cheapish'

 

[peter rogers]

do u have a link mate also shurflo u wouldnt have that problem

 

[jason1965]

you get what you pay for, so buying a cheep pump has saved you money, but how much have you lost bye not being able to work ?

 

[Marko067]

I have had two Sureflo pumps that struggled to push water through microbore at lengths longer than just 25mtrs at full flow. Kept activating the pressure switch every couple of seconds. At 80% flow they were fine but not at 100%. The 5mm ID of the hose seems too small for them. Hose with a 5.5mm ID and up was fine.

 

[buzzing]

Can anyone recommend a good pump/battery comb (price not an issue) which I can recharge in the home?

 

[steve garwood]

I have had two Sureflo pumps that struggled to push water through microbore at lengths longer than just 25mtrs at full flow. Kept activating the pressure switch every couple of seconds. At 80% flow they were fine but not at 100%. The 5mm ID of the hose seems too small for them. Hose with a 5.5mm ID and up was fine.

I use 100 m of microbore with a shurflo pump. Controller set on 50, have the correct calibration so the water flies out the brush no problems

 

[buzzing]

This is the pump/battery I use-

Window cleaning Battery & pump pack 100psi for use with water-fed pole NEW

Yeah will get one of those pumps. Checked out one of those leisure batteries in Halfords. very heavy. I was going to look into getting a lithium ones. I was told to get at least 60 amps. Any recommendations?

If not possible I guess get one of those leisure batteries. I was going to put the two together into a waterproof box, maybe made of wood. I would make it so I could charge it in my house then carry it out when when I need it.

What about this-

Brand New. Water fed pole pump box. 100psi SHURFLO PUMP. No Battery included.

 

[buzzing]

I use 100 m of microbore with a shurflo pump. Controller set on 50, have the correct calibration so the water flies out the brush no problems

When you say correct calibration, do you mean the settings for how fast the water is pushed out?

 

[spruce]

When you say correct calibration, do you mean the settings for how fast the water is pushed out?

Calibration is setting the pressure the pump needs to operate at your required flow.

On a Spring or Varistream controller the first or front 'screen' is the flow. Change the flow from 50 to 60 means the pump motor turns faster and pumps more water.

Calbration setting is a setting in the 'screen' behind.

Simply put; the faster the flow of water through a hose the higher the pressure needed to drive the water through the hose.

Connect your system us with the pole connected and switch the controller on. Set the flow to 50 and then follow the manufacturers instructions on setting the pressure. If you find 50 is too slow a flow then try it at 60 and recalibrate.

-

 

[steve garwood]

Plus a change of calibration is required if you shorten/lengthen your hose :thumbsup:

 

[buzzing]

Anyone know anything about lithium batteries?

 

[Marko067]

Plus a change of calibration is required if you shorten/lengthen your hose :thumbsup:

I don't get this calibration business. I've been around electrics my whole life as my father was an electrical engineer and my son in law is as well. So I understand a little about DC motors and the various types of motor controllers and how they work.

A basic controller would just be a voltage regulator which as the name suggests just varies the voltage in order to control motor speed. However, with this type of controller, a 12v pump will only deliver full pressure when run at 12v. When you reduce the voltage you will slow the pump down, but also reduce the pressure due to the fact that the motor is not running at it's most efficient.

With a PWM controller you control motor speed by sending pulses of 12v current to the motor. The faster the pulses the faster the motor runs and visa versa, but it is still running on 12v hence maximum efficiency, hence maximum pressure at whatever flow rate you are using.

However, and this is where it gets confusing to me anyway, the only way I can see that you can calibrate the pressure the pump is working at, is to lower the voltage of the pulses you are sending to he motor. And this is the bit I can't get my head around, because surely if you lower the voltage, whether direct or pulsed, you will slow the motor down as well. So how can you get full flow at a lower pressure if to lower the pressure you are lowering the voltage of the pulses.

There has got to be something I'm not seeing.

Anyone know anything about lithium batteries?

They are usually a lot lighter. I have considered putting one in my trolley. A 16ah one that will more than cope with a day's work weighs 1/4 the weightof the 24ah one that came with it. They are expensive but the one I was looking at for my trolley came with a 5yr guarantee not just the 1yr of the typical lead acid.

 

[spruce]

A mechanical pressure switch works on pressure build up. Once the pressure has built up to a preset pressure the mechanism activates a microswitch to cut power to the motor.

Your understanding of a PWM controller is spot on @Marko067. Calibration is just one step further on.

A Spring or Varistream controller operates on amperage draw to decide when to cut power to the pump.

The higher the pressure required the harder the pump needs to work so the more power it draws. If you only need 65psi of water pressure for your chosen flow then its a waste of energy driving the pump to cut-off at 100 psi each time you switch off the tap. So calibrating the controller means that you tell the controller to cut the pressure at say 75psi when you switch the tap off. As the controller hasn't a pressure switch its all about amperage draw. So if the motor is drawing 4.5 amps at 65 psi you set the cutoff amperage just above that. So if the motor draws 6 amps when it reaches 75psi you are programming the controller to cut power to the motor when the motor starts to draw 6 amps. This translates into a pressure.

-

 

[buzzing]

[

They are usually a lot lighter. I have considered putting one in my trolley. A 16ah one that will more than cope with a day's work weighs 1/4 the weightof the 24ah one that came with it. They are expensive but the one I was looking at for my trolley came with a 5yr guarantee not just the 1yr of the typical lead acid.

Is 16ah powerful enough for a van mount battery and 60 metres microbore? I was told min 60amps.

 

[Marko067]

I think I'm beginning to understand. Thanks spruce

 

[Marko067]

[

They are usually a lot lighter. I have considered putting one in my trolley. A 16ah one that will more than cope with a day's work weighs 1/4 the weightof the 24ah one that came with it. They are expensive but the one I was looking at for my trolley came with a 5yr guarantee not just the 1yr of the typical lead acid.

Is 16ah powerful enough for a van mount battery and 60 metres microbore? I was told min 60amps.

Possibly not. You'd best listen to the van mount guys on this one buzz. Certainly lithium batteries are around but they are expensive. However, they seem to have a longer quarantee